U23s & Academy

[jack j]

11 minutes ago, madras said:

A couple of years below me at school but we played a bit on The Gala field. Nice lad, no Billy big bollocks about him.

 

Lee Ludlow was the best footballer I seen Grace the gala fields

[Monters]

10 minutes ago, jack j said:

 

Lee Ludlow was the best footballer I seen Grace the gala fields

Crikey another blast from the past!

[Mike]

1 hour ago, joeyt said:

 

In what other profession do you get people buying 15 year olds and giving huge financial packages to the parents of these children?

 

Politics.

[madras]

20 minutes ago, jack j said:

 

Lee Ludlow was the best footballer I seen Grace the gala fields

Unknown to me. Below my age group I guess.

[Disco]

1 hour ago, joeyt said:

 

In what other profession do you get people buying 15 year olds and giving huge financial packages to the parents of these children?

[madras]

Just now, Disco said:

Beat me to it.

 

[SteV]

6 hours ago, SteV said:

This is quite interesting because my cousin, lives next door to a family who’s son also came through the academy ranks at Barnsley as CB and has just recently left to join Ipswich.

 

My cousin was talking to his dad, and apparently we also made an him an offer, along with West Ham, but he chose Ipswich, partly due to a potentially quicker route to the first team, and also because (surprisingly) Ipswich offered the best financial package.

[Checko]

SteV ITK on teenage boys from Barnsley confirmed.

[Nucasol]

8 minutes ago, Checko said:

SteV ITK on teenage boys from Barnsley confirmed.

[Pablo123]

11 minutes ago, Checko said:

SteV ITK on teenage boys from Barnsley confirmed.

Really worrying. I'm ringing the police on my house phone.

 

[SteV]

36 minutes ago, Checko said:

SteV ITK on teenage boys from Barnsley confirmed.

[Checko]

 

2 minutes ago, SteV said:

 

Fair enough. Acquitted.

[Disco]

46 minutes ago, Checko said:

SteV ITK on teenage boys from Barnsley confirmed.

 

 

[Checko]

1 minute ago, Disco said:

 

 

 

You accusing @SteV of taking boys from Barnsley and attaching them to kestrels for his own personal gain?

[Unbelievable]

8 hours ago, joeyt said:

 

In what other profession do you get people buying 15 year olds and giving huge financial packages to the parents of these children?

In most other sports the parents of talented 15 year olds arrange their lives around their child’s  talent, often at their own expense. That is their choice. Football is no different. It’s not like child labour in Cambodia ffs.

[joeyt]

Just now, Unbelievable said:

In most other sports the parents of talented 15 year olds arrange their lives around their child’s  talent, often at their own expense. That is their choice. Football is no different. It’s not like child labour in Cambodia ffs.

 

Dropping £350k on a child to move to another part of the country feels pretty wrong to me

[Unbelievable]

Just now, joeyt said:

 

Dropping £350k on a child to move to another part of the country feels pretty wrong to me

Because of the money involved?

[joeyt]

Just now, Unbelievable said:

Because of the money involved?

 

I think buying a child is pretty wrong in general but also them having to move to a different place and the impact it has on him moving away from friends, education, family is pretty large based on which club can offer you and your family the best financial package.

 

We don't allow 15 year olds to do many things in this country that an adult can do why should clubs be allowed to put pressure on them with large sums of money at that age

 

 

[Unbelievable]

I get your point to a degree, but let’s say you have a kid who’s a world class violin player, or tennis player, or golf player or whatever, in his age group and he or she gets invited to let’s say London or Miami or Melbourne or wherever to be trained by the best coaches in the world, I’m sure you would consider it? I know I would. The fact is that many people who are the best at whatever they do in their early twenties have made personal sacrifices in their youth, and most often their parents have too. Not many people have world class facilities on their doorstep to help world class talent come to fruition. I frankly don’t see much wrong if the child and the parents are on board with moving for the sake of the child’s career. The way you go on is like it’s some form of child labour or something, while it’s nothing of the sort.

 

 

Edited October 18, 2025 by Unbelievable

[Rod]

32 minutes ago, Unbelievable said:

I get your point to a degree, but let’s say you have a kid who’s a world class violin player, or tennis player, or golf player or whatever, in his age group and he or she gets invited to let’s say London or Miami or Melbourne or wherever to be trained by the best coaches in the world, I’m sure you would consider it? I know I would. The fact is that many people who are the best at whatever they do in theit early twenties have made personal sacrifices in their youth, and most often their parents have too. Not many people have world class facilities on their doorstep to help world class talent come to fruition. I frankly don’t see much wrong if the child and the parents are on board with moving for the sake of the child’s careet. The way you go on is like it’s some form of child labour or something, while it’s nothing of the sort.

Well said.

[Matt]

6 hours ago, Unbelievable said:

I get your point to a degree, but let’s say you have a kid who’s a world class violin player, or tennis player, or golf player or whatever, in his age group and he or she gets invited to let’s say London or Miami or Melbourne or wherever to be trained by the best coaches in the world, I’m sure you would consider it? I know I would. The fact is that many people who are the best at whatever they do in theit early twenties have made personal sacrifices in their youth, and most often their parents have too. Not many people have world class facilities on their doorstep to help world class talent come to fruition. I frankly don’t see much wrong if the child and the parents are on board with moving for the sake of the child’s career. The way you go on is like it’s some form of child labour or something, while it’s nothing of the sort.

 

 

 

 

Or even that often their parents will have to move to work and the kids will go through the same thing regardless. Just remember when they opened the Siemens plant at Silverlink and closed down 18 months later. 

[joeyt]

I think it's different if your parents move for a job rather than spending money on a child and forcing them into a decision

 

I might be in the minority but it just doesn't sit right with me

[Optimistic Nut]

Beat academic students end up at the best universities most of the time. Best young footballers will end up at the best clubs. Only difference is there's more money involved in football. 

[joeyt]

8 minutes ago, Optimistic Nut said:

Beat academic students end up at the best universities most of the time. Best young footballers will end up at the best clubs. Only difference is there's more money involved in football. 

 

They're not going to uni at the age of 14 or 15 though, that's a pretty big difference

[Ikon]

11 hours ago, Unbelievable said:

I get your point to a degree, but let’s say you have a kid who’s a world class violin player, or tennis player, or golf player or whatever, in his age group and he or she gets invited to let’s say London or Miami or Melbourne or wherever to be trained by the best coaches in the world, I’m sure you would consider it? I know I would. The fact is that many people who are the best at whatever they do in theit early twenties have made personal sacrifices in their youth, and most often their parents have too. Not many people have world class facilities on their doorstep to help world class talent come to fruition. I frankly don’t see much wrong if the child and the parents are on board with moving for the sake of the child’s career. The way you go on is like it’s some form of child labour or something, while it’s nothing of the sort.

 

 

 

 

Exactly how it is and how I feel about it. It's not exactly slavery.