7 years and we haven't produced Hartigan or Sweeney or Nightingale or Agyei or the two keepers.

It's also up to the manager to take a chance on an academy player now and then! Nightingale has been the only one so far that Ardley has gambled on!

It's all relative anyway. If we get relegated there's more chance the academy players can meet L2 first team standard which effectively means the academy is a success.....but that's not the right measure for me.

Morning all. We're not going to see how good our Academy really is for its main purpose (producing first team players) until about five years from now. By that stage, if it's still not justifying the money it costs us then it does need reconsidering.

Academies can be a from of revenue generation even if players are not making the first team. I don't think it's a fair measure seeing how many play in the first team. They usually get snapped up before they cement a first teams spot - we've already lost a fair few for which may reap financial rewards in the future. Who knows we could end up with just developing one superstar who goes for like £20m on the next 10 years and that would justify the academy.

Groan! We're not going to go round the Academy argument loop again!?

For the avoidance of doubt that is tongue in cheek. Players like Harry Maguire have done ok.

IIRC one of the reasons Ardley got the senior job was that he could use his Cardiff Academy experience to develop the Dons Academy? (Maybe I've got that wrong.)

How many senior players in the Football League have come from club academies at least one division below their senior club? I suspect very very few. We are still catching up with our rapid rise through the leagues.

Shouldn't we be looking at why we are not producing the players to come into the side or whether it is worth even bothering to spend the money on the academy. If we have been unable to produce a single player in 7 years then I think it is not just the academy players that is at fault.

I agree, waste of time. He'll never play for us again

I see that Ardley has the upmost respect for Hughton. As far as Hughton is concerned, I have the utmost respect for him.

I thought that NA said he wanted Pinnock on the right? The left side of midfield is more of a concern for me.

morning troops. If Richarlison is worth 50 mill, Harry Kane must be worth about £17.6 billion.

If we're playing wing backs a lot view may be Watson and Sibbick cover the right.

If we loan a player out then I have always said that it has to be for a substantial amount of time - ie 6 months or 12 months. It gives the player time to settle into the new club and to show he can fight for and win a place in the side. I criticised the Alfie Egan loan of a few weeks to Sutton as it was a pointless one but I will commend this one. It sounds like we actually have a plan to make Egli a first team player in the future.

If Egli is out om loan - amd i understand the logic - then we do need another right winger, to put Wagstaff under pressure for his place and of course a left back and centre back too

Sad to see Egli move out on loan. He improved last season from someone who ran around a lot with zero effect to someone who got into positions and improved our play at times. Had hoped to see him as a useful sub this season but trust NA on this. Hopefully Scotland will be more 'LTB than Azeez' for the lad.

Agree that Trotter was pushed forward, but the result? 3 goals in about 50 games and probably less than 3 assists. IMO he was pushed forward because he was a liability as a 'tackling/holding' midfielder and he turned into a liability as an attacking midfielder. Perhaps NA will stick him out on the wing this season so he can fail to put crosses in...

Wasn’t the problem that Ardley tried to use Trotter as a Bulman/Reeves Duracell bunny defensive midfielder when you only have to see the way he runs to savvy he never going to be effective that way?

We as a club are too scared of relegation and that ironically is the most likely thing to get us relegated. It certainly doesn't help if Neal is tasked to have us finish four places above the budget - ie stay up. We have to accept the situation as adults and admit that relegation is a possibly no matter how well we play or Neal devises his tactics. As such Neal's job should not be held on whether we stay up but if our football is entertaining and positive. We should go out to try and win every game and see what happens. Reports from the friendlies do comment on a more positive style.

I can't disagree with the pace issue, which hopefully he may have addressed this season - we shall see. As far as Bulman and Reeves were concerned, IMO they could have been great but too often they were let down by not being helped by their wide men. Too often they were overrun when teams attacked us on the break.

He's had some good midfielders in my opinion and Reeves and Bulman were a great pairing for a couple of years. Soares has been a disappointment and it took time for Trotter to adapt to what was needed, he was poor till the New Year. I think his greatest failing has been to have teams that, apart from Azeez, singularly lack pace.

I'm just hoping that this season the manager can put together a midfield that leaves Mr Trotter on the bench. If he plays as many games as last season then I fear we will be in a relegation battle once again.

Kentish doesn't want him back.