Exeter City vs Reading - EFL Trophy - match day thread. 7pm kick off

[Grecian in Guzz]

I'm still baffled why we didn't play MacDonald. Would have been an ideal chance to have a look at him

Agreed

 

[Radio Free Skaro]

Criticising a 9-0 home loss isn't an overreaction

Arguably happy clapping it is worse

I'm fine with criticism but suggestions on here that our academy system is in trouble based on that game seems a bit OTT

 

[Benjisheps14]

+2 if that happens then bringing us to 8 players...

Correct, which basically means (bar Hartridge who will be off) pretty much our entire back line is all under contract for next season which is a great start. I'm sure GC will be working behind the scenes to try and get some others re-signed as well for next season. Some will obviously move on, but that is us as a club.
I expect we will sign a permanent #9 for next season as well Max which will hopefully calm you down a little .

In all serious though, if we are going to compete at this level I expect that we will now always need to rely on at least 3-4 loans a season. I don't see this as short term thinking but a realistic recruitment strategy that most clubs are now taking advantage of. What it also does, is allow our Academy products the time to develop and hopefully crack our first team. It will be a longer process now for some as they are now trying to break into a team at a higher level and I'm sure the club are mindful of this and have a plan for it.

I do agree with you that for our model it is essential that we continue to develop our own (and secure them on contracts) so that we have sellable assets which we rely on. The club and GC are well aware of this and while it will be more difficult moving forward it is still achievable in my opinion.

Again, last night was really poor, can't argue with that, but to hear some now say that GC's recruitment is only focused on the short term, that are Academy is now failing, that we are lucky to be where we are in the league as we've had an easy start is really over the top!! Not saying you have said these things by the way, but these are things that others have said in this thread.

At the start of the season with all the turnover in players I said that if we stay up this season it will be a great season and achievement for GC. Anything better than this at the end of the season (which obviously now I think is possible) just highlights how well GC his staff and the club are doing.

 

[tavyred]

I'm fine with criticism but suggestions on here that our academy system is in trouble based on that game seems a bit OTT

Whilst accepting that the Academy isn't in trouble per se, we might have to contemplate however that our elevated league position means that a level 3 academy will not provide us with the quality and quantity of first team players we’ve been accustomed to over the years. GC has admitted as much I understand.
Going forward as we have with Sam
Nombe we might need to make our money by developing players who haven’t been through our academy and selling them on.
That doesn’t mean however that we won’t still get the occasional nugget come through our youth system.

 

[JCWhoosh]

Guardiola having a moan that he couldn't put out a full bench last night due to an extensive injury list. Just goes to show we aren't alone with our lack of squad depth.
The players will learn a harsh lesson from that game but sure that the coaches will turn it in to a positive and try to see a better performance next time.

 

[Grecian Max]

I'm fine with criticism but suggestions on here that our academy system is in trouble based on that game seems a bit OTT

Don't think anyone is saying the academy system is in trouble?

This current crop might not be good enough, they might be - that's the part of the gamble of putting our eggs all in that particular basket. The academy itself has shown itself to be a brilliant producer of young talent but I've always been uneasy about the presumption that we'll always have another good 2/3/4 players lined up to keep us going. League 1 status is going to challenge this even further as they have to hit the ground running at a higher, tougher level.

It's not the academy I have concerns about, it's the fact that we need it to keep producing to avoid the dip we have last time when the production line dried up leaving Tisdale to set us up to essentially sell Grimes. It's a structural issue - and no, it's not all about one game. That would be mental. Hence I said some "potential red flags"... chinese whispers does the rest to posts on here.

 

[The deluder]

There’s also another window in January where the numbers signed up for the start of next season will be upped.

Would be nice to sell Hartridge in January.

 

[Positive spin]

Would be nice to sell Hartridge in January.

Why ?
City are probably not desperate for money at the moment and he is a vital part of the team.
Surely we should aim to tie him down to a new contract rather wrecking what so far has been a fantastic defence.

 

[AndyR]

I don't know if there was any commonality between the youth players who played last night and the Academy team I saw play in a PSF at Exmouth Town last season, but our young team that day lost 5-2 and looked nowhere near ready for first team action.

 

[Radio Free Skaro]

See my post 387 for the match up of ages. Reading’s young players were by and large 2 years older than City’s young players. They also play competitive under 21’s football. Our fringe players have had a couple of friendlies. Having a 32 year old reserve keeper playing somewhat skews the average. And as already pointed out City’s older outfield players have played hardly any football recently due to being injured or free agents. It was a hard watch and embarrassing but will ultimately count for nothing.

Be interested to find out the median age rather than arithmetic mean, one for the stattos out there!.