The kids are all right

[Shabu]

Who's going to make the breakthrough next season?

I haven't seen too much of the yoots.

I saw Harrison Ashby play once & he looked the business - but I thought that about Sam Byram first time I saw him too.

Okoflex looked the dogs b*llocks in pre season. I'm surprised he hasn't had more of a look in.

Anyone else? Is there anyone who might just be the next Ben Johnson (asking for the next Rice is a bit much).

There's nothing I like more than an Academy kid doing well.

[mushy]

I saw Harrison Ashby play once & he looked the business - but I thought that about Sam Byram first time I saw him too.

This Sam Byram analogy should be the benchmark when assessing young players.
I have people on WhatsApp groups desperate to get youth players into the first team despite only ever seeing them in the odd cameo.
Their reasons are normally along the lines of 'They can't be any worse then (insert fans current unfavourite player here)'. Which of course is nonsense. To suggest for instance that Perkins.would do a better job then internationals like Yarmalenko is a real stretch of the imagination, even if he is ONE OF OUR OWN.
There is a good reason they're not getting picked.
Byrams worldie pass in that first home game (Man City?) was the catalyst for some wild claims about the player.
I am now convinced it must have been a complete and utter fluke.
He always seemed very surprised on the pitch if anyone passed the ball to him, it looked like he wasn't quite ready and needed another few seconds to get his body position right .
I wish him well in the Championship next season.

[BigFatSam]

Bryam was always tipped to be a top prospect, very similar to Cresswell, which is why we bought him I think. I really wanted him at the time.

Didn’t work out at all though, but I think I remember hearing Bryams form had dipped quite a bit in the year leading up to us buying him.

Still forged a very decent career but nowhere near what people predicted when he was coming through at Leeds.

[funky chicken]

Ashby and Chesters appeared to be the most favoured by Moyes. You could throw Perkins into the mix too. But he is still so young there’s less pressure for him to be ready now.

Considering the season he’s had and the fact he’ll be 21 by the end of next season Okoflex is already arguably at the ‘will he won’t he’ stage. It’s a big pre-season ahead for him. And the fact he’s already proven he is good enough at the U23 level we’re at the point now where we’ve either got to think of loaning him out for the season to play more “men’s football”, or start having on the bench for the 1st team, alongside some cup appearances here and there.

Coventry, something’s got to give now. I don’t really see the point loaning him out again. He’s either ready to be on the bench and play in the cup games, or he isn’t.

[Bond Holder 59]

Ashby and Chesters appeared to be the most favoured by Moyes. You could throw Perkins into the mix too. But he is still so young there’s less pressure for him to be ready now.

Considering the season he’s had and the fact he’ll be 21 by the end of next season Okoflex is already arguably at the ‘will he won’t he’ stage. It’s a big pre-season ahead for him. And the fact he’s already proven he is good enough at the U23 level we’re at the point now where we’ve either got to think of loaning him out for the season to play more “men’s football”, or start having on the bench for the 1st team, alongside some cup appearances here and there.

Coventry, something’s got to give now. I don’t really see the point loaning him out again. He’s either ready to be on the bench and play in the cup games, or he isn’t.

Completely agree re Coventry. Let’s find out, it can only go two ways (stays or go).

[Kermit]

Ashby and Chesters appeared to be the most favoured by Moyes. You could throw Perkins into the mix too. But he is still so young there’s less pressure for him to be ready now.

Considering the season he’s had and the fact he’ll be 21 by the end of next season Okoflex is already arguably at the ‘will he won’t he’ stage. It’s a big pre-season ahead for him. And the fact he’s already proven he is good enough at the U23 level we’re at the point now where we’ve either got to think of loaning him out for the season to play more “men’s football”, or start having on the bench for the 1st team, alongside some cup appearances here and there.

Coventry, something’s got to give now. I don’t really see the point loaning him out again. He’s either ready to be on the bench and play in the cup games, or he isn’t.

Agreed. Coventry is 22 now. Very much a make or break season for that young man next season. He should at least be ready to play "bit parts" in the PL at his age. Imo if he isn't now he's never going to be.

[BusterKnutt]

Longelo is the one I'd like to see a bit more of. Whenever I've seen him for the youth he seems to breeze past everyone on the left like it's easy for him.

I've heard that his defending can be suspect, but if that's the case I thought he might get a chance on the left of midfield like Masuaku has had as he does seem to be good at beating people

[ironilunga]

Is it worrying that this season nobody has really stood out either from the under 23’s or when on loan?

As Mark Noble approaches his final game it is worth noting that his quality was immediately evidenced when on loan at Ipswich when he was the best player in the Championship by a country mile.

Hopefully we have a few slow burners in our ranks

[LeonRivers]

Probably because their youngsters you have mentioned are a lot better than ours

Exactly this. Rio and Defoe had very successful loan spells. Our current youngsters haven't been good enough, and the ones that have been have gone straight into our first team because our first XI players aren’t as good as Chelsea’s. We’ve got some good kids coming through, and as our senior squad improves they will need loans to get their minutes.

[Cuenca 'ammer]

I've seen quite a few of the u-23's games on the Youtube or whatever it is channel and though they're 2nd in the league (?) I haven't been overall impressed with any of them actually sticking out in what also look to be a pretty poor league overall. they're a couple of good teams but the overall quality isn't there competition wise and I can see why we send a few of them out on loan.

tough to say that such and such is going to or not going to make it but honestly no one really stands out as a 100% sure fire certainty.

they look good from time to time against no real opponent and I can see why Moyes has been reluctant to chuck them in. not as if in too many games we're 4 or 5 goals to the good and they could get some minutes.

he doesn't even trust Vlasic who is a Croatian international so I can see why the kids ain't getting much time.

[D C]

I’m not saying that any of ours are good enough or not but I think loans are completely pointless for us nowadays unless you’re putting them in the shop window for some League 1 club

Most Championship clubs are now rich enough to not have to rely on loans and be selective in only taking the very best young players available from clubs like Chelsea, Man U, City etc etc so ours end up in League 1 or 2 where it’s just a different world and does very little for their development IMO

[Cuenca 'ammer]

not always sure that we send them to the right clubs to be honest. I know you have no idea where a team is going to be pre season, but it seems that when our kids go, most of them anyway, they don't play that much or they play for a team and are in and out. or only get in when the player ahead of them is injured.

those leagues seem to be, (and I don't know not having watched them) a bit more physical type of football where it seems our players tend to be a bit technical and can't find a place in the cut and thrust of a League 1/2 or Fizzy Pop situation.

either that or we don't do a good job vetting the coaches and see if they're a good fit either way.

and of course it's more than likely that they're just not quite good enough to make it.

[hammerman11]

Sadly I think they are just nit good enough.
Coventry is the most likely to stick around the first team squad as he had a good ore season last time but was still loaned out. At 22 it's make or break for him at west ham.
Asby might be the next. The rest don't look much !

[BigFatSam]

The issue many of our fans have is that we still want to be the Academy of Football, but we’re not. Our youth team set up is inferior to a lot of teams, bigger clubs can now take local kids who would have played for us and move them to Manchester aged 14 etc.

I remember the crop of youngsters around 8-10 years ago, Elliot Lee, Blair Turgot, Moncur etc, people really wanted them in the team, but they were nowhere near good enough and their careers have shown that

[Bubbles Fortuna]

Our academy is consistently producing talent good enough for League 1 and the Championship, and that's something to be proud of.

We're not quite nailing down getting money for them, we tend to let their contracts expire and then they go for free.

[e20too]

Our academy is consistently producing talent good enough for League 1 and the Championship, and that's something to be proud of.

We're not quite nailing down getting money for them, we tend to let their contracts expire and then they go for free.

Our academy has never quite been as good as we all like to make out a few wondrous years tend to stick in the memory. But in reality we have always tended to lose out on the best of the talent in our catchment area who tend to go to more ‘fashionable’ clubs unfortunately. When we have produced top notch players almost all of them have come from elsewhere in London or further afield who have crept under the radar of others. Even a local like Defoe slipped through our net and we had to buy him. Still a lot to do to improve the Academy to a competitive level even though recent form will raise our consciousness in youngsters and their parents minds.

[Kermit]

Back in the day our Under 18 teams always seemed to do very well in the F A Youth Cup, winning it on occasions, the last time being in 1990 I think. However in more recent years our record in that competition has been pretty dire. In fact not too many years ago I seem to remember we were knocked out by Accrington Stanley.

This would suggest we are no longer able to attract the best young talent available and if we are missing out on that talent it is clearly going to have a knock on effect with fewer academy old boys making the grade. In fairness to the academy coaches I can't recall us making too many mistakes and releasing players who have come back to haunt us.

I go back a few years and the only player I can recall us letting go who has gone on to have a career at the top level of the game is Ray Houghton who, if memory serves, played 30 minutes for us as a sub at Highbury under John Lyall which was his only first team appearance. Richard Garcia, who was a team mate of Joe Cole and Michael Carrick in that 1990 side I think made a few appearances for Hull when they were in the top division but I can't think of too many others. I remember watching that final and thinking that Adam Newton was someone who had a great future but apart from making one appearance, at Coventry, for us he fell right off the radar and ended up in the lower leagues.

I know there are some on here who follow the academy teams much more than I so no doubt they will put me right if I've missed anyone but , for me, it suggests we simply aren't attracting the cream of the talent that we used to be able to. As far as the South of the country is concerned it seems that Chelsea and Arsenal are the "go to" places that have the reputation for player development that we used to enjoy back in the day.

[Diogenes]

Sadly I think they are just nit good enough.
Coventry is the most likely to stick around the first team squad as he had a good ore season last time but was still loaned out. At 22 it's make or break for him at west ham.
Asby might be the next. The rest don't look much !

Both the U23's and U18's finished runners up in their respective leagues against some serious opposition. The problem is though, the general standard is Championship at best and the jump to Premier League football is enormous. Also getting the chance and consistent opportunity to learn and grow in the first team is very limited for all clubs. Often a loan is the only way to mature against tougher opposition and get that regular game time. Despite others view, I believe that Coventry has found his level. As for others in the U23's (of which I have watched regularly this year) the ones to keep an eye on are Longelo, Alese, Ekwah and Okoflex. Perkins and Baptiste are still only 18.

[Kermit]

I know there are people who come on this forum who go and watch the Under 23s and I was wondering what general standard they feel the Under 23 league is. I admit to seeing the kids very rarely but my feeling is round about low League Two or National League level.

[1895Hammer]

Don’t think we have too many who will be Premier regulars, but we have to do better here when they move on. There are several who could have decent Championship or League 1 careers and West Ham should be selling those off at £1-2m each, do that for 3 or 4 of them ( Alese, Longello etc) and you’ve paid the Bosman signing bonus and a years wages for a Lingard, or given yourself the extra few £m that might be needed to get Bassey if competitive bidding pushes his fee from £20 to £25m. Okoflex is 21, Moyes hasn’t played him, is he a sweetener for Hull in a Lewis-Potter deal?
We just seem to let these guys drift off, as with Scully at Lincoln, Afolyan at Bolton, a few at Luton. It’s missed opportunity and something the club needs to get far more professional about. Not saying we need to go to Chelsea levels which needs big initial investment, but let’s at least get some value.