When i listened to lee and Brian at start of season they stated that the full time youths U 20s were future of East Fife and will build 14 players around these promising kids Again as of previous season whoever is manager or caretaker manager
seem to bring kids in from other clubs and give chance in first team at expense of our own boys questions have to be asked why continue with academy if thats what club are going to do i have heard of promising players of our own being loaned out to junior teams My Question to any of board reading is are these boys not ready
yet or simply not good enough and if the latter why have them in full time if thats the case i have watched a lot of reserve games and some of these lads are very good also heard that a few players have left due to relising that there is lack of chances and false promises.
Why not start blooding some of them or of coarse carry on with same players that have now seen 4 managers come and go its not rocket science to work out the players are not good enough and you cant keep blameing managers all time.
Sir Alex would not do any better board need to look at thereselves

Lewis Barr, Kyle Wilson, Ross Brown, Nathan Austin 19 YO, Jack Smith 19 YO all played 1st team football this season, our reserve side have done very well and has been packed full of our kids. Loaning our lads out to juniors sides does them no harm at all what will harm them is putting them into the 1st team when they are not ready or when the team is under real pressure to get results. Hope that answers your question? Who has left due to lack of 'chances'' as you state

Lee Murray

Exactly what I was thinking Boss ;-)

As Lee has stated four of our apprentices have had first team football this season also Ross lennie Bradley Grieve and Jordon Davidson , out of the original 12 that started in March 2012 on two year deals 9 are still with us and six have played first team football .
one left to pursue a naval career, one went to work abroad and the other took on an apprenticeship elsewhere, the stats on 12 young men at East Fife playing for the first team is remarkable.

Well said Lee,was going to make a similar comment when I first started reading this thread but no need to now.

Suck ass.

Been a long time since effc signed players on 2 year deals well done on that. Excited to know that ross brown will still be playing for us next year

I am very happy with that response Brian. First class PR. Thank you.

Does that not mean that Ross Brown and co are out of contract in March 2014 if they signed 2 year deals in 2012?

Brian you have made a good attempt to make the pro youths a success but you need to take your rose tinted glasses off.
Jamie (can't remember his family name) went to the Navy and his pal Ryan who was the captain at that time got a job. I think this was because they were not happy with their progress, never seen any of the two back since then. Ross Brewster did not join as he had a job but was pretty much sidelined from then on and never heard of again (from my info, he was one who all the managers rated). Jordan Davidson played in every reserve match I saw but lately has been sidelined and only comes in one day a week I think, as does James Martin who featured a bit with both teams for a while. What has happened to the big goalie that was attracting so much attention in Bulgaria or Portugal, he does not even get a reserve start. Could he be suffering like James because he was brought my Colin Martin when he was at the club. Where is Aiden Gordon? Great that they play for junior teams to harden them up but we would like to see them progressing at the club. On a reserve night some just seem left upstairs sooking their thumbs, there are a lot of unhappy lads (an parents out there), look at their faces on the reserve match nights. Young Bradley played in 3 first team games and has not been seen since, played in the reserves more than a month ago came off with a knock, don't think he has featured again (nor had an X ray it seems). I like the reserve matches, these lads play their hearts out with a fair bit of skill. The football is entertaining and open and they have a good position in the league table, try not to treat us like idiots Brian by saying all is rosy, it is far from it. They used to be a happy bunch, not much smiles from them just now. I am aware I may have missed someone else who has left but can't bring a name to mind.

The first team and reserve team can only start 11 players, if some guys can't get in the squad then I'm afraid they'll just have to work harder. No manager, be it first team or reserve, will pick an intentionally weaker side, so if whoever is picking the teams believes players to be good enough to keep others out then they'll get the nod.

Any youth system in the world will have unhappy lads who aren't getting a game, and you'll struggle to find any youth system in the world where every player breaks through to the first team.

Thanks lee and Brian for your response
last season i watched some of young lads play in most of reserve games
but this season never seen there names appear so was wandering if they had been released ie Ryan Mcallister, aiden gordan ,James Martin,Connor Shaw
Jordan Davidson u 20 captain these boys were named on bench a lot of games in first team last year and played in reserve games last i heard of few of them was from your very successful training camp in portugal which was brilliant education by what we read on the east fife website excellent also reports from captain and fellow young lads and now they have vanished off radar which is a shame have these players been released.
on players leaving i heard through grapevine that Ryan Mcallister left due to no chance of progression and always slipping down pecking order shame as these boys came through the academy system you mentioned Fash and Jack Smith they never came through system they were signed this season but have great talent
yes great to see Ross Brown doing well what a prospect and young Barr great talent so 2 players tried in first team and look great so thats 2 out of 2
brilliant remember the other kids not had chance but your answer was perfect there still developing so hope to see more of them soon
good luck for rest of season keep up great work and i believe the fans have bought in to your goals for club with youth the key

Fifer do you think the players signed are good enough? i can assure you the lads are as good if not better. So why sign someone who is only as good as you have already, then pay him more money. As Brian says the young boys need to be patient what for 18 months. Not old enough not experienced enough etc etc. the boys are in the last 6 month now I know a couple will be speaking to other clubs shortly and if you believe rumours a couple have already, no names. Willie spoke to a few of the boys before leaving regards contracts, obviously that will be on hold for now at least.
Willie did not sign all of the players ask the director of football if he can shed light on who thought K Nade was actually a football player

can i please point something out. 19 Years of age is not particularly young to play first team. Last season falkirk had 16 year olds playing first team and ended up running celtic close in cup etc. Those boys were decent, not super stars but it is all about The manager, if he understands how to use them its a great option. Our last man probably knew about kids but not how to integrate them into a senior squad. That was because he had never been in a senior squad. We may find that someone like Gary can strike the balance. For the record i suspect that given The right advice that Ross Brown can play at a higer level. Ad for The others Fash needs coaching, good ability but needs shown how to use it, smith ? Grieve think he has something.

This reeks of ageism.

I'm 35 - where's my academy - where's my shot at the first team.

I take my boots along to every home game - got my strip on underneath my jacket just in case - and have the club every called on me - NO - they'd rather give youth a chance.

Well it stinks. Why should some smoothie with shite hair, shite clothes and a shite taste in music get a chance ahead of me ?!?!

Noisy Crossbar, you are just typical of the 80's child, spoiled and not prepared to wait until your turn comes. I have been waiting 45+ years for my chance,WEAR my boots to each game and wear my strip OVER my coat.
Why should someone with less shite hair than they should,good clothes which look shite because of body shape and who went to Bucks Fizz concerts get a chance ahead of me ?

Seen a few posts after reserve games saying they thought the lad mark shaw looked decent, yet not seen him in any first team squads, is he still with us?

There are many good young footballers (and good older players) playing in various leagues as well as Scottish Reserve leagues. What separates the ones who make it to the senior leagues from those who don't, is fitness, discipline and commitment.

To the boys who walk away, they do not possess commitment. Maybe they are not getting the chances to show their stuff because they are not fit enough? To be fit enough also means you have had the commitment to get to the required fitness level.

We as outsiders, are not privy to how the boys are performing at training. Also, there is no point in listening to any of these boys about their grievances, because they all think they should be picked above anybody else. They are obviously not going to say that it is because they are not committed enough or fit enough, that is the real problem. It must be the coaches that are wrong as far as the boys are concerned.

Away and no talk shite.

Okay, you're no guid enough then son!

Excellent post

I wonder, was lucky enough last season to be privy to a couple of bounce games young boys v first team . Young boys won because they were better disciplined, fitter, a team unit,etc. The reason they didnt play last year was not experienced enough. BB remit was keep them in the league not pretty but job done, he thought best way forward for the job was old and bold. Same as Levine done all those years ago at Raith.
A big problem at the Fife is to many people who no zip about football getting involved in on field matters. Please this time around Brian/Lee leave it to the manager/coaches after all that's what you pay them for. Like I said in an earlier post the young lads are as good if not better than a lot of the signings, so why sign someone only as good as what's there already. Alot of the deals were done before the manager arrived Nade, etc most likely in Bulgaria, agree some of Willis signing were poor Stewart for instance waste of time/money Brown/Barr have shown they are better in there..I believe there are a few there who can play at a higher level and make the club money which can be put back in for the push to the championship. Brown Barr Lennie Shaw all attracted interest from clubs whilst in Portugal EF website reported Shaw to have trained with Doncaster whilst in Portugal, out of all the keepers out there they chose him, he must be doing something. Brown is attracting interest in Scotland again, I have no doubt Barr will follow with his recent performances. Don't forget Fash with some more coaching could be a player, Falconer and Lennie grieve can all do it.
Only my humble opinion and I stick by it

Bon, I am not saying that the boys are not good enough and I too am impressed with both Brown and Barr. That doesn't mean to say all the other boys are ready though and if some are leaving, then I question their commitment, that's all.
I've seen players quit at lower levels, not because they are not getting games, but because they are not winning games! I've also seen boys leaving East Fife pro-youth a couple of years ago, because they were not winning games either. I have since seen the same boys now playing in the lower level leagues (boys clubs, U-19's amateurs). So they weren't as good as they thought they were.

I don't know what people expect from youth development but it seems expectations are far too high.

A few years ago I told by a full time professional who now coaches for the SFA about the time when his son played pro youth for Celtic. Tommy Burns held a meeting with the parents of the youth players and told them that of the 200+ boys in Celtics youth system the expectation was only 1 or 2 would ever make it to the first team.

OK we are not looking for the same level of player but we have to manage our expectations, if 1 or 2 break through every season we will be doing well.

Good post.

Exactly,this players being to young,they need protection is utter drivel.Age is an irrelevance,its how good you are.Falkirk continually play with many teenagers in their team in a stronger league.

Why are you trying to compare East fife with Falkirk .Falkirk have had an established youth set up for years and regards the 16year olds playing for falkirk they have had pro coaching from tha age of 9.East fife have not had that privilege.

Not making a comparison,more an example.Get sick of this continual oh hes too young,got to integrate them gradually,butn out and all the drivel of the day.Instead of bringing in players on loan and just not young players would much rather see teams giving their own young ones an opportunity but unfortunately because its a results driven business and all about winning leagues,winning promotion young players in general aren`t given a chance.Loaning young players out to junior teams does them not a whole lot of good,many disappearing into the wilderness

I think the sad fact is that the vast majority aren't good enough at this level. No point playing a 16 year old who is worse than what we've already got, it almost isn't fair on them. Loaning them out to the Juniors gives them an opportunity to ah and toughen up and then hopefully come back and make an impact.

Have you watched the young lads, last season beating the first team in bounce games regular, I know not competitive tell that to the first team boys who were trying to half the laddies why because they were getting run ragged, why because they got out played. Not saying it would be the case this season but the young ones would not be far away still., the cry from the club is too young be patient.

I think we can safely say that Gary Naysmith will know more about picking a team than everyone on this forum put together, as long as we keep winning games I'm not too fussed about who is selected and who isn't. If the club gets two decent players from the youth team each season then they are doing great.

What happened to the Head of Youth Colin Martin? Seen various posts on
threads on here that he was not doing his job correctly? Heard he was
chased out of his last 3 clubs. Anybody know anything?

Know of a boy who was at East fife youth a couple of years ago who was one of the better players in the u17s but left due to not enjoying the coaching and we just let him go! Last I've heard of him he was playing week in week out for a decent junior side and impressing left back as well! Could have missed out on something there I think.

I wouldn't worry about it. There's a chasm between 'decent' junior sides and second division football. Some of our worst players would be a standout for top junior clubs, look at the guy who played for us a couple of seasons ago, forget his name, scored about 3 goals all season and was utter shit, now he's banging them in at Bo'ness.

Who says he was one of the better' players? What happened to the other 'better' players? He is now playing at a lower level, so he obviously wasn't that good, otherwise he would have been snapped up by another senior team.
He was getting a chance at East Fife to learn and develop, but he decided to throw that chance away by leaving of his own accord. He might never get another chance again, because he is lacking the vital ingredient - commitment.

Look at that guy we got from kennoway. Made club captain and he's shite so obviously proves you don't have to be that good.



Wait a minute...

When I went to watch the team he was one of the best players there along with the centre half and striker that was falconer I beleive.don't think he threw away his chance about every player has left from that team and playing juniors helps you learn the game as well and he has turned down other pro teams since he's left as I'm led to believe wants to enjoy his football for a season. Nothing may come of the kid just think he could have become a good player for the offers. And believe me our worst players wouldn't be at the best teams in the juniors auchinleck nearly bet the team third in our league

Stranraer hadn't hit the form they are in now at that point and still beat them, you can't judge too much on cup games, Morton beat Celtic this season and look at both in the league. Talbot's squad is full of guys who made little impact at this level, one of their best players last season is now a below average Ayr player. There are a few guys in our squad that I don't rate at all, but most would still be stand outs in the juniors.

Must have missed this over the festive season, Colin was the most qualified youth coach and as far as I understand had a fall out with Brian McNeil because of bad organisation before a league game early in the season and told him to stuff it(not sacked as has has been reported, I think any of the pro youths will confirm this). I think I heard someone say he was with Livi doing youth coaching there.

So who is head of youth now? Who coaches the full time under 19s?

Just would like to ask will they be any youth teams next season like to keep the club to continue this its working good for the club look at how many youngsters have been promoted to first team now be shame to scrap the youth system now Brian and colin has left the club.
Like to see more youngsters involved and progressing towards the first team every season.

Ps if so the east fife youth academy website needs updated and all the squads would have changed.

The current manager at the end of the season has decided that he will no longer have a 19s or reserve system and has decided that the club will not finance this and all the money now going into the first team squad . There is a likelihood that no youth players will come through the system for another 5 yrs or so as the club has decided that they will only provide youth for the elite academy route along with the other fife teams . 11-17 yrs old but not much players from East Fife going to be selected for this .
It is interesting that east fife out of the four fife clubs will not to participate in the older age group somewhat short sighted considering the benefits reaped from the system over the last season namely Brown, Barr , Rooney in 1st team . Also Maskery ,Falconer, Wooley coming on in the reserves . Further to that the under 16? Squad were really developing and were only going to be building for the up and coming season with stronger squad . Sure players in this squad would have been next crop of young players .
It would seem that until player from youth sold on with reward for club that benefits will be seen .
Seems like a bit of a waste that the chairman or management has explained the movebut appears that manager wants Fife to be feeder club for players not successful with premiership youth set ups maybe watch that space re 1st team trialists.
I would be surprised if youth system now dismantled will recover after four years of development and be resurrected .
Strange decision . Surely not the right one