Yes they are. Lot's of players have come to United over the years at 16 years-old and play in our youth team and get developed by our coaches. They don't sign professional contracts until they are 17. In the pre-Academy days they came from youth clubs...now it's other Academies. The ages haven't changed at all.
Willy Kambwala
- Thread starter Adnan
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Yes, they quite obviously are academy products.
I think in most of the top clubs the youth defenders that ended up making it mostly had to get the experiences elsewhere first. TAA probably the only exception?
Feels like the languidness in the U21s combined with the fact that most of them are injury-prone caused the general lack of progress of our defenders age 17-21, whilst those are the very crucial ages for them to develop, gain experience and prove themselves to have a shot at the first team.
Willy probably will need a loan next to indicate where he stands and whether we should give him more times at the club, considering he lost almost like 3 years of his development here.
Feels like the languidness in the U21s combined with the fact that most of them are injury-prone caused the general lack of progress of our defenders age 17-21, whilst those are the very crucial ages for them to develop, gain experience and prove themselves to have a shot at the first team.
Willy probably will need a loan next to indicate where he stands and whether we should give him more times at the club, considering he lost almost like 3 years of his development here.
You think their football formation is done by 16?
Willy needs a loan as quickly as possible...possibly in January. He already has the physique for it but now needs to play men's football week in and week out. He has all the base qualities to be a top defender but I think he may not have the insane mentality yet
Unless they are in the academy within an hour of birth then they can’t really be classed as academy players.
If they were not conceived on the lush green grass of Carrington i am not having it. Those are the real products of the academy, gaddemit.
I see the real academy products as the Rashfords, Scholes, Butts, Nevilles, Greenwoods who have come through the academy from a young age and we have developed. Technically your right they do attend the academy for a couple.of years on a full time.professional progranme but i cant see them as homegrown. Madrids Brahim Diaz aint a City product though am sure they will claim him.
Scholes, Butt and Neville all came in at 15/16 like everyone before them and everyone after them until 2000 when Academies got under way. Youth football didn’t start 22 years ago.
It’s pretty simple and the FA have set the rules since 1952…basically if a player ‘plays ‘ in our youth system….isn’t a professional (under 17) and hasnt played first team football elsewhere in a professional league…then they are youth players.
Willy Kambwala, Alejandro Garnacho as well as Dan Gore and Kobbie Mainoo all meet that criteria.
Neville et al signed at 14 on schoolboy forms but had been at the club well before then as clubs had centre of excellences. To suggest academy products are boys at 16 we bought from clubs abroad on professional terms is stretching the 'one of our own' mantra a little too far for me but each to their own.
Starts today. 
Impressive 
Willy play well or won’the?
Groundskeeper Willy
ETH doesn’t give out starts out of nowhere and he could have played Shaw at CB so congrats to the kid. He deserves some luck after all the injuries.
Holy shit!
How has he been in the youth matches? I assume he is starting due to lack of options but will be interesting to see how he does.
Physically he'll have absolutely no problems. I just worry a bit for his concentration and ability on the ball.
He'll fit in well then
Varane injured again doing nothing.
Big game for him but excited if inclusion of Mainoo is anything to go by.
Down to the bare bones obviously but what a compliment for him to get a chance. Hopefully it goes OK as it's a lot to ask of him and Evans to perform. How has he been for the youth teams? Is he deserving? I know he's highly rated but has his injury record curtailed his progress any?
He's three months old according to Wiki...
Who is this kid? Which position he plays and what is he like?
Centre back. French/Congolese. Physically strong. Had some lengthy injuries in the past that has slowed his development.
Sounds promising. Let’s see how he is doing.
He's ill.
Good luck kid
And then everyone clapped
My Willy
Excited to see Willy out there today.
Hard in the tackle?
Probably the best thing Martial has done for the club since skinning Carvajal in that friendly.
Always cringe a bit when black sportspeople are described as "strong" or "athletic".
Been a lot of studies into the language used by journalists, broadcasters, scouts, etc. before and the biases based on race are astounding. White sportspeople more likely to be described as " intelligent " "creative" "technical" etc. whereas "freak" "raw" "strong" "athletic" used for their black colleagues.
But he’s 6ft3 and was most likely chose to start today instead of Shaw CB and Reguilon LB due to his physical abilities to help us against a West Ham side who are very powerful on set pieces with JWP, Soucek, Zouma etc.
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Looking forward to seeing famously weak and unathletic Willy Kambwala today.
Going to be a big test on set-pieces for him against the strong and physically imposing Soucek and Mavropanos.
Going to be a big test on set-pieces for him against the strong and physically imposing Soucek and Mavropanos.