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Reply | Al Hamadi ??
at 12:58 22 Aug 2024
You can't flog it into them. The awful injury record in our academy suggests we're trying though. Kids develop at different rates, patience is the right idea when you're not able to spend fortunes attracting the early bloomers that every other club also wants.
Loans are difficult because the offers aren't often there. Connor Roberts got very lucky once, and then unlucky twice before the door finally opened for him here. It's good to see Cotterill and Congreve both starting games right away this season. Hopefully Lloyd's loan move isn't dead and he can go out soon as well. |
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Reply | Al Hamadi ??
at 12:41 22 Aug 2024
The reason he didn't get near the bench for us is that he was injured for most of his only pro year, and then turned down a new deal to try his luck elsewhere. He was merely okay for us at u18s level, and had a purple patch in front of goal for about a month with the u21s, but nothing exceptional that suggested he should be in and around the first team at the time. Was still adjusting to the speed of play and struggled with the basics on the couple of occasions I saw him live. It took him two years of further development to excel in League Two and earn his big transfer. Jury still out on what his level actually is.
Josh Thomas was in a car accident shortly after first going on loan that cost him two years of development. Last season will have been disappointing for him, Port Vale manager wanted a different type of striker (worked out well for them lol) so he was on the fringes before another injury with Wales u21s.
The club does have issues giving our own players opportunities. Liam Smith has been too good for u21s for the best part of two years. But worth remembering that our best products were all 21/22 before getting breakthroughs here, and proved excellent value for it. We don't do many teenage sensations. |
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Reply | ⚽️ Baglan Dragons v Swansea City U21 TODAY
at 11:19 22 Jul 2024
It's the exceptional athletes that seem to go further than the exceptional footballers. The fast lads and the big lads have far more margin for error in other parts of their game. A lot of the young players I've been dead wrong about just didn't have the legs for the modern game. |
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Reply | 1 1 baglan
at 11:08 22 Jul 2024
Sixth form students on pocket money scholarships. |
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Reply | 1 1 baglan
at 09:00 22 Jul 2024
Technically a handful of our side haven't signed professional terms yet. Harlan Perry only just left school. |
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Reply | ⚽️ Baglan Dragons v Swansea City U21 TODAY
at 08:54 22 Jul 2024
Josh Pescatore and Ramon Rees-Siso are u18s who didn't play in the u21s last season afaik. Henia-Kamau, Tom Woodward and Harlan Perry had a few cameos under their belt. Iestyn Jones and Jacob Cook a bit more experienced but nowhere near established yet. It's what you want in the u21s but ideally they'd have played some similar sides before stepping up to grown men in a knockout competition. Dylan Thomas for them was in our u21s the best part of a decade ago, didn't make the grade as many of the current crop won't.
None of the trialists from the other day featured, all carried over from last season's squads. Whether we're short or overstuffed depends entirely on loan departures. |
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Reply | ⚽️ Baglan Dragons v Swansea City U21 TODAY
at 18:41 21 Jul 2024
It's good for the better kids to be involved with first team preseason when extra bodies are most needed. Worthwhile experience. Just unfortunate that it's maybe left the u21s short on the day. Not a terrible side, but two debutants (I think) in the starting 11 and very little experience on the bench.
Any two or three from a long list of missing players and maybe it's a different story. Watts, Lissah, Cotterill, Watts, Smith, Congreve, Parker, Govea, Wilson. Plenty of talent in the group. |
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Reply | Cameron Congreve ?
at 10:46 16 Jul 2024
What youngsters offer is the ability to very quickly transform into £10m+ assets for the club to flog. Their wages are investment not just compensation for the week's work. |
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Reply | Cameron Congreve ?
at 12:35 15 Jul 2024
Supposedly Smith was due to go to Stockport start of last season but they backed out last minute. Finding takers for our youngsters has always been difficult, a good time is whenever there's a good offer. Doesn't do them much good to be "injury cover" in League Two and only pick up minutes in the paint trophy when they could stay here and get the same experience. |
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Reply | Cameron Congreve ?
at 10:42 15 Jul 2024
Not sure about any of that, really. Cam was a bit of a late developer physically compared to others (like Josh Edwards) and had to work very hard to make his mark in his age group. I'd put him as first of the next batch of prospects (Cotterill, Lloyd etc.) rather than the last of any era, but maybe that's arbitrary line-drawing on a constantly moving conveyor.
Martin gave him a break very early and he wasn't ready. He's now the same age Dan James was when he was able to make a mark in senior football. Rodon and Roberts similar, we don't produce many teenagers ready for senior football, but history suggests writing them off is a waste of limited club resources.
Lack of pace likely puts a ceiling on his potential, which Parker and (supposedly) Govea don't have. Liam Smith is a better attacking midfielder/wide man in the u21s. Ben Lloyd is over a year younger. We don't lack for talented youngsters in that area of the pitch. |
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Reply | Sammy Henia-Kamau Pro deal
at 13:06 8 Jul 2024
I expect this one year contract was already included in the package offered to bring him here. A lot of the scholars we've brought in have had similar guaranteed pro year terms. Some prove worth it, others don't.
Parker signed the same 3 year deal the other prospects did. It's been good to see us commit to youngsters like that given how short-notice things tended to be in the PL era. There was a deliberate policy shift. |
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Reply | Ewan Griffiths goalkeeper
at 12:59 8 Jul 2024
I would hope he wasn't the sole decision-maker given his obvious conflict of interest. |
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Reply | Ewan Griffiths goalkeeper
at 22:24 4 Jul 2024
Like a few of our youngsters I think he started in their academy as a nipper. We clearly made the choice to give a pro contract to Margetson's lad instead. Nice gesture from us to let him go there early and get adjusted. Good keeper and I for one wish him all the best. |
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Reply | Well done to our U21s making the Play offs
at 10:25 21 May 2024
Joe Thomas is 22, much older than the rest of the side (all teenagers apart from Ludvigsen and Bates, both 20). Sam Parker hasn't turned 18 yet. I thought he was pretty poor last night, he's been good for the u21s overall but if you're not ready for a step up at this stage then moving on is the only option. |
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Reply | And the not so lucky ones
at 22:09 17 May 2024
Ewan Griffiths signed for Cardiff. A lot on that list have had terrible injury records, might be interesting to see how they get along in a different environment, should they get the chance.
No real surprises on the list. Didn't expect Mitchell Bates to get an extension but pleased for him. |
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Reply | SWANSEA CITY CONFIRM LATEST ACCOUNTS ...
at 20:35 1 May 2024
I never mentioned profit. There's a wide gap between profitable and an £18m accounts loss., and usually there's one or two teams in the playoffs with more reasonable budgets (Luton, Coventry, Barnsley when we played them). |
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