Arsenal under 18s: the end of season report

8 Replies to “Arsenal under 18s: the end of season report”

1. Somewhere in a previous thread, I have posted the heights of all the goalkeepers (U18 U20, …). I don’t think I ran across any U17 or U15 data, but it wouldn’t be reliable anyway. I think out of all the “adult” goalkeepers, Ospina is the shortest at 6′ even (I believe).

2. Thanks for trying to keep us up to date with the Ladies and Youth programs Andrew.

   It would be nice to see more success with the youth teams.

3. As has been mentioned before when discussing our youth programmes, the ultimate measure of their success lies in their ability to prepare the players for first team success. Developing a winning attitude along with technique is more important than winning per se but I would not be the first or only one to raise his eyebrows at the results we have been gaining recently. I can only presume that the metrics used by the club to measure the success of the programme have taken this into account.

4. Thanks for the update. All gone a bit strange at youth level, especially for a club that has a proud record of youth development.Brady no longer there, rumours of some youth coaches falling out in recent years. Have heard…and stand to be corrected, that there have been changes put in place in the way the youngsters are instructed to play.
   But it seems there must be some issues, I would expect some changes in coaching and scouting, unless this is just a time of transition?

5. Worrying that the defence seems to be an issue….where .have Iheard that one before at Arsenal? Sorry, sounding like AAA, but I trust the club to do whatever it takes to sort this, the youth system is too important to this club not to act.

6. Thanks Andrew for these timely updates . Its much appreciated .
   Some youth players take time to develop , so not too worried with their present progress .
   Our system has always thrown up stars ,ever since I started following Arsenal and Charlie George was the toast of Highbury . I remember reading then that his progress from youth to first team cost the club 75,000 Pounds.
   Another useful ‘fact’ dusted out of from the dark cobwebs of my mind !

7. From a distance, two main tenets of our approach seem to be : fast track and, should the conclusion have been reached a player won’t make it at Arsenal, let them move on as soon as possible.

   The first rule is about keeping the ultimate goal- players for the first team- as the clear priority; the second is about basic decency, and keeping that main goal in mind.

   Consistently apply the two, and results at youth level will be far worse than they could otherwise be.

   Thanks to pushing players up ,and out of comfort zones, not only should management now have a better idea about how far each player can go, most of the players should be ahead of where they would be.

   The only question for me is how far you should go with this policy : if you go too far, with almost every game is a struggle, and there are some very heavy defeats (as was the case with u18s) couldn’t that tip over into something which damages confidence and stunts development? It felt, from a distance, that that was the case at times.

   However, you have to fall back on trust. The club must have a pretty good idea about the wider principles of ‘deep end’ selections, as well as an understanding of the individuals involved which outsiders couldn’t possibly have.

   On the highlights, you’ll often see us concede goals after being dispossessed in our own half or playing a bad pass from defence. The following week you’ll see them playing the same way. Good.

   If you’re going to play for Arsenal, you have to be able to pass the ball from the back. Learning when it’s right to play safe/ hit it long is, by comparison, far easier. In fact, it’s something you learn through your mistakes in the course of playing possession football. The reverse doesn’t apply : if you are playing it safe/ hitting it long, you don’t learn much at all about possession football, and you certainly won’t be equipped for first team football with Arsenal

8. This is one of the reasons why i mentioned Arsenal changing it’s policy. I am worried that Arsenal will now start to “compete” with the oilers and such, but then i realised that is silly, we do not have the resources to do that.

   So what does this “neglect” of the Academy mean for Arsenal? I do not know, but i hope that it is rectified fast, else we will have no option but to buy from those others around us who produce youth. But hey, we do that already don’t we?

   Still it is a little worrying.