Another big name coming to the Vic in the 5th round. “The draw for the FA Youth Cup 5th Round has given #watfordfc a home tie against either Newcastle or Arsenal (who play this Tuesday at 7pm). Fifth round ties are to be played by February 11”
Another game on Utube hopefully, I watched the second half of Sheffield Wed v Leicester this evening in the same competition, no commentary provided or replays, one up for us I feel!
I know they're only being used because of the injuries but hopefully the club realise that the fans really react to the academy kids being out there on the pitch. 99% of them won't be good enough, but the ones that show promise need to be given an opportunity. You'll never know if they're going to be good enough if they have a couple of minutes from the bench in the League Cup, only to disappear while dross like Manaj, Kabasele and Okoye keep clogging up the first team squad. Hopefully Manga realises this and a pathway is created at the club where the most promising kids are given a real chance in the first team squad. People may not be bothered but I feel a whole lot better about the club this evening after seeing that from Adeyemo. I'm still Pozzo out though. Do one Gino.
Even some of the best youth set-ups have players who mostly end up in the lower reaches of pro football, but if we could just have one or two young lads coming through and making the first team regularly here that's all I ask! Overall the young lads don't seem to be pulling up any trees, but I don't see why the likes of Forde, Blake and Adeyemo can't prove to be decent for us one day
The Youth team will play Arsenal in the 5th round after they won at Newcastle 3-2. Probably put a few more on the gate potentially as it’s a local team.
Angelini has gone to Brentford B. https://www.watfordfc.com/news/official-angelini-departs Good move for him imo, but a shame to see him leave.
But they never seem to get very close to the first team as we go for 6 million fee bench warmers or older HG keepers .
Cleverly and Hoedt played for the Under 21s. They lost 2-1 to Crewe . Guess that won’t do much for the chances of those who played getting into the first team
By god Cleverly is going to weasel his way to another year sucking on the teat isn’t he? Why won’t he flush?
Harry Amass called up for the England Under 16 squad . How long till he is poached ? https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/23339355.watford-defender-amass-england-u16s-cyprus/
"The defender already had seven Under-16 caps before this tournament, starting four times and making three substitute appearances during 2022." He'll have been on radars already.
But, Adeyemo! He will definitely have a hugely successful Championship career, and definitely won't end up at Borehamwood, yessir
Absolutely. What a morally corrupt heartbreaking pointless exercise it is finding and developing these prospects with minimal compensation.
Watford don’t invest in their academy. Good luck to the lad going somewhere to gain first class footballing education.
Completely pointless exercise. More good work by Johnson and the other stooge. Clearly these boys don't see a pathway to the first team here and given that has to be only reason to stay at a club of our size over a Man Utd or City or whatever we can hardly blame them for leaving.
Really disappointing, thought Amass was developing well and looks full of potential. A shame, but if sides like Manchester United and Chelsea come calling for you and you're 16, it's a no-brainer for him. Those clubs even offer the youth some first team game time, which we never do.
Can't say I'm convinced. Does this happen as often to other clubs in (say) the top 30? Almost everyone else seems capable of bringing through genuinely talented homegrown youngsters into their first team. I get the pull of a big club but they're just the equivalent of battery hen farms, looking for quantity over quality. The odds of emerging from that at a higher level than you would be staying here have got to be pretty slim. And we should be able to compete with that by showing these lads that a true footballing education comes from playing first team football semi-regularly at a good level and a young age. I suppose none of them are thick enough to believe that'd happen here though.
Not sure what more we could have done in this case. 15-year-old featured on the bench for the first team featured for the under 23s in the youth cup.
If our coaching was so terrible then we wouldn't have players good enough to get nicked by Utd and City at 15/16 to begin with - but the lure of such clubs will still always be too big for our academy players to ignore.
Absolute nonsense - we've already put Amass on the bench of a first team game at 15! Next season currently our only senior left-back is James friggin Morris! We've been hyping him up across our site and social media as well - clearly the club knows the level of talent they had on their hands and were trying to make him to stay. He seems a very good talent, there's no way he couldn't have made the break through here. But he'll go to Utd and maybe get loaned to a Champ club in a few years time to play there instead.