Youth Team result!

Arsenal Reserves lost 10-1 to Villa Reserves last season.

I wouldnt read too much into it – although the dark side obviously will.

I am now convinced you will moan about anything for the sake of it. Work is more entertaining than you.

Little diferent reserve teams – one could contain just kids the other practically a first team – didnt arsenals reserves play liverpool of the park at anfield a couple of years ago and stuff us (bruce’s side) in the league cup as well.

The youth teams are just that, and should be pretty much of the same standard, and according to whelan martinez has a brief to improve and build on the great things done so far, including the building of a new training complex and centre of excellence. the lightside have always always said its about more than martinez’s results, its about building for the this future, this result shows that in nearly 3 years since its inception we have reached the dizzy heights of our worst ever league result.[/quote]
Don’t give me that shite! The Youth Team is something totally different to the Development Squad. The Development Squad are young, but the youth team are school kids.

The first development is that we actually now have a Youth Team set up.

The second one is that there are four local lads in the squad.

They’ve had a mixed season, but won the last round of the cup four-nil. This is a freak result.

But if you would like to use it as another stick to beat Martinez with – then go ahead.

Despite being a paid up member with the hat, scarf, t-shirt & pin badges I’ve tried to avoid Darkside posts this season as I figured after the way last season turned around Bobby deserved some slack but as much as I’m trying to fight it the urge to post on this has overwhelmed me!!!

Sorry lightside but the rather weedy attempts to brush this under the carpet don’t really wash here (IMO of course). One of the other posters is right 1 stick that the lightside have constantly used to beat down darksiders is that Bobby’s “3 yr plan” isn’t just focusing on the first team but the whole club & highlight the improvement in the reserve & youth teams.
Well this season, the reserves have won 2 from 13 & to be frank on the 1 occasion I was unlucky enough to see them they were dire.
The youth team, as much as 9-1 might be considerd a “freak result” by some have so far this season lost to Port Vale, Shrewsbury (twice), Stockport, Walsall, Scunthorpe (in a cup competition), Tranmere, Blackpool & Notts Forest and have won just 3 of 14. All clubs have to compete with the “big boys” hoovering up the talent so that excuse doesn’t really wash especially when they concede 6 goals against a Stockport club who don’t even have access to the football league funding any more.

The fact is that after almost 3 years of Bobby being at the club there’s a core of poor quality that runs through the club from top to bottom.
Now I expect to read “it takes time to establish new youth, reserve & scouting set ups” but in the words of Bobby himself, he had a 3 yr plan to get this set up – that time is nearly up & by any stretch of the imagination so far it doesn’t look like he’s close to achieving the targets he himself has set

Is anyone surprised – you only have to ask yourself

‘Why did Dave Watson jump ship’

Tydesley, I take it that the ‘some people’ you refer to in your post is me, therefore I’ll respond.

Please can you provide me the link to Martinez’s three year plan and what ‘in the words of Bobby himself’ he actually said. I’m sure there wasn’t anything about Youth and Development Squads winning trophies or even most of their games.

The Development Squad, is as the name suggests, a squad of developing player. It used to be a team to keep people like Koumas, De Ridder and Bouaouzan fit. For the past few seasons however, it’s been used as the next step up from the Youth Team, hence why it’s made up in the most part with lads in their teens or early twenties. The odd first teamer gets a game when coming back from injury, but other than that, it’s a bunch of kids.

The object of the Development Squad is not to win games, it’s to develop players (it’s why the name was changed from Reserve to Development, and hence why the players are actively encouraged to go out on loan to get first team football). Yes, they play competitive matches – often against teams made up of players who are in first team consideration at other clubs, and I’m sure they’d love to win every game, but the most important role of the Development Squad is to turn decent kids into promising adults who can challenge for a first team place. It’s not going to churn out a full squad of players ready for first team action, but even if it finds the odd one or two, then it’s working.

In the past, kids who played for the Wigan Youth Team were merely released as they were often not good enough to make it into the Reserve Team, and other than that, there was nothing else in place to continue their development. A lot of these kids who were released were from Wigan, who then just disappeared into obscurity.

There are now four Wigan lads in the Youth Team, with two of them about to make the step up, and one lad called Steven Boothman who’s already in the Development Squad.

So if you want to look at results, then no, it’s not going so great this season. But if you want to look at the development of young players, and especially young local players, then yes it is going great.

On the subject of results, I notice you haven’t mentioned last season’s figures for the Development Squad: Played 20, Won 9, Drawn 4, Lost 7. They beat Arsenal, Man City, Everton, Blackburn, Wolves, Newcastle, Bolton, Aston Villa and Blackpool

Incidentally, development is also a club directive – it’s not just something ‘the lightside’ have conjured up to paper over the first team’s performance.

Standish – I wasn’t paying particular attention to who said it so it wasn’t a personal dig at you

Bobby’s 3 yr plan was mentioned only this week on the BBC website, by Bobby himself. True there is no mention of the development squad or youth set up in the article but he infers a plan for the club as a whole as opposed to specifically the first team.
The Guardian also carried an article on line back in November which involved an interview with Latics chief executive. In it he talks of the need for stability in the manager’s position & repaying Bobby for turning down Villa in the summer with “patience & loyalty”. He also stresses that “we are developing the club throughout” – presumably (on the playing side) to Bobby’s blue print.

I’m not specifically referring to yourself here as I’ve no idea whether you have mentioned it but the pro-Bobby lobby certainly use “he’s developing the club not just the first team” regularly as a reason for backing him. On all fronts this season it is looking woeful

You mention that “if you want to look at results, then no, it’s not going so great this season. But if you want to look at the development of young players, and especially young local players, then yes it is going great” – sorry but I don’t see any evidence to back up the claim that it’s going great this season. If you set the yardstick of “great” at some Wigan lads in the youth set up then it’s one hell of a low yardstick.
Is the development squad turning players into ones who can challenge for a first team place? – Callum McManaman at present & as far as I’m aware he was on the books before Bobby arrived

Sorry, and I don’t doubt the sincerity of what you say, but it doesn’t wash with me at present. Again not referring to you specifically but it seems that after 2 & a half years of claiming what a great job Bobby was doing for the club as a whole 2 dismal seasons for the levels of the club below 1st team are now dismissed as not really mattering. The pro-Bobby camp can’t have it both ways.
The first team has got worse, as it appears has the development squad, as it appears the youth team has

For the life of me, apart from reducing Latics wage bill, I can’t see what Bobby’s plan is