Harry Lee and Sonny Cox - sign professional contracts

[grecian-near-hell]

At least they have Ollie's way as a model (but also Jay S and Ben as the other option )

But who has played for Engerland and scored on his debut

 

[IndoMike]

But who has played for Engerland and scored on his debut

Ben and Jay might....
Lets hope they go the Ollie route, anyway : that would be win:win all round

 

[Maxi08]

If these premier teams won’t meet our valuation of these boys then why do we let them go on trial, surely they must know what sort of fee we are asking for before they go

 

[Snakebite]

If I was them I would stay you get a much better grounding at Exeter so many players just get lost in ether of the big boys and ruin there careers stay mature then move

Yes but when you’re 16 and have the offer of tuppence per week at little old Exeter, or a kings ransom and the chance to play and train at one of the big clubs it’s hardly a surprise that heads get turned.

 

[Memphis09]

At least they have Ollie's way as a model (but also Jay S and Ben as the other option )

Think Ollie he did it the correct way

 

[Memphis09]

Yes but when you’re 16 and have the offer of tuppence per week at little old Exeter, or a kings ransom and the chance to play and train at one of the big clubs it’s hardly a surprise that heads get turned.

Then the parents should listen to the club I certainly would not let my sons heads be turned at such an early age

 

[AmberRed]

Think Ollie he did it the correct way

As has been said before, Ollie didn't have the option of leaving before as he wasn't one of the stand out youngsters!

 

[Andy Holloway]

Then the parents should listen to the club I certainly would not let my sons heads be turned at such an early age

But parents heads are also turned by seeing a 'King's ransom' put on the table, naturally they want the best for those lads so loyalty then drops down the list of priorities.

 

[IndoMike]

But parents heads are also turned by seeing a 'King's ransom' put on the table, naturally they want the best for those lads so loyalty then drops down the list of priorities.

But there's also the lesson of the hare and the tortoise. A lot of kids stand out when they're 16 because they have developed physically more quickly. And they stand out too because they're not playing against tip-top opposition.Thousands of kids taken on by academies fall by the wayside. If you look at England schoolboy teams over the last 20 years, how many made the grade.
The psychological impact on (effectively) academy kids who are later rejected must be pretty big. And they don't make a lifetime's earnings from one or two years even at a big-time academy.
Although it wasn't planned, Ollie's route worked out well. He wasn't thrown into the big time straight away : there were stepping stones. So Ollie was the tortoise but some of our kids will be the hares.
You can't begrudge kids or parents at all wanting to take advantage of offers to
join clubs for the glamour, facilities and financial rewards. Any normal family would be sorely tempted. But we don't know how good these kids really are until they are 18 or 19 years old. If they stand out in Div 2 clubs much higher than City will bid for them. So imo it's better that they find out their true level by being tested at City rather than taking the massive step to the Premier League and then being dumped, which the vast majority are.

 

[jimmy]

It could make sense for these top 'hoovering up talent' clubs to pay money to secure the player in two seasons time. (With an option to take them earlier if they are going to be in their premier league squad).

Or perhaps I'm just inventing a rule which will make them hoover up every half decent 15,16,17 year old in Europe!