Youth 22/23

[Rosencrantz]

Our USP for youth players has been that they get better opportunities to develop into the first team here than at other clubs. All we can do is carry on the investment with the next phase of the training ground when we can and carry on giving the youngsters the opportunities. We cannot affect what other clubs do, only what we do.

 

[iscalad]

Cooper is from their academy though, isn't he? We've benefitted in the past from picking up players in the Torbay/ Newton Abbot area, let's hope we can continue being attractive to them.

Cooper was Exeter born as was Ben Purrington.

 

[chunkymorrinmunter]

I see argyle are moving their academy to a very ambitious project at Brickfields and pumping 11 million into it , covered pitches and all the facilities for CAT 2 . I can see our academy being left behind and argyle having the pick of all the local talent, or can we move to CAT 2 , all we’re missing is a dome covered pitch .

Courtesy of the council chipping in

 

[grecian-near-hell]

The question is it worth £11m investment,

The greenies see themselves as a championship outfit, whether they get there is another matter (they don't). As such they need to be attracting championship quality players and youth with potential for this level otherwise it wouldn't be worth it. You then have to look at the supply of said youth, and whilst we have done extremely well at attracting and retaining prospects, it is partly because of our history and proven track record from school to first team. Remember however that the top prospects also attract the category 1 academies as well as other category 2 sniffing around, so the greenies will need to compete and convince the youngsters that their future lies in Cornwall. To get enough prospects they may need to cast their net further afield again in competition with other cat 1 and cat 2 academies, if they aren't then why bother building this academy.

Brentford as a championship side did away with their academy and I believe set up an analytical system where they would scour the country for top prospects who they could further develop and on sell at a profit if needed, Ollie being a case in point. And as we all know that has proven highly successful for them and all involved.

Another question which I have wondered about this season is that okay the greenies nearly won our merit table league but more often than not it appeared that they were fielding full strength teams for their age groups, whereby I think that our youngsters were out on loan and we were giving experience to the next set of youngsters coming through, and as we have witnessed from the U23 cup total academy football doesn't always hold up in a competitive arena.

So if they have £11m to blow then good luck to them it will only take a couple of good sales to cover the cost but then how often do they come to Devon

 

[angelic upstart]

£11mn? Where are they getting their money from?

Existing shareholders. I suspect in the long term is to have a a decent fully functioning club from top to bottom which manages itself and becomes a decent saleable asset. Council are fully onside which clearly helps them.

It's worth noting the Argyle community trust are running it and putting in 7 and a bit million in themselves. They're putting plenty of cash into the sports hub at Plymouth Parkway as well. https://argylecommunitytrust.co.uk/about-us/

They seem to be focusing on Plymouth, Cornwall and West Devon in the main.

 

[Grecian in Guzz]

Existing shareholders. I suspect in the long term is to have a a decent fully functioning club from top to bottom which manages itself and becomes a decent saleable asset. Council are fully onside which clearly helps them.

It's worth noting the Argyle community trust are running it and putting in 7 and a bit million in themselves. They're putting plenty of cash into the sports hub at Plymouth Parkway as well. https://argylecommunitytrust.co.uk/about-us/

They seem to be focusing on Plymouth, Cornwall and West Devon in the main.

Just found this - does Grecian Community Trust produce similar ?

https://argylecommunitytrust.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Plymouth-Argyle-Football-in-The-Community-Trust-2021-Fully-Signed.pdf

 

[Colesman Ballz]

I see argyle are moving their academy to a very ambitious project at Brickfields and pumping 11 million into it , covered pitches and all the facilities for CAT 2 . I can see our academy being left behind and argyle having the pick of all the local talent, or can we move to CAT 2 , all we’re missing is a dome covered pitch .

Only one covered pitch, singular ! They have got long way to go to catch us up, their current success is based on loan players, how many players from their academy have played for the first team this season ? Now compare that number to us, there is no comparison. Yes of course it will be nice when we get a covered pitch, but in the meantime we carry on doing what we do best.

 

[Grecian in Guzz]

Only one covered pitch, singular ! They have got long way to go to catch us up, their current success is based on loan players, how many players from their academy have played for the first team this season ? Now compare that number to us, there is no comparison. Yes of course it will be nice when we get a covered pitch, but in the meantime we carry on doing what we do best.

Anyone know of a large marquee supplier close to Exeter who can cover one of our pitches before Loangyle do theirs ?
UTC

 

[Grecian2K]

Anyone know of a large marquee supplier close to Exeter who can cover one of our pitches before Loangyle do theirs ?
UTC

That could be a real statement of intent!

 

[Colesman Ballz]

Anyone know of a large marquee supplier close to Exeter who can cover one of our pitches before Loangyle do theirs ?
UTC

KMT is probably the 'go to' man for marquees !