Having said that, I can definitely see how the national team has benefitted greatly from our academy giving first team opportunities to Alex Pearce, Jem Karacan, Simon Church, Hal Robson Kanu, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Simon Cox, Jake Taylor and Liam Kelly. Also, a lot of these non international foreigners ...

So the solution is an academy league parachuted in at Step 5, played in front of crowds a fraction of that currently at Step 5 make the slightest bit of difference? Man Utd or Chelsea will still stockpile young players, still farm them off to higher placed teams and the reward at the pinnacle of Non...

I presume you're not suggesting Cat 1 academy teams being introduced into the Football League? Now we're talking! Introduce a new tier, League 3, just above the National League. Then run it like in Spain - youth teams must be in a lower division than their parent club and there should be regulation...

double d Ostersunds: Rise of Swedish club under English manager Graham Potter - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41902664

Gr8 article.

Didn't he once have a spell on loan to us about 20 years ago?

Isn't he a complete arsehole? Most of the time but he does occasionally post something worth reading I love you mate. And you're a Manics fan. Do you go to away games? Your next pint is on me when I see you. http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view5/20140201/4967951/monty-python-run-away-o.gif

Silver Fox Isn't he a complete arsehole?

Most of the time but he does occasionally post something worth reading

That's not really a massive surprise in a country the size of East Anglia.

Jong Ajax play in the second tier of Dutch football. There is no right or wrong answers, some players benefit from loans, others don't. Some players are ready to step up, others aren't. The only thing you can do is trust that the club are in the best position to judge what each player needs. Perhap...

I don't like how managers reputations are trashed so quickly having previously done a good job. Moyes did a very decent job at Everton for 10 years. His work at Utd was also no disaster as other managers since have shown. In the case of Moyes did he really do such a good job at Everton? IIRC there ...

Jong Ajax play in the second tier of Dutch football.


There is no right or wrong answers, some players benefit from loans, others don't. Some players are ready to step up, others aren't. The only thing you can do is trust that the club are in the best position to judge what each player needs.

We'll have to agree to disagree then. Personally I think there is value in getting regular football outside of age group competition and the likes of Pearce, Karacan, HRK and Hector have shown that loans can be a springboard to the first team.

I imagine if he tried the same trick with Brady, she'd rip he nuts off and stuff them up his arse and maybe that's the point; you're lucky to be back in the Premiership so keep your gob shut and your nose clean and prove you're still a good manager.

We may not have heard of Mendes but he wasn't a WTF signing because we needed a forward at the time we signed him. Kermorgant certainly didn't look like a 17 goal a season striker at the start of last season and our other options were Rakels and Samuel. Mendes offered the promise of strength and pac...

I was commenting more in relation to a suggestion that his track record as a manager was trashed as that wasn't what the West Ham fans were objecting to. I appreciate I didn't make that entirely clear. I actually think he's a good appointment for West Ham. However, in the light of the sexism row, I ...

To be fair, the West Ham fans' issue seems to be less about his management and more about his attitude towards women.

Mendes only started 2 league games last season. Guess what he did in both of them.

His issue would appear to be staying fit rather than a lack of ability.

I think it's his edgy intrnet persona.

SDR was kind of funny in his own way.

LordCKS thinks calling someone a pcunt is the height of critical sophistication.

Tilehurstsouthbank

genome

Tilehurstsouthbank
Worse than SDR?

SDR is negative in an almost parodic and playful way... CKS is negative in a malicious way

I have yet to encounter CKS. Should I count myself fortunate?

Imagine strap after a barrel of beer only worse.

It's easy to forget, Stam inherited a piss awful squad in piss awful form. That's absolutely not the circumstances to be using academy players. His dealings last summer were all about getting bodies into the squad and by and large he did ok (Weiser being the only wtf signing). I think Meite was a pu...