Maybe they believe the players they drafted already fit the mold. Neither Shelton nor Lewis were consensus Top 3 picks heading into the Combine.
NYCFC Academy - General Discussion
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Maybe they believe the players they drafted already fit the mold. Neither Shelton nor Lewis were consensus Top 3 picks heading into the Combine.
Maybe. But then wouldn't it stand to reason that other players not trained in the City Way tm could also fit their mold? So why not lay claim to all the players you can and then hope you get lucky in the process?
Yeah, I don't really see any reason to defend them not starting a full academy, unless you blindly agree with everything the club does or you just want to disagree with people.
Frankly, I have more respect for the latter.
Would love more transparency from the club. I think somebody in another thread already referenced the regular fan communication that Watford demonstrated on one of NBC's Premier League Download episodes. All this idle speculation is great mental exercise but futile in the end.
So why didn't we start our academy earlier?
Because CFG. Insert corporate buzzwords like holistic, synergy and grassroots
NYCFC didn't launch their academy earlier intentionally as they wanted a dynamic upstart for its youth talent development program started as the roots of the education of future players for the first team to develop core competencies from a early age.
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It's like a consulting firm vomited all over our forum.
I wasn't aware there was a cap on academy spending. If that's the case and NYCFC had a limited amount of funds they wanted to focus on the earliest levels of development, even if it meant missing out of some older players that fit their mold in the short term, I can't fault that. Sounds like a good long term strategy. However, I've never heard of such a cap. Is there one I'm not aware of?
There isn't a cap, but even if there was, if every other club is fielding every age group, then it's safe to say we would not be over the mythical cap if we fielded them too.
Mostly unrelated, to the discussion above but saw comments for HGPs starting in 2020. As seen by ATL United, a prospect like Benalcazar or Haak if they are good enough can be realistically signed in 2018. I have seen them for the US youth teams and they are both legit. In 2018, they will both be 17. Both guys ATL signed as HGP were 16 and 17. Even if they don't contribute to us for a couple years after that, it is important to get them situated in the professional setting.
I'm wary of signing homegrown players that young to our team.
1) I don't think they'll get enough minutes to grow in MLS, or at least on NYCFC.
2) We can't loan them to a USL team that we control the operations and style of play of for them to develop, unless we get a team by then.
3) Freddy Adu...
4) Maybe this is east coast bias, but I think parents want their kids to at least graduate high school and maybe explore college options even for some time before signing a professional contract.
Still, Giovanni Reyna our first homegrown will be in 2020. #Gio2020
Haak and Benalcazar might not be 2018, but they will be before Gio just because they're older. Gio is a whole year + younger. A few players older than the aforementioned ones too. Guess we will find out soon enough. It will be nice when these things become regular and not 2-3 years away.
Allow me to retort.
1. Unknown and depends on the player.
2. What? Why not? Kids all over the world are loaned for pt all the time. Some loans work, some don't. Loaning clubs usually take into account the exigencies of the loan spell and club situations.
3. Completely irrelevant, one-off apocryphal shit spun to fit whatever "sensible warning" the proffering party seeks to promote.
4. Not a factor, honestly. Academy kids don't give up their eligibility until they sign a pro contract. Having them in our academy and having the right and ability to make that happen doesn't diminish their ability to finish high school or go to college, unless and until many people of varying priorities of interest deem them ready.
So we did ourselves no favors. It's not really arguable if you're evaluating it based on reason. If one's only governed by an apologist's motive to defend the club, then the point has already been lost.
James Sands is with NYCFC for their Jacksonville preseason camp
