@Napier lots of good points and stories that deserve to be told!
@Metalleg it seems there’s a similar birth month lottery in academies.
With that squad- that’s England’s creme of the cream. Of that squad that won the WC at under 17 some are stars and some are Championship bench, league one and so on.
I’d guess football is a bit more within our culture-we’ve got a lot more relatives on the football pyramid in the UK, than in basketball in the US.
It’s kind of unfair to look at a 100 year old professional system v an amateur system. If your home country is an amateur system, any money you make from the game is above expectation.
Just did a quick google. There’s a variety of figures. Only 10% of academy products play significant amounts of football at any of the 4 levels (more than 20 games). Only 4% (or less in some studies) any tier one football.
My general point was there is simply a large number of players, so lots more of them get cut. No greater conclusion than that.
My secondary point was even from that mountain of youth talent, a very successful youth career or a youth contract at a big club doesn’t seem to make it likely that you’ll end up in a top league.
@Metalleg it seems there’s a similar birth month lottery in academies.
With that squad- that’s England’s creme of the cream. Of that squad that won the WC at under 17 some are stars and some are Championship bench, league one and so on.
I’d guess football is a bit more within our culture-we’ve got a lot more relatives on the football pyramid in the UK, than in basketball in the US.
It’s kind of unfair to look at a 100 year old professional system v an amateur system. If your home country is an amateur system, any money you make from the game is above expectation.
Just did a quick google. There’s a variety of figures. Only 10% of academy products play significant amounts of football at any of the 4 levels (more than 20 games). Only 4% (or less in some studies) any tier one football.
My general point was there is simply a large number of players, so lots more of them get cut. No greater conclusion than that.
My secondary point was even from that mountain of youth talent, a very successful youth career or a youth contract at a big club doesn’t seem to make it likely that you’ll end up in a top league.