How would loosing Burgess strengthen the front row?

Burgess needs to work on his defence but to give up on him at such a young age when he has lots of potential just smacks of stupidity.

Just some of your comments didn't sound too "welcoming"

That is an absolutely ridiculous comment.

Anyone remember 11 seasons ago signing numerous NFP players? It is just me or was that season the most successful we'd had in a long time?

Fleary, Powell & Co didn't do a bad job did they.

Thats completely not what I said.

The club identified players to bring into their scholorship scheme. They developed those precisely how they had planned, in order to get them ready for first team by a certain period.

It was not a fluke that these players were all ready at the same time, no matter what you might believe. Talented players do not dry up from the game. It is how they are developed that changes.

If Leeds or other clubs followed the same way they did before, then they can if they wish, repeat what Leeds did.

My comments on this thread query the recent effectiveness of the Academy structures in place at the club rather than saying anything about a player I know little about at this point.

I agree, and all this talk of academy systems being a "production line" is nonsense.

To take a football example, after Manchester United lost the Busby team, they had to wait around 40 years for another crop of quality youngsters (Beckham, Butt, Scholes, Neville, Giggs etc). That's one hell of a long time for a large quantity of youngsters and the current make-up of Rhinos team is comparable to the make-up of the Man Utd team in the mid-late 1990s.

If you want more trivia, Ben Foster is the first ever "Man Utd grown" player to play in goal for England. If you use the "production line" theory, surely a club of that size should have been capable of producing an England goalkeeper?

For every player in every pro sporting first team that has come through the ranks, there are many more who never made it. There is so much loss and wastage in youth sport and it's not because the coaching isn't good enough, it's because the players aren't. It's the reason why Yorkshire have never found another Fred Trueman or why Leeds United can't find another John Charles.

Haven't the service areas and/or service area rules changed since they were in the Leeds academy, which has restricted the area that Leeds and other clubs can fill their academies from.

You'll correct me I'm sure as I can write on the back of a postage stamp what I know about football but that must have been one hellova service area Leeds United used to have.

You will have to explain it to me in laymans terms because I could read that 100 times and still have no idea how all those players came through at once, if it can be done then every club in the world of sport would pour every resource they had into doing it.

Ahem - United signed Ben Foster from Stoke for £100,000 in 2005, by which time Foster had already played first team football out on loan.



But I get the point you're making.

Southend paid £100k for a keeper?

Meh, a good point ruined with unchecked facts.

I should apply for a job at the YEP.

We might see it happening more often now, due to no relegation.

Clubs were reluctant to put their faith in juniors previously, now they dont have something hanging over them. Lets see what happens.

no, these guys aren't probably going to be ready for 1st X3 action next year. But we will still have Peacock, Leulaui, Burgess & Bailey in the front row. 2011 will be the cruncher, as we'll lose Peacock & Kyle, probably together.

Peacock will be able to do kylie minutes till he is about 36 maybe longer if he wants!

That's a bit harsh wilko.
Kylie is stepping up his workrate and he did very well against the giants when we didn't have peacock and lost bailey.

I was been serious mate and not having a pop at kylie!! Peacock could do a big 40 to 50 minutes for a long time to come. The bloke is a machine!!

You see, finally, even the esteemed CEO can acknowledge the true pack situation this season.

Sorry mate mis-read yer post as having a bit of sarcasm in it!
I agree though about peacock going on for a lot longer yet as long as we don't try to squeeze 70+ minutes per game out of him.

I suspect when Kylie/Peacock leave at least one will be replaced by a big name signing.

I've said for a while that the batch of youngsters that currently form the backbone of our side (plus the ones who have left like Mathers, Calders, Ward, Scruton, Walker) formed a truly exceptional group of similar age. If we're being honest, the 'production line' of real talent hasn't been that productive for some time.

Lee Smith, Ryan Hall, Ablett and Burgess are about the only regular first teamers to have come through since 2003. You could probably add Watkins to that list and hopefully Jones-Bishop, so its not too shabby, but there tends to be abit of a holier-than-thou attitude with respect to other clubs' youth development, when over time I'd say Sts for example have been at least as good.

The fact that Leeds signed Ambler, and now Pitts and Amor says a lot about the young forwards knocking around the place IMO. I just hope that we don't end up with lots of depth and not enough quality.

You mean like Bradford. Actually they don't have the depth...

You can definitely end up with too many average players. Unless someone other than Smith is leaving we'll get maybe one more signing and that'll be it for next year.