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Messages - Blandy

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1
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: March 26, 2024, 02:38:31 PM »
The one year deals were signed with one year options in the club's favour from memory.

That’s true but you have to be a bit careful with one year options. When you give the first contract you’re essentially saying “We’re not 100% sure about you so we’re hedging our bets”. That’s fine for a lot of players signing their first pro deal, they’re just happy for the opportunity. But if you back that up by ‘just’ adding the second year you’re saying we’re still not 100% about you - and the player is immediately in the last year of his contract.
That’s why there’s often negotiation over a new, improved deal at that point, particularly with players who are rated and may be of interest to others.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: March 25, 2024, 03:34:17 PM »
Thanks for the info Blandy, very interesting to know (albeit Dan's edit is undoubtedly the reality).

Are there any that have particularly stood out to you? Are Fenton Heard and Layton Love part of that age group? My gut instinct says Heard will be in Villa colours by the summer.

Fenton & Layton are the year above these boys and as Hunnington points out, signed their first pro contracts last year. However, I’m led to believe they were just 1 year contracts so there will need to be negotiations regarding a new deal for them going forward.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: March 23, 2024, 06:31:26 PM »
2 Youth players have signed their first professional contracts today, Central Midfielder Ollie Bostock (17) and Centre Back Jamal Mohammed (17, soon to be 18)

Congratulations to both of them and hopefully it leads to 1st team opportunities in the future.

It’s my understanding that pro contracts have been offered to a number of the current U18 group - including Evan Humphries, Archie Kirton, Ben Cisse, Adriel Walker, Deago Nelson & Cole Deeming. That’s in addition to these two plus Harry Whitwell & Kev Mfuamba who were awarded theirs as you know a few months ago. I believe (but not 100% certain) that the two lads signed from Scotland (Mandey & Sule) were signed as pro’s anyway.

If they all accept the terms and sign I make that 12 new pro’s for next season.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Fenton Heard
« on: January 11, 2024, 09:30:35 AM »


https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/west-bromwich-albion/2024/01/10/shrewsbury-born-jonathan-bland-pens-professional-deal-with-barnsley/

Bit of a coincidence and off topic but an article today say a Bland has signed pro terms with Barnsley. Gotta be the same one!

 :)
Morning all, Happy New Year. "Blunty" here  :D

Yes, that's my lad, delighted to say the move to Barnsley has been terrific for him - although his first training session as a pro involved running round "The Lakes" which is an area in the Dearne Valley which resembles your worst school cross country course magnified by 3. Just to shake off that Christmas excess apparently  :D

Delighted to see Fent make his debut, I know he & his Dad have been a bit frustrated at being held back so long but I think that was the ideal game for him. It was also nice to see him playing in his proper position just behind the striker(s), in the last few years the Academy had seemingly moved away from having a "10" and he'd been pushed wide left to accommodate him and Akeel Higgins in the same side. For me he's the better player by a distance & he will absolutely excel if he's given space between the lines to exploit. Whether he'd get that space further up the levels is a moot point but technically he's more than equipped.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: June 14, 2023, 04:30:54 PM »
Do the pre-set compensation amounts for moving between academies end at 16?

It's a bit of a grey area but it appears so. The basic comp for someone like Jamal would be around the 200k that Rangers would have to pay, but as he's an England Age Group International it essentially makes the value rocket (for English clubs), and is then open to negotiation. I think as long as a contract is offered, the club losing the player has a right to the compensation.

That's how I understand it anyway.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: June 14, 2023, 02:03:07 PM »

The one they are worried about losing is a year under but will play 18s minimum & probably 23s - Jamal Jimoh (CM). Apparently Albion have knocked back 2m+ bids from Chelsea, Man Utd & Southampton.


Hindsight is a wonderful thing of course but the deal could have been an awful lot better. I know it's fashionable to lay the fault at the Boardroom door but I'll place it firmly in Richard Stevens' lap. He does like to play hardball with these young players & all it does is engender more resentment. He did it with Lino Sousa, effectively banning the lad from playing or training for 7 months whilst the Premier League investigated a tapping up claim against Villa. Nothing was proven (as it so often isn't) and Sousa signed for Arsenal anyway, so all that was achieved was depriving a 16 year old boy the opportunity to play football for the best part of a year.

It was a little less severe with Jamal but keeping him in the 16s when he's 21s ready was just a bit spiteful, so when it came to it, Jamal contemplated signing for Rangers, which would have been classed as "abroad" and Albion would have received something like 200k in compensation. So they took Villa's money instead.

And on the "pre contract agreement", I would imagine that was just for his scholarship, and has been in place since he was 13 or 14. He certainly won't have signed anything in the last year or so.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: May 26, 2023, 01:01:16 PM »
Congratulations to your lad and yourself Blandy, you must have been beaming.....

'Jonathan Bland has been named Academy Player of the Season for the 22/23 campaign.

Wow. That's really kind of you Dan. I didn't expect anyone to have picked up on that!

It's been an incredible year for him in all honesty - picking up on that article, they won the semi final mentioned there against Millwall, then beat Charlton in the Final on Saturday to be crowned National Champions at Cat 2 level.
It really couldn't have gone better.

He's still very much in touch with the Albion lads and actually met up with half a dozen of them in Brum yesterday as it happens.

And yes, we're incredibly proud of how he's adapted to everything after 10 years at the Albion. Living away from home in digs in a new town, new coaches, new teammates etc.
Long way to go still but yes,a great year.

Thanks again  :)

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: May 18, 2023, 12:31:58 PM »
Jimoh was still playing for the 16s a few months back but was head and shoulders above anything on the pitch.

It’s such a shame that Sousa, Cardozo and Rowe decided to leave, as they were all really elite talents that would also be on the verge of breaking into our first team had they chosen to stay.

It's my understanding that Jamal Jimoh has effectively been busted back down to the 16s as he's told Albion he's going. There's no way he wouldn't be playing at least 18s and probably 21s otherwise.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: September 28, 2022, 10:12:37 AM »
God forbid he might be good at what he does. Not ITK as I've never attended one of his training sessions but not all promotions are of the 'dead man's shoes' variety. Then again he can't be that good as the Vile don't appear to have offered him a pay rise  ;D .

He's a very good coach. And, not that it's particularly important for the role, he's also a good bloke.

I've no idea if any offers have been made for him to move (I'd be surprised if there hadn't been tbh) but with Peter Gilbert going had he not got this job I'm pretty sure he would've walked.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: August 12, 2022, 05:11:02 PM »
do we know who

Interestingly I popped on here to see if this has been mentioned. The word is Peter Gilbert is moving on...possibly to Villa 23s. Like I say, I'm not there now so can't be certain, but thats what I've heard.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: July 14, 2022, 10:25:32 AM »
Therefore you'd think recruitment is most important. I haven't seen it reported anywhere but Albion's Head of Recruitment who they got in to replace Hopcroft - Jamie Russell - I gather has left to become Academy Director at Swindon Town.

Just a quick update on this one. It appears the new Academy Head of Recruitment is Tom Brady (not that Tom Brady).
Tom was Hopcroft's assistant a few years ago, then left to work at Stoke & Villa and has most recently been working as a talent spotter for one of the big agencies.

Good appointment imho.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: June 29, 2022, 10:44:35 AM »
Thanks for the insight. I’ve reffed Jono in Albion academy games over the last few years and I’m not just saying this as a token gesture but I thought he was one of the standout players in that age group alongside the players you mentioned in a previous post.

Anyway, good luck to him at Barnsley, hope it goes well for him, I’m sure he’ll know who I am.

That's nice of you to say so, thank you. Especially seeing as I'm pretty sure, Jono being Jono, you will have had some "forthright discussions" with him during the course of his Albion career  ;D

I'll pass that on to him, thank you.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: June 22, 2022, 11:47:28 PM »

Sorry to hear your lad is leaving Blandy. Can i ask who it is or should i keep my nose out  ;D

Haha. No problem mate, you won’t have heard of him but his name’s Jonathan (or Jono) Bland. He wasn’t offered a scholarship at Albion, had a few offers and has decided to sign for Barnsley.

He’ll obviously still be in touch with most of the lads in the 18s & I’m still in touch with the Dads so if I hear anything juicy I’ll keep you posted  ;)

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: June 22, 2022, 02:09:18 PM »
Thanks for your input blandy over the last few years, really  useful and informative. Same as Smethdan, would always welcome your input in future and good luck to your lad at Barnsley (they do seem to be prepared to give youngsters a chance).

Dan - I agree we will probably put right the measures that have resulted in concerns for the FA, but even the fact we are having to be reassessed next year because of inadequacies is a concern when you factor what we have seen and heard from the academy this last 2 years. It's just another area of the club that seems on the face of it to be losing pace with other clubs.

I agree that's not all on Stevens, but this is his area of business and under his watch we have gone from a "full" pass to an improvements needed status. He can point to the recent success in the PL2 Cup which he can enjoy some credit for but I'm less inclined to praise him for other clubs wanting out players given the fact they will have been here prior to his arrival.

Cheers both. Not to be for him after 10 years at Albion but he's enjoying a new challenge and moves up there at the weekend.

You make a fair point Baggies as Jamal has been there for 7 or more years and was a shining light from the get go. In fact it's a moot point how much the Academy actually does for a lot of the players other than provide somewhere for them to train and play. Dyer, Lynch, Cardoso & Rowe were all in the same age group and were all touted as future stars at a very young age. They were the "Dream Team" at U9s. None of them are "bolters" who have vastly improved over time. Now of course they're at Villa & Chelsea.

Therefore you'd think recruitment is most important. I haven't seen it reported anywhere but Albion's Head of Recruitment who they got in to replace Hopcroft - Jamie Russell - I gather has left to become Academy Director at Swindon Town.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: June 22, 2022, 12:36:08 PM »


I had a look at his LinkedIn profile and read the following: 'I have successfully written 2 Academy Performance plans and Completed the EPPP Audit process twice with outstanding feedback'.


Perhaps he'll update it now with "twice with outstanding feedback and once somewhat less than outstanding"

I'm no fan of the man, I think he's out of his depth & has a whiff of car salesman about him but I've no doubt whatever needs to be put right will be. The issues can't be too onerous or the auditors would have just bounced them down a Cat.

My lad has now left WBA & I'm not too unhappy with that, I didn't want him spending another 2 years under the current regime (and told Richard as much at our meeting) so I won't be commenting much in the future but just to say amongst the new scholars the following should all do well:
Ben Cisse GK
Deago Nelson RB
Harry Whitwell CM
Kevin Mfuamba CM
Archie Kirton RW

The one they are worried about losing is a year under but will play 18s minimum & probably 23s - Jamal Jimoh (CM). Apparently Albion have knocked back 2m+ bids from Chelsea, Man Utd & Southampton.

All the best for the new season, I'll be logging on to Barnsley's forums from now on  :P

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: March 10, 2022, 03:53:31 PM »
I'm just curious, how many players have we lost over the last few years and to which clubs?

Some who were academy players when they were signed for Prem clubs in recent years include

Iroegbunam, Barry, Mitchell, Lynch, Azaz & Rowe to Villa. Additionally Young, Raikhy & Thorndike were released but are now pro @Villa.

Small & Quintyne to Everton

Sousa to Arsenal

Dyer & Cardoso to Chelsea

Dhanda to Liverpool

Plus Tipton & Farmer who were released and are now pro @ Wolves

There are probably more but that's off the top of my head. Two or three of those have potential to be very good players indeed.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: March 02, 2022, 10:41:42 AM »
Expect some tremors coming out of the Academy soon, it appears they are about to lose their jewel in the crown.

Leo Cardoso expected to sign for Chelsea today.

Leo is an U15, but regularly plays up in 16s/18s and has represented both England & Portugal at U16.


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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: January 12, 2022, 04:24:53 PM »
so Villa break the rules and haven’t had to pay for it? Sounds about right.

Arsenal pay the compensation as they signed him. I've no idea if Villa have been fined, or even found guilty. Either way I doubt the fine would be payable to West Brom.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: January 12, 2022, 04:20:03 PM »

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: January 12, 2022, 03:46:53 PM »
I'm as dismayed as anyone to hear of our Academy youngsters being poached, but can't say I'd heard of him or seen him getting a mention on here.

He hasn't played for 7 months, I believe his last game was the FA Youth Cup semi final. The whisper around the Academy is WBA put a complaint in to the FA that Villa had tapped him up so he has been unable to even train at any club whilst the investigation was held. I assume that complaint has been upheld or at least completed so now he's signed for Arsenal instead. Rumour is it's 1m in compensation.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Taylor Gardner-Hickman
« on: December 16, 2021, 02:04:43 PM »
I didnt think players at clubs could play for schools? (regardless of who is correct here)

Most academies (WBA included) require the boys to come out of school one day a week for a full days training. Tuesdays at WBA fyi.
In order for that to work they need to keep the schools sweet, therefore if the school want them to play - in this case in a National competition regional round, the club acquiesce. This particular competition's rules allow max 3 academy players per team.
As an aside, prior to this year Sandwell Academy didn't actually allow boys to attend school release days, oddly.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Taylor Gardner-Hickman
« on: December 16, 2021, 12:42:30 PM »
That's odd. My friend ( his relative) said TGH was in the same class as his teenage step daughter.

That is odd. He was at Thomas Telford up to Year 11 for sure. Here he is scoring in a game v Madeley Academy

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Taylor Gardner-Hickman
« on: December 16, 2021, 12:10:48 PM »
Just asked my mate who is related to him. Said doesnt know if he born there but TGH grew up in Sandwell, went Sandwell Academy etc

Not sure how closely related your mate is but TGH definitely went to Thomas Telford School.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Ferguson and Barry
« on: November 04, 2021, 09:51:42 AM »
There are at least 2 15 year olds in the Academy whose price is already twice that amount. Given this valuation for Ferguson, and the Barry fiasco, would Albion be wrong to cash in on them now?

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread
« on: October 29, 2021, 10:33:29 AM »
Mentioned on the BBC Football Gossip that Chelsea are sniffing round this 16 year old lad of ours before he signs pro forms with us. Here we go again?!!

Leo Cardoso. He's 15 actually but plays up. And I'm not exaggerating when I say EVERY big club in Europe is after him.

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