United's shadow teams

seeing as so many love to slag off everything about the united team and management thought this should have its own thread...

united are on the verge of winning back-to-back u21s league titles, making it 3 titles in 4 seasons...

the progress of our fringe players has been there for all to see in the 1st team this season with some cracking young players getting a chance and a a few of them already looking the part...

so are we really falling behind? or are we actually ahead of the game?

People keep hammering LVG saying he was forced to play youth - untrue..

MCFC's under 8's - U21's and facilities have crushed our youth set up - untrue.


The fact of the matter is, we have constantly produced, started, brought on, sold and loaned a great bunch of youth players for decades now....

We have one of the best set ups in the world as proved by the amount of teams through the years that has won trophies and competitions with youth and fringe players...

I think the idea has been that we're fine at that level and maybe U18s but we've let it slip badly in the groups under that.

If true, hopefully it's been addressed quickly enough not to be too damning. There looks plenty of talent to hold us down for a while

But the proof will always be in the first team, not media hype.

Also worth pointing out that two of our youth graduates are probs by going to win the league.

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

seeing as so many love to slag off everything about the united team and management thought this should have its own thread...

united are on the verge of winning back-to-back u21s league titles, making it 3 titles in 4 seasons...

the progress of our fringe players has been there for all to see in the 1st team this season with some cracking young players getting a chance and a a few of them already looking the part...

so are we really falling behind? or are we actually ahead of the game?

Miles behind..

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

I think the idea has been that we're fine at that level and maybe U18s but we've let it slip badly in the groups under that.

If true, hopefully it's been addressed quickly enough not to be too damning. There looks plenty of talent to hold us down for a while

But the proof will always be in the first team, not media hype.

sometimes a bottleneck occurs at the level or two below 1st team and you have to skip a year. sometimes a team loses a player or two (promoted early, disinterested or whatever) and the whole group struggles... maybe van gaal wanted a clean break... hate to say it, but it's most likely part of the process

Originally Posted by Switching Off

Also worth pointing out that two of our youth graduates are probs by going to win the league.

Hope they pay United back for their training

Well according to someone on here, four years ago we had the best crop of youngsters in Europe. I think two are still with us. So yeah, maybe we've got the best crop of youngsters in Europe...again.

Originally Posted by Switching Off

Also worth pointing out that two of our youth graduates are probs by going to win the league.

Danny Drinkz
Matty James
Ritchie de Laet
Danny Simpson

Even Jeff Schlupp was here for a bit.

Originally Posted by dragflick

Miles behind..

which level drag?

we look well short of chelsea at 18s for e.g., but they've been one of if not the best at that level for a few years now. they don't convert it though. the system has to be designed to bring players through by staged progression, surely? no good peaking at 18 or 19?

As said before, most in the game seem to think we've been lax in identifying and attracting the best young talent in the allotted area in the last 5 years or so, complacency etc. Whilst city have been busy snapping up anyone with even the merest modicum of potential.. This has led to us getting a regular shoe-ing off the @#%&!s up the road at every level up to and including U18, who managed to lose 10 on the spin this season, or something like that. However, there are mitigating factors.. Most of our players constantly playing levels above themselves due to lack of players; City always favouring the bigger and more athletic players of every age and playing games to win as opposed to playing games to I grain tactics and footballing style and so on and so forth..

Fair to say there has been an aggressive attempt to improve the youth system at City at the expense of United and on the face of it, from U18 level downwards, it appears to be working, hence United re-thinking and reshuffling.

Everyone was slagging the U18s earlier in the season... they beat the geordies 7-1 on the weekend.

Originally Posted by dunk

As said before, most in the game seem to think we've been lax in identifying and attracting the best young talent in the allotted area in the last 5 years or so, complacency etc. Whilst city have been busy snapping up anyone with even the merest modicum of potential.. This has led to us getting a regular shoe-ing off the c***s up the road at every level up to and including U18, who managed to lose 10 on the spin this season, or something like that. However, there are mitigating factors.. Most of our players constantly playing levels above themselves due to lack of players; City always favouring the bigger and more athletic players of every age and playing games to win as opposed to playing games to I grain tactics and footballing style and so on and so forth..

Fair to say there has been an aggressive attempt to improve the youth system at City at the expense of United and on the face of it, from U18 level downwards, it appears to be working, hence United re-thinking and reshuffling.

you can't present that as an inherently good thing that serves to show their superiority though and it's not about being the best at u18s anyway, unless you take that through to the 1st team, which so far mostly they do not...

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

which level drag?

we look well short of chelsea at 18s for e.g., but they've been one of if not the best at that level for a few years now. they don't convert it though. the system has to be designed to bring players through by staged progression, surely? no good peaking at 18 or 19?

Woz just being sarcy/wumming Throbbers...

We're clearly not

Originally Posted by dragflick

Woz just being sarcy/wumming Throbbers...

We're clearly not

whooshed again then

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

you can't present that as an inherently good thing that serves to show their superiority though and it's not about being the best at u18s anyway, unless you take that through to the 1st team, which so far mostly they do not...

I wasn't taking that to be a good thing, I was citing it as a mitigating factor when looking at the results against them. United always tend to prize footballing ability over who is the biggest and strongest, which is why it is sometimes misleading when we get spanked at youth levels by sides bigger and stronger than us.

Originally Posted by dunk

Danny Drinkz
Matty James
Ritchie de Laet
Danny Simpson

Even Jeff Schlupp was here for a bit.

£#%&!sake, I only remembered Simpson and Drink water

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

whooshed again then

For some reason, I keep thinking that's Marco Pierre White, in the background, in your avatar

Originally Posted by dunk

I wasn't taking that to be a good thing, I was citing it as a mitigating factor when looking at the results against them. United always tend to prize footballing ability over who is the biggest and strongest, which is why it is sometimes misleading when we get spanked at youth levels by sides bigger and stronger than us.

got ya. we agree

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

sometimes a bottleneck occurs at the level or two below 1st team and you have to skip a year. sometimes a team loses a player or two (promoted early, disinterested or whatever) and the whole group struggles... maybe van gaal wanted a clean break... hate to say it, but it's most likely part of the process

*Un*interested - surprised that even you get that one wrong