| Next season to be the first season... 00:33 - Jun 2 with 1756 views | ITFC_Essex |
In a very long time, if not ever, for Ipswich not to feature any youth products in the league? I am trying to think back to when we last didn't have at least one product in the side but I can't see Humphreys or Barbrook getting any gametime in the league next season.
This season it was just Humphreys to feature in the league I think. So does anyone know if there ever was a season when not one academy product plays a league game for us?
Because I can't think of any in my lifetime, even during the bad seasons. [Post edited 2 Jun 8:26]
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| Next season to be the first season... on 00:55 - Jun 2 with 1671 views | armchaircritic59 |
The penalty we've paid for taking our eyes off the ball for decades re the academy. Things are now in the early stages of being put right. It will take time. |  | | |
| Next season to be the first season... on 08:17 - Jun 2 with 1318 views | lurcher |
Home grown now means a player that came through any english academy. But yes nobody from our youth setup and that is just a consequence of the Evans era decline. I expect it will change over the coming years. |  | | |
| Next season to be the first season... on 08:23 - Jun 2 with 1275 views | Churchman |
Evans hollowed the club out and the academy was left a mess. Cat 1 for other clubs and the ability to pillage your best by them didn’t help along with handing over our patch to Norwich. Community stuff in the bin. Scouting? In the bin. It’s hardly a surprise we don’t produce our own players.
However, it is to many peoples’ enormous credit, from the owners to the people doing the work, that the building blocks have been and are being put in place as this is one of the most important aspects of the regeneration of ITFC. |  | | |
| Next season to be the first season... on 08:25 - Jun 2 with 1265 views | ITFC_Essex |
| Next season to be the first season... on 00:55 - Jun 2 by armchaircritic59 |
The penalty we've paid for taking our eyes off the ball for decades re the academy. Things are now in the early stages of being put right. It will take time. |
I would be interested to know if there ever was a league season (or seasons), before 2026/27 where not a single player who came through the youth set up/reserves and was developed/picked first pre youth team days, by the club.
I wasn't posting this to have a dig at the current administration, or even the previous, more out of interest of whether or not it's happened before. | |
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| Next season to be the first season... on 08:38 - Jun 2 with 1205 views | itfcjoe |
Across all competitions, appearances by academy players over last 10 seasons
2016/17 - 50 starts (25 subs)
2017/18 - 56 (39)
2018/19 - 74 (37)
2019/20 - 117 (28)
2020/21 - 176 (51)
2021/22 - 63 (8)
2022/23 - 67 (20)
2023/24 - 48 (10)
2024/25 - 15 (3)
2025/26 - 4 (4)
The ones this season were
Starts
Bromley (a) League Cup - Humphreys, Woolfenden and Barbrook started
Wrexham (a) FA Cup - Baggott started
Subs
Birmingham (a) League - Humphreys
Southampton (h) League - Humphreys
Coventry (a) League - Humphreys
Blackpool (h) FA Cup - Baggott
So just 12 minutes in the league for academy players this season.... |  |
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| Next season to be the first season... on 08:51 - Jun 2 with 1138 views | BseaBlue |
| Next season to be the first season... on 08:38 - Jun 2 by itfcjoe |
Across all competitions, appearances by academy players over last 10 seasons
2016/17 - 50 starts (25 subs)
2017/18 - 56 (39)
2018/19 - 74 (37)
2019/20 - 117 (28)
2020/21 - 176 (51)
2021/22 - 63 (8)
2022/23 - 67 (20)
2023/24 - 48 (10)
2024/25 - 15 (3)
2025/26 - 4 (4)
The ones this season were
Starts
Bromley (a) League Cup - Humphreys, Woolfenden and Barbrook started
Wrexham (a) FA Cup - Baggott started
Subs
Birmingham (a) League - Humphreys
Southampton (h) League - Humphreys
Coventry (a) League - Humphreys
Blackpool (h) FA Cup - Baggott
So just 12 minutes in the league for academy players this season.... |
Can only imagine that the years with lack of funding, lack of interest and being behind in category levels has caught up with us. Hopefully now we are CAT1 we will start to see that change in the future, but I was told a few years ago that we were 5 to 10 years behind some other academies. |  | | |
| Next season to be the first season... on 09:04 - Jun 2 with 1102 views | itfcjoe |
| Next season to be the first season... on 08:51 - Jun 2 by BseaBlue |
Can only imagine that the years with lack of funding, lack of interest and being behind in category levels has caught up with us. Hopefully now we are CAT1 we will start to see that change in the future, but I was told a few years ago that we were 5 to 10 years behind some other academies. |
I think the biggest issue for bringing players through is just how much the club has progressed
In any normal period, going from a big L1 club to a mid range Champ club over a few seasons would have seen the likes of Humphreys, Baggott, and others be good enough to be regular parts of the squad
The academy under Evans produced some fine players - one year group alone had Luke Woolfenden, Flynn Downes, Tristan Nydam, Ben Morris, Nick Hayes, Ben Folami, Corrie Ndaba who are all still playing professionally and doing very well.
The production line was drying up, but there are a lot of factors to that - Brexit is the main one where clubs can only sign British players pre 18, this means the talent pool has got so much smaller as previously had access to whole of Europe.....so where do the biggest clubs look for talent? Domestically as is their only option.
Matt Bloomfield's nephew Teddie went to Aston Villa and has just won the league and youth cup, we've just lost a boy from our U14s who had played for the U18s this season called Eli Hall, there are countless examples from all clubs (including the biggest ones who lose them to each other)
That was an unforeseen when we went to Cat 2, and we were producing enough when at that level - but ultimately if a player is good enough for us now at 19 they'd have broken through to us in L1 at 16!
The standard we require has moved so much higher and recruitment the only way to close the gap - and the best time to recruit is the pre academy so you sign them as an U9, anything else is just us playing catch up for some factors that were our fault, and some that weren't | |
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| Next season to be the first season... on 09:11 - Jun 2 with 1045 views | unstableblue |
| Next season to be the first season... on 09:04 - Jun 2 by itfcjoe |
I think the biggest issue for bringing players through is just how much the club has progressed
In any normal period, going from a big L1 club to a mid range Champ club over a few seasons would have seen the likes of Humphreys, Baggott, and others be good enough to be regular parts of the squad
The academy under Evans produced some fine players - one year group alone had Luke Woolfenden, Flynn Downes, Tristan Nydam, Ben Morris, Nick Hayes, Ben Folami, Corrie Ndaba who are all still playing professionally and doing very well.
The production line was drying up, but there are a lot of factors to that - Brexit is the main one where clubs can only sign British players pre 18, this means the talent pool has got so much smaller as previously had access to whole of Europe.....so where do the biggest clubs look for talent? Domestically as is their only option.
Matt Bloomfield's nephew Teddie went to Aston Villa and has just won the league and youth cup, we've just lost a boy from our U14s who had played for the U18s this season called Eli Hall, there are countless examples from all clubs (including the biggest ones who lose them to each other)
That was an unforeseen when we went to Cat 2, and we were producing enough when at that level - but ultimately if a player is good enough for us now at 19 they'd have broken through to us in L1 at 16!
The standard we require has moved so much higher and recruitment the only way to close the gap - and the best time to recruit is the pre academy so you sign them as an U9, anything else is just us playing catch up for some factors that were our fault, and some that weren't |
Joe - in your view, are there any players at u18/u21 that are naturally gifted that they might emerge quicker despite some of the challenges (recruitment etc) you sight?
Tudor Mendel for example?
The striker in the Everton fixture at Bramley Dock looked quite rounded. Don’t know name. [Post edited 2 Jun 9:12]
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| Next season to be the first season... on 09:15 - Jun 2 with 1028 views | JakeITFC |
| Next season to be the first season... on 09:04 - Jun 2 by itfcjoe |
I think the biggest issue for bringing players through is just how much the club has progressed
In any normal period, going from a big L1 club to a mid range Champ club over a few seasons would have seen the likes of Humphreys, Baggott, and others be good enough to be regular parts of the squad
The academy under Evans produced some fine players - one year group alone had Luke Woolfenden, Flynn Downes, Tristan Nydam, Ben Morris, Nick Hayes, Ben Folami, Corrie Ndaba who are all still playing professionally and doing very well.
The production line was drying up, but there are a lot of factors to that - Brexit is the main one where clubs can only sign British players pre 18, this means the talent pool has got so much smaller as previously had access to whole of Europe.....so where do the biggest clubs look for talent? Domestically as is their only option.
Matt Bloomfield's nephew Teddie went to Aston Villa and has just won the league and youth cup, we've just lost a boy from our U14s who had played for the U18s this season called Eli Hall, there are countless examples from all clubs (including the biggest ones who lose them to each other)
That was an unforeseen when we went to Cat 2, and we were producing enough when at that level - but ultimately if a player is good enough for us now at 19 they'd have broken through to us in L1 at 16!
The standard we require has moved so much higher and recruitment the only way to close the gap - and the best time to recruit is the pre academy so you sign them as an U9, anything else is just us playing catch up for some factors that were our fault, and some that weren't |
Would be quite limiting if we made it to Europe in the near future as we’d only be able to name 21 senior players in our squad I think, assuming Baggott/Humphreys were to move on (if FM has taught me anything). |  | | |
| Next season to be the first season... on 09:23 - Jun 2 with 988 views | itfcjoe |
| Next season to be the first season... on 09:11 - Jun 2 by unstableblue |
Joe - in your view, are there any players at u18/u21 that are naturally gifted that they might emerge quicker despite some of the challenges (recruitment etc) you sight?
Tudor Mendel for example?
The striker in the Everton fixture at Bramley Dock looked quite rounded. Don’t know name. [Post edited 2 Jun 9:12]
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To be blunt - no!
A few have a chance, but have many steps to go on the way - Henry Gray and Woody Williamson are good keepers, Gray has had the first L2 loan, Williamson in NL, but will need to keep moving up the leagues from here.
I can't see anyone you won't have heard of that will go on loan to the Championship next season, hope to get a couple in L2, maybe L1 at a stretch. HUmphreys, Baggott and Boniface the ones who need a good loan and still have a chance
In the U18s squad, the 2 who have pushed on most are Charlie Compton and Oliver Wilkinson (signed from Barnsley, England U17). If either of them, or maybe Sid Eldred, can have a really good U21s season then they might push a bit closer but it's unlikely for next year and lots of traffic in the way by how we've elected to set our U21 team up. | |
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| Next season to be the first season... on 09:23 - Jun 2 with 984 views | itfcjoe |
| Next season to be the first season... on 09:15 - Jun 2 by JakeITFC |
Would be quite limiting if we made it to Europe in the near future as we’d only be able to name 21 senior players in our squad I think, assuming Baggott/Humphreys were to move on (if FM has taught me anything). |
Yep, you'd prob end up looking to sign Flynn Downes, and maybe one other just to try and have sufficient numbers | |
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| Next season to be the first season... on 11:46 - Jun 2 with 719 views | unstableblue |
| Next season to be the first season... on 09:23 - Jun 2 by itfcjoe |
To be blunt - no!
A few have a chance, but have many steps to go on the way - Henry Gray and Woody Williamson are good keepers, Gray has had the first L2 loan, Williamson in NL, but will need to keep moving up the leagues from here.
I can't see anyone you won't have heard of that will go on loan to the Championship next season, hope to get a couple in L2, maybe L1 at a stretch. HUmphreys, Baggott and Boniface the ones who need a good loan and still have a chance
In the U18s squad, the 2 who have pushed on most are Charlie Compton and Oliver Wilkinson (signed from Barnsley, England U17). If either of them, or maybe Sid Eldred, can have a really good U21s season then they might push a bit closer but it's unlikely for next year and lots of traffic in the way by how we've elected to set our U21 team up. |
Thanks, really interesting.
I put up a potential squad composition for next season with recruitment positions.
I wonder if Gray (as someone suggests) and/or Baggot might sneak in.
I still think Baggot is quality, and suits a Prem style, but you couldn’t put him up against top strikers.
It is sad that we’ll have no academy in the squad it seems. Something to improve on. And so much cheaper!! | |
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