La Liga 2024/25: El Clásico

[Rojofiam]

Fans on here always think our youngsters need a loan before coming in to the first team even when they see Yamal etc thriving and even closer to home Mainoo, Garnacho. If you're good enough, you're oldenough.

You are assuming that Carrington is capable of nurturing players to be ready for the elite level by 16, 17, 18 years of age with the same frequency as La Masia. Sadly, that's almost certainly not the case despite United undoubtedly having a very good academy. The only top level players we've produced in the last decade are Rashford, Greenwood and Mainoo. You can make a case for McTominay, Elanga, Gomes, and a few others, as good players who can make it to the top level, or had a good career in the PL or another top 5 league, but a lot of them needed to leave United in order to aid their development. I don't want to count the likes of Garnacho, because buying the best 16 year olds and letting them stay for 2-3 years in your U18s/U21s, and then integrate them into the first team or sell them for good money, isn't what makes your academy great IMO. Chelsea and City do exactly this, horde the best 16 year olds, and pretend they have the best academies in England. Especially City. At least Chelsea did have a good number of "real" academy graduates become top players.

With Barcelona, just at this moment, they have Yamal, Bernal, Gavi, Balde, Cubarsí, Fort, Casadó, López and Fati, all playing for the first team, who have been at Barca all their lives or joined them at a much younger age than 16. And who knows how many more there are in the youth ranks, that are ready to make the step up to first team level.

I do think it can be improved in the long-term, and United currently have an incredibly strong youth core in the U18s and U21s coming up, several of whom with a real chance of making it at United or having a good career in a top 5 European League, but at the same time, we have to admit that La Masia is way better than Carrington, and has been for a long time now. I haven't even mentioned the greatest club side of all time, and how their core was mostly made up by La Masia graduates.

 

[devilsadvoca8]

You are assuming that Carrington is capable of nurturing players to be ready for the elite level by 16, 17, 18 years of age with the same frequency as La Masia. Sadly, that's almost certainly not the case despite United undoubtedly having a very good academy. The only top level players we've produced in the last decade are Rashford, Greenwood and Mainoo. You can make a case for McTominay, Elanga, Gomes, and a few others, as good players who can make it to the top level, or had a good career in the PL or another top 5 league, but a lot of them needed to leave United in order to aid their development. I don't want to count the likes of Garnacho, because buying the best 16 year olds and letting them stay for 2-3 years in your U18s/U21s, and then integrate them into the first team or sell them for good money, isn't what makes your academy great IMO. Chelsea and City do exactly this, horde the best 16 year olds, and pretend they have the best academies in England. Especially City. At least Chelsea did have a good number of "real" academy graduates become top players.

With Barcelona, just at this moment, they have Yamal, Bernal, Gavi, Balde, Cubarsí, Fort, Casadó, López and Fati, all playing for the first team, who have been at Barca all their lives or joined them at a much younger age than 16. And who knows how many more there are in the youth ranks, that are ready to make the step up to first team level.

I do think it can be improved in the long-term, and United currently have an incredibly strong youth core in the U18s and U21s coming up, several of whom with a real chance of making it at United or having a good career in a top 5 European League, but at the same time, we have to admit that La Masia is way better than Carrington, and has been for a long time now. I haven't even mentioned the greatest club side of all time, and how their core was mostly made up by La Masia graduates.

It's not a La Masia v Carrington issue it's more of who is willing to blood the youngsters in and throw them into the fire quicker. We have the best U-18s in the land and it's not close, stats and trophies show this too. At Barca Mantato and Amass would be getting chances like Balde and Yamal. You as a fan may think they aren't good enough but at Barca they would. This isn't a new thing, they've given Batra, Sergi Roberto, etc chances and they weren't world beaters but decent so you won't always get a Yamal but they will give you a chance. If they loan Yamal and Curbasi out to Girona or Getafe they may not play or struggle and then come back to be stuck at Barca B and trajectory goes off. It has happened before and you'll never truly know if they are good enough.

Barca will give you that chance, Madrid for example won't. They have a good youth team and have had but don't have a clear pathway, Carvajal had to be loaned and then sold and brought back, Fran Garcia too. In years past, Raul De Tomas, Soldado, Negredo etc, Nico Paz now at Como is an example of one they've let go without giving a shot. Would you get a Bernal, Casado, Curbasi, Gavi or Fermin at Real? No. Here look at Chelsea, a lot of fans rave about Cobham and the facilities and the way Chelsea run their youth setup but to what avail? To garnish FFP through sales? None of these talents make the team. At Barca a lot of those Chelsea starlets would have gotten chances. It's the ethos of the club, La Masia is a factory for the first team and it shows and that's what academies should always be. You can say all you want about Carrington but we have the talent from the U-9s to the U-18s to match any teams in the world.

 

[RG77]

Prediction of getting rekt against them and Liverpool…1/2

Annoyingly we made the same mistakes Bayern made. Incredibly wasteful in the first half. Another day we lead 2-0 into HT…alas.

This season increasingly looking like a waste. No fixes in sight.