Well would welcome opinions on the rankings....I don't know of which other i league team apart from BFC is investing more on youth development (ofcourse someone with more info should add his comments), my tentative rankings is based on the fact that there should be a proper residential youth academy, which is exposed to top quality tournaments.
Residential versus non residential Academy is a whole new Thread / Fight club
I can argue the case for the latter..especially in India... having seen 1st hand how poor AIFF and TFA have been run and what poor results they have produced...I would much rather have a US youth or Japan type structure which clearly works and is sustainable
@gaffertape We need old school England Academies in India. US youth structure will never work here. In USA, you need to pay for play in youth system. The more better you become, more you pay. They have this culture of College Scholarships also. That system do not exist in india. In india, Players come from lower strata of society (income wise) and colleges hardly give admission on Sports quota in india. Degree means little, it is Govt. Jobs after performing -that is what players look for, not a seat in College. US systeam will just create some rich dad's son who go for trip to Manchester and so on for show-off. TFA cadets are better then ISL Tents or what so called manchester United school has created in Mumbai. I cannot comment on Japan system as I dont know about that. Players do not pay a Penny in England Academy System. England Academy System produce better players then US system. England-Investment for future USA- Profit for a Businessman.
I.... I.... I played for the New York Red Bulls Academy... I did not pay to play. You reference an article from 2011... since then more and more clubs are being required to stop using the pay-to-play system or the fees are becoming smaller. And it is not as if this is restricted to just the United States, when I was in England I had to pay to play for a U10 team, same with my brother for the summer... someone has to pay for the stuff! Ajax, one of the best academies in the world, has the lower levels pay a small fee to be a part of their system.
Also, fuck your investment for future and profit for businessmen shit. MLS just FORCED the teams to create "B" sides in the USL (3rd division) and if they did not want to then they could affiliate with an independent USL team. The kids who play for these reserve teams don't pay at all as it is technically in a professional league but the teams still pay for travel across the United States, facilities, coaching etc. and at the same time, they don't get any crowd as they are just "B" teams and they don't get any TV or much sponsorship money as it is the 3rd division... there is no profit!!!
When I joined the Red Bulls I had it all given to me, my kit, some balls, excellent coaching etc. and I payed $0. If anything, I payed $200 for the one-week training camp which was sponsored by the Red Bulls but not ran by them and that is where they found me. And that fee was justified cause that was a school operated venture which required renting the fields, coaches Red Bulls gave etc.
And England... investment for the future? You paint the English youth system as if it is one of the best! Meanwhile, I am sure most of the schoolboys from the top academies of Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal etc. will probably never make it to become a U18 regular, let alone U21, when these teams manage to snap up the next big young superstar from abroad!!! Chelsea just signs the next big star that comes along. How many young English talents come out of the top academies!? Other than Southampton, whos academy is overrated because of some players, not much comes out. Even Arsenal can't do shit there these days. Daniel Crowley will probably make it but he was not developed by us!
And speaking on development! The MLS academies are not even 10 years old!!!!! That is fucking right! Not even 10 and we have already developed players who are good enough for the league and who now make college players look obsolete. The current US U20 side at the U20 World Cup is made of kids from this academy system! DeAndre Yedlin is the first of what will probably be many who come out of it, play in a World Cup, have Eden fucking Hazard in his pocket, and then go to the Premier League. England has been doing this for years, YEARS, of course they will develop better players. They also have the money for it, while MLS teams don't make a profit yet (but of course, to you, everything is for profit).
Also, since 2011, a rule was made that said you can't play for your school if you play for an academy team. Scholarships are still given out to academy kids but they are not as lucrative as seen before and some teams, like the LA Galaxy, pay for their academy players education to make sure they get it. Meanwhile steps are being taken to improve the college system where the main issue is that if a player gets payed professionally then he can't play in college... amateur contracts are now being issued so that players can play pro while remain eligible for college. This was just started this year.
Also, fuck Alexis Lalas. He is nothing, everyone does not like his opinions. He is the Michael Owen or Robbie Savage of the US... he will talk and talk but at the end of the day, no one gives a fuck what he says. Ruud Guliit was only in the US before these changes were made and Jurgen Klinsmman has complaints but you know what, he is the technical director, this is his fucking job.
Also, why did you reference an article from September 2011? It has been almost four years... a lot can happen in a World Cup cycle, which this practically is. Even a little research could have given you this. US Soccer Development has a lot of problems... I can make a post just as big about them, but it is much, much, MUCH, better than where it was a couple years ago and soon we will see the benefits of that system... we already are.
You might be "free" in Premier League Academy but to get there you need to go thru the lower system...where you have to pay for your kit...travel...etc etc.
As for good Indian players coming from lower income....get your mind out of the 70's and the typcial AIFF thinking...
SIMPLE case in point.... That Jonathan Piers kid at BFC U-19 is 6ft 1 inch tall at 17 / 18 yrs old because he is from an upper middle class background and didn't suffer from malnutrition at childhood unlike the kids from the "traditional" footballing hit beds of Bangalore like Austin Town or Gowthampuram... whilst we will always see skillful short ( overage) talents from these footballing ghettos ....the likes of Nikolai Adam and Lee Johnson etc will rightfully ignore them .
South Korea , Japan etc had an avergaaaverage height increase after the prosperity of their Nations dramatically changed post 2nd World War..wherby the next generation were on average over 2 to 3 inches taller... these countries produce players from the middle class and across sections...not poor kids.
Eugeneson Lyngdoh...a late bloomer...went to the top private school in Bangalore. .then Engineering in Pune beforing being coaxed into prfoessional football by Pradyum Reddy at Shillong Lajong...
Robin Singh is from an affluent background
SUNIL Chhetri isn't a rags to riches story
This bullshit notion is propagated by our Federations and the old school coaches...
I jnow of 3 kids from India...who from 3 distinct Socia Economic groups played touth football in India...and went to a D1 ( St John's ) , D2 & D3 College in US in past 5 years on Soccer scholarships.
@gaffertape Excellent insight. As far as I knew, Lyngdohs dad owns/owned Al Himar? He had everything he needed but still bloomed late.Why are Nicolai and Lee ignoring these shorter kids? Shouldn't we adopt a style that suits us rather than following some other system? Like the Mexicans who've their own style of play?
@Naujawan Eugene's dad owns Rangdajied ( formerly Ar-Hima) ...he didn't want his son to become a footballer..
Although on returning from Pune...he played in the Shilling Premier League and was spotted by the then Lajong coach who convinced him he had what it took to play at the very top...
Very interesting story in itself...including a training stint at FC Vestjaeland...playing for free at Lajong for a year.... being discarded by Bulpin... still owed money by Lajong FC ..
But that's for anither thread. .
As for Nicolai and Lee etc. No different from Bulpin/Colm/Houghton era....even Wim and co argued the same... you can't play AFC U16 and above with midgets...
Don't get me wrong....nothing wrong witha skillfull 5ft tall player....but you need some height in your team...
It's also not just height issue... these malnourished ( from childhood) kids have poor muscle structure and bone density... they are much more prone to serious muscle , ligament and common Soccer injuries...as been documented time and again.
There are so many wondernkids at U14 to U16 that we never hear of in 5 years..
Btw Brandon Fernandes is another example of non-poverty kids making it nowadays. ..
Comments
I can argue the case for the latter..especially in India...
having seen 1st hand how poor AIFF and TFA have been run and what poor results they have produced...I would much rather have a US youth or Japan type structure which clearly works and is sustainable
Players do not pay a Penny in England Academy System. England Academy System produce better players then US system.
England-Investment for future
USA- Profit for a Businessman.
I have seen people like Klinsmann, Ruid Gullit, Alexis Lalas criticise US youth Soccer system on TV there.
http://theshinguardian.com/2011/09/19/a-treatise-the-state-of-american-youth-soccer/
Saved me from pointing out those facts...
You might be "free" in Premier League Academy but to get there you need to go thru the lower system...where you have to pay for your kit...travel...etc etc.
As for good Indian players coming from lower income....get your mind out of the 70's and the typcial AIFF thinking...
SIMPLE case in point....
That Jonathan Piers kid at BFC U-19 is 6ft 1 inch tall at 17 / 18 yrs old because he is from an upper middle class background and didn't suffer from malnutrition at childhood unlike the kids from the "traditional" footballing hit beds of Bangalore like Austin Town or Gowthampuram...
whilst we will always see skillful short ( overage) talents from these footballing ghettos ....the likes of Nikolai Adam and Lee Johnson etc will rightfully ignore them .
South Korea , Japan etc had an avergaaaverage height increase after the prosperity of their Nations dramatically changed post 2nd World War..wherby the next generation were on average over 2 to 3 inches taller...
these countries produce players from the middle class and across sections...not poor kids.
Eugeneson Lyngdoh...a late bloomer...went to the top private school in Bangalore. .then Engineering in Pune beforing being coaxed into prfoessional football by Pradyum Reddy at Shillong Lajong...
Robin Singh is from an affluent background
SUNIL Chhetri isn't a rags to riches story
This bullshit notion is propagated by our Federations and the old school coaches...
I jnow of 3 kids from India...who from 3 distinct Socia Economic groups played touth football in India...and went to a D1 ( St John's ) , D2 & D3 College in US in past 5 years on Soccer scholarships.
Eugene's dad owns Rangdajied ( formerly Ar-Hima) ...he didn't want his son to become a footballer..
Although on returning from Pune...he played in the Shilling Premier League and was spotted by the then Lajong coach who convinced him he had what it took to play at the very top...
Very interesting story in itself...including a training stint at FC Vestjaeland...playing for free at Lajong for a year.... being discarded by Bulpin... still owed money by Lajong FC ..
But that's for anither thread. .
As for Nicolai and Lee etc. No different from Bulpin/Colm/Houghton era....even Wim and co argued the same... you can't play AFC U16 and above with midgets...
Don't get me wrong....nothing wrong witha skillfull 5ft tall player....but you need some height in your team...
It's also not just height issue... these malnourished ( from childhood) kids have poor muscle structure and bone density... they are much more prone to serious muscle , ligament and common Soccer injuries...as been documented time and again.
There are so many wondernkids at U14 to U16 that we never hear of in 5 years..
Btw Brandon Fernandes is another example of non-poverty kids making it nowadays. ..