Darlo Uncovered

Alan White alluded to the fact in his interview that Wright had done a lot of work in developing the academy at Nuneaton which should be very useful. For all MGs talent at spotting the best of proven local players, I don't think he was quite as successful at bringing young players through, if at all. I remember several years ago seeing a very young Darlington side defeat New Mills on the final game and felt quite optimistic about the future. However, I am not sure where these players are now. A club at our level needs to see young players in the pipeline if for no other reason that they may have good resale value. I accept it is very difficult with the professional academies around but I'd have thought one player would have come through from that side against New Mills.

I believe the future of this club can become a lot more sustainable if we develop not only our own young players, but also players who have been released from the big three north east clubs academies. If we can bring in more players like Nathan Thomas and Curtis Edwards and give them time to develop then we could potentially reap the rewards. I believe Josef Wheatley could be the next player to draw interest from clubs in the leagues above.

princes town wrote:Alan White alluded to the fact in his interview that Wright had done a lot of work in developing the academy at Nuneaton which should be very useful. For all MGs talent at spotting the best of proven local players, I don't think he was quite as successful at bringing young players through, if at all. I remember several years ago seeing a very young Darlington side defeat New Mills on the final game and felt quite optimistic about the future. However, I am not sure where these players are now. A club at our level needs to see young players in the pipeline if for no other reason that they may have good resale value. I accept it is very difficult with the professional academies around but I'd have thought one player would have come through from that side against New Mills.

Don't think anyone should have read anything worthwhile from that New Mills game.

They were already relegated (later reprieved) and we were guaranteed 2nd spot so it was a dead rubber. And it was at a level no better than Northern League.

Anyone getting excited about the future was getting far too ahead of themselves.

But the wider point about Gray failing to bring through young players stands. Again this was his short-term thinking in action. Why develop a young player when you can bring in the finished article immediately? That was his thought-process. The fact not one youth player came through and established themselves in the 1st team speaks volumes for Gray's short-termism.

I think it’s pragmatic to have very little hope of of us developing any fully home grown players who’ve come all the way through out youth system. The odds are just stacked against it with all potential sucked away by proper academy systems.

More likely is being able to develop a Wheatley or an Edwards who we pick up at 18 or 19 and who improves through playing competitive first team football with us.

princes town wrote:MGs talent at spotting the best of proven local players

Not sure that's something you can be talented at - spotting players who everyone already knows are the best!

Agree with what's been said here though - whether they are from our own youth system or cast-offs from other youth systems, developing players for resale should be a primary focus for a club in our situation with limited resources. Those players don't necessarily have to be kids, as has been seen with the like of Jamie Vardy who can still attract good prices at an older age.

Thomas and Edwards look like two missed opportunities to rake in a bit of cash because the manager (and fans?) were too focussed on immediate success rather than the bigger picture of developing the club.

I think Gray wants to develop Wheatley at York.

Spyman wrote:Thomas and Edwards look like two missed opportunities to rake in a bit of cash because the manager (and fans?) were too focussed on immediate success rather than the bigger picture of developing the club.

To be fair there was a period in our past where it was a case of promotion at all costs so I can see why younger players were never developed but we've now reached a stage where we're playing at a decent competetive level and can afford to bed in a youngster or two and rather than having 20 experienced players with 3/4 sat in the stand each week we have 16 with 3/4 youngsters such as Vaulks, Saunders etc who can add the extra depth and be gradually introduced

Let's face it Thomas had no desire to play at the level we were at, at the time. I'd also doubt whether someone like Wheatley would have dropped down that far either so the timing probably wasn't right for a number of reasons.

Spoke to TW in regards to Saunders and he sees the basics for a successful striker and mentioned his determination and enthusiasm. TW came to Darlington and immediately bulked up over the summer and became more of a rough and tumble sort of player whereas I think he was more lightweight at the start. Let's see what happens with Saunders under the mentoring of Tommy.

Similar to White and Vaulks let's hope.

divas wrote:

Spyman wrote:Thomas and Edwards look like two missed opportunities to rake in a bit of cash because the manager (and fans?) were too focussed on immediate success rather than the bigger picture of developing the club.

To be fair there was a period in our past where it was a case of promotion at all costs so I can see why younger players were never developed but we've now reached a stage where we're playing at a decent competetive level and can afford to bed in a youngster or two and rather than having 20 experienced players with 3/4 sat in the stand each week we have 16 with 3/4 youngsters such as Vaulks, Saunders etc who can add the extra depth and be gradually introduced

Let's face it Thomas had no desire to play at the level we were at, at the time. I'd also doubt whether someone like Wheatley would have dropped down that far either so the timing probably wasn't right for a number of reasons.

Fair point - it was important getting to this level as quickly as possible.

As Divas says I don't think Gray had time to develop players, he often tried with Thomas, Edwards, Wing etc. but Gray himself and also the fans didn't have the patience in Evo 1st North to not be winning most games.

We are in a different era now, where perhaps youth will be given more of a chance at times.

Spyman wrote: Thomas and Edwards look like two missed opportunities to rake in a bit of cash because the manager (and fans?) were too focussed on immediate success rather than the bigger picture of developing the club.

I seem to remember in the case of Edwards Gray did persevere with him a fair bit, but a section of our fans turned on him (some of our fans seem to need to have 1 player to constantly criticise - Clark Keltie being the obvious example).

Hopefully we can see a few younger players come through - our rapid progress on the pitch won't have helped. Wheatley, Saunders and Vaulks all look like they have potential. One of the problems we may face is being part time - if York for example do come knocking then I'd imagine it'd be very appealing for a young player.

Realistically its going to be very difficult to say no to a player who is given the opportunity to go full time. The important thing is to ensure we get a fair price at the time with sell on clauses so that we benefit if they are able to progress thru the full time ranks.

Our best chance is to pick up the guys released by the local big boys. Wheatley i'm convinced has a bright future.

I always thought Bruno Pilatos would come good if we stuck with him. But yeah, guys like that. Boro outcasts are an obvious place to look. They've got a very good academy, and will tend to be local.

Didn't a gangly Gary Pallister spend some formative time with us?
We deffo need another player like him and I think Vaulks has the makings of a centre back.

you may have seen Vaulks more than me but I've seen about 55 mins of him playing. A lot of people have made him the next Sean Gregan

Vaulks looks really assured, I don't understand how he isn't featuring, especially with Brown and Burgess not being fit.

al_quaker wrote: but a section of our fans turned on him (some of our fans seem to need to have 1 player to constantly criticise - Clark Keltie being the obvious example).

Caton is now the chosen target, he gets far too much criticism .

Darlo_Pete wrote:Vaulks looks really assured, I don't understand how he isn't featuring, especially with Brown and Burgess not being fit.

Vaulks looks like he has potential but from what I have seen, positional play not great but who would expect it to be at this stage. Although who knows because we haven't really seen enough, maybe if Gray had given him a run in the team, pushed Galbriath to LB and Ferguson forward we would have more points. Safe to say we haven't really done great without throwing Vaulks in, last few weeks Brown/Turnbull have gone with the lads the know/trust the most which is probably understandable.

If Brown is fit to play alongside Collins then I just don't see Vaulks getting a look in really, especially as Burgess has made the bench last couple of games.

theoriginalfatcat wrote:

al_quaker wrote: but a section of our fans turned on him (some of our fans seem to need to have 1 player to constantly criticise - Clark Keltie being the obvious example).

Caton is now the chosen target, he gets far too much criticism .

I liked Caton initially, looked good in pre-season and pretty decent against Salford opening day. I then missed a few games due to holidays, came back and he showed very little.

Some would question his heart really, decent on the ball at times but not interested much when not involved or having to defend for the team. People generally prefer the Cartman/Saunders type, work hard, keep trying even if it's not coming off.

You can forgive workrate if they have genuine quality - Gillies for example, he's got the quality to turn a game even if he's not been in it for 89 minutes. Caton is nothing more than a show pony - bizarre signing by MG not just because he signed him as a striker but not his type of player at all. Reminds me on some of the pea hearted players we had during our league days