How many times, we don't want Fielden back!!!

updated with Tadulala's confirmed exit,

The squad does look a bit threadbare at the minute, but I hope that plenty of the youngsters get used next year rather than getting middle of the road nobody's to boost numbers and not quality

Well, we were told at the forum that the reason we had to sign various journeymen was because when Macca took over we had seemingly lost much of the academy and had few imminent prospects. The journeymen were required to plug the gap till the academy was providing first team players again, but at much higher cost (and hence, by implication, the limitations on signing marquee players).

So the big question, taking that at face value, is how far off are we with the feed from the academy?

well lets face it, Whitehead, Donaldson and Crookes didn't look out of place in there appearances, so why not have them in the 17 regularly?

We have done it before, and reaped the rewards when Pryce, Fielden, Peacock et al matured together, we just need the bottle to do that again.

I've never agreed with that it's bunkum players like Alex Szostak, Dave Clayton, Joe Walsh, Neil Cherryholme were good enough to be given that chance. The problem is that unless your one of the chosen ones who make the first team squad you'll never make the first team.
IMO I'd say at least another 12 to 18 months before we see any one else break through.

Does anybody close to the club know -if its true- where we will play Kearney?



I really hope we don't shift Halley.

updated with Kearney signing, and Platt rumoured departure

every report is saying standoff so daves safe

So atm, we look like this :


Halley
Sheriffe
Sykes
Nero
?
Kearney
Deacon
Lynch
Godwin
Scruton
Hall
Menzies
Langley

Kopzcak
Crossley
L'Estrange
Worrincy
Whitehead
Donaldson
Crookes
Hyde
Platt
Tate


Not going to cut it.

We need 3 or 4 signings still.
Olbison

Have any of those since joined other SL clubs?

Walsh has had a handful of games. It still seems like the only player to go straight from our academy to first team success elsewhere is Ryan Atkins. Mark Flanagan languished in Wigan's reserves for another couple of seasons before breaking through.

You can draw one of two conclusions. Either the players failed to make it because the club failed to give them the right coaching and experience at the right time...

...or the club got it right, and the players weren't going to make it anyway

Indeed. It's utter p!sh.

Nail head.

Or you can draw the opposite conclusion: you make your choice. I genuinely don't know. You could put someone like Jamie Peacock up against that - someone who seemed to be at the back of the queue for training & opportunity at that age who came through anyway, and with a vengeance - but perhaps he's just an exceptional individual (we know that anyway).

My uninformed opinion is that if a player is going to make it, he will. If he's put off by this sort of setback, it probably shows that he didn't have the character. But that is only an uninformed opinion, and I'm not going to pretend it's holy writ.

updated with Donaldsons Extension