“ Cardiff City have failed “

Cardiff prop up the table having failed to give a single minute to a player aged 22 and under so far.


BBC


When trophies are at stake and relegation costs millions, giving young players a chance can be seen as too much of a gamble.

One Premier League club has yet to field a player aged 22 or under this season, however another has shown an unrivalled faith in youth.

BBC Sport has researched how all 20 Premier League clubs have used - or not used - players aged 22 or under this season. Here are our findings.

Claude Puel may be the bookmakers' favourite to be the next Premier League manager to lose his job, but the Leicester boss perhaps deserves some leeway given the faith he has placed in the club's youngsters.

The Frenchman has given more minutes to more young players than anyone else in the division. In total Puel has given 8,373 minutes to eight Foxes players aged 22 or under this season, nearly double that of the next highest - Arsenal, with 4,467 minutes.

Next on the list is Marco Silva's Everton, whose young players have played 4,455 minutes in the Premier League so far this campaign.

West Ham are fourth on the list with 4,134 minutes afforded to their youngsters, with London rivals Tottenham making up the top five with 4,083 minutes between seven players.

With Leicester leading the way, it is little surprise that it is two young Foxes players who have played the most minutes so far. Wilfred Ndidi has featured in all but one of Leicester's games, playing 2,038 minutes in total. Team-mate Ben Chilwell has also missed just one league game and is second on the list, seeing 1,980 minutes of action.

Crystal Palace defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka is just behind the Leicester duo, playing 1,965 minutes so far. West Ham defender Issa Diop (1,890) and Huddersfield's Phillip Billing (1,842) complete the top five.

In contrast to the youthful looking line-up we have seen at the King Power Stadium this season, Cardiff prop up the table having failed to give a single minute to a player aged 22 and under so far.

The youngest player to feature for the Bluebirds in the Premier League this season is Josh Murphy, who turned 23 last February. Boss Neil Warnock clearly feels experience gives his team the best chance of avoiding relegation this season.

Like Warnock, Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri also favours older players. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Andreas Christensen are the only Blues players aged 22 or under to play in the Premier League this season, totalling just 151 minutes.

Next up are Watford, with Domingos Quina and Ben Wilmot playing 296 minutes of action between them this season. Burnley (440) and Brighton (863) complete the bottom five.

You need serious talent at this level to give opportunities to young players.

There's so much at stake.

That's really not good in so many aspects but we're in a battle and any manager needs to use the players in whom he has faith

Can anyone genuinely name me a player or players that have earned that chance this season?

I'm struggling with that, tbh

What utter nonsense !
We're in the business of trying to win football matches , not tick boxes in the latest P.C classification made up by the victim exploiting media and establishment .

This was always going to be the case we are up against established Premier Teams, or teams coming up with bigger budgets and help from owners, they will have had more money to buy the best under 22's and will have had more money for youth development. If we stayed in the Premier League for 10 years, we may have more than Accrington Stanley or Wimbledon if they come up!!!

If we don’t have the players at that level good enough to play then we can’t play them!

Whilst We just don’t seem to be bring players thru from youth level ,it doesn’t help that bigger clubs can pinch them when they start showing potential like Rabbi Matondo who Man City picked up from us but who may be losing themselves to Schalke.

We're not going to risk out position in the prem by playing unproven youth players

A number of our players are under 25 however
Patterson, Zohore, Ralls.

Etheridge and Smithies are both young for goalkeepers.

It doesnt matter what age you are if you're good enough... And that counts for players over 34 as well.

That's really not good in so many aspects but we're in a battle and any manager needs to use the players in whom he has faith

Can anyone genuinely name me a player or players that have earned that chance this season?

I'm struggling with that, tbh

No it’s not good at all Chris.

I have been saying it for years our club for the last 9yrs has not properly invested in the future.

Nobody has really come through.

Anyone decent gets snapped up by the the big boys now, look at that kid at Man City who was with us.

I wouldn't say we have an old squad either and to be playing at this level at a young age you have to be special.

Great comparisons us newly promoted didn't start season with an under 22 in team compared with two teams established in premier with under 22s already in side , we would be relegated already if tried youngsters this reason..

Great comparisons us newly promoted didn't start season with an under 22 in team compared with two teams established in premier with under 22s already in side , we would be relegated already if tried youngsters this reason..

Allan, that was the year before last when we got rid of about 10players.

Answer this Allan, who have Cardiff brought through and has done well in the last 9years?
How many players can you name?

Great comparisons us newly promoted didn't start season with an under 22 in team compared with two teams established in premier with under 22s already in side , we would be relegated already if tried youngsters this reason..

Allan, that was the year before last when we got rid of about 10players.

Answer this Allan, who have Cardiff brought through and has done well in the last 9years?
How many players can you name?

None but sure there are some? But then take a look around you annis lots clubs in same position unless they have an active programme which only a couple of clubs have! Yes I know it's poor by club but as seen in another thread any talented youngster gets sold or moves to big club as thats where the money is, until authorities change the rules on big clubs stripping academies of these players situation will remain same.

We need to get a young, up and coming coach, preferably someone who has played consistently at the highest level across their career, to look after the youth in my opinion.

Ideally, someone with a connection and affinity with the club, but also someone who knows what is required to make the grade as a top-flight footballer, and definitely someone who is prepared to cut the wheat from the chaff and teach these lads what it takes both mentally and physically to become a premier league level professional.

It is essential we find someone that fits this mould if we are ever going to establish a decent youth team set up. I guess someone who ticks all of those boxes are few and far between.

Hang on a minute...

You need serious talent at this level to give opportunities to young players.

There's so much at stake.

We haven't got anyone coming through that are remotely good enough. I mentioned this in a thread along time ago.

That's really not good in so many aspects but we're in a battle and any manager needs to use the players in whom he has faith

Can anyone genuinely name me a player or players that have earned that chance this season?

I'm struggling with that, tbh

No it’s not good at all Chris.

I have been saying it for years our club for the last 9yrs has not properly invested in the future.

Nobody has really come through.

I've been saying it since our last relegation. I'd rather bring through the youngsters than spend money on players to go up. Don't get me wrong we didn't spend alot but besides the point.

We need to upgrade to a Category A Academy like the Jacks before we find anyone good enough for the Premier League?

That's really not good in so many aspects but we're in a battle and any manager needs to use the players in whom he has faith

Can anyone genuinely name me a player or players that have earned that chance this season?

I'm struggling with that, tbh

No it’s not good at all Chris.

I have been saying it for years our club for the last 9yrs has not properly invested in the future.

Nobody has really come through.

I've been saying it since our last relegation. I'd rather bring through the youngsters than spend money on players to go up. Don't get me wrong we didn't spend alot but besides the point.

Elliot, we need to bring youngsters through as we can not compete with the big clubs, plus local kids who make it, give more for their club and the fans love it

we haven't given youngsters a chance as such, but on the other hand we have played 'young' players like paterson and murphy.

we aren't in a comfortable position at the moment, and the team we have is barely good enough to stay up. i don't think we can realistically be looking to the youth players to supplement our match day 18 at the moment.

That's really not good in so many aspects but we're in a battle and any manager needs to use the players in whom he has faith

Can anyone genuinely name me a player or players that have earned that chance this season?

I'm struggling with that, tbh

No it’s not good at all Chris.

I have been saying it for years our club for the last 9yrs has not properly invested in the future.

Nobody has really come through.

Annis, it';s a crying shame and one of the big let downs of recent years

Under the current regime, they simply don't appear to have the youth and Under 23 set up that was promised (and somewhat delivered) under Sam

If we are to be serious about being a self-sufficient club, then we need an 'Elite Academy' (are we still? ) like the one delivered by sam but seemingly abandoned (in large parts) in the last few years

Are we setting the bar too low?

With the news reports of us not playing a single player under the age of 22, many responses were that we just want to stay up so can’t risk it. I am a touch disappointed with that view.

We then see losing away to Arsenal being described as fantastic because we managed to get a consolation goal. Don’t get me wrong, no shame in it whatsoever as anything against these teams is a bonus, but a defeat being described this way against teams in our own league is hard to hear.

I know this won’t be popular but how can we get into a position where we can achieve what the Jacks did at this level? We seem to have more financial clout than them as Tan is far richer than Huw the Spew.

They beat Arsenal 6 times ffs!! They also beat Liverpool 5 times and Man United 4 times amongst others like Chelsea multiple times and Man City along the way. So it sticks in the throat when I see us commending the side for scoring a goal in another defeat.

The focus and question should be, how do we get to that level. We have far greater resources so shouldn’t be any excuse, yet we seem genuinely stumped after promotion.

Our youth system has not produced a player capable of playing at premier league level since Aaron Ramsey and that was ten years ago.The only decent player it has produced is Declan John and he is maybe championship level. The really worrying thing is if we had spent the last few years in league one and two we would have got hardly anyone who could play at that level. You occasionally hear of someone who is supposed to be good like say Tommy O Sullivan and Mark Harris but they seem to fade away into obscurity.

Maybe we have a sort of anti youth system where we take on really good youngsters and gradually make them worse and worse so that when we release them they are only good enough for Haverfordwest.

Maybe if our top youth prospect wasn't poached by another Premier League side, we'd be giving someone some minutes?

There is no value or merit playing younger players just for the sake of it. If they don't have sufficient talent to play at PL level there is absolutely no point in doing so. The brutal truth is we probably don't have a player under 23 who is up to it. Ramsey's talent was obvious for all to see at 12; at 17 he was playing in the first team. Do we have a player of similar ability on our books now? Even if we did these days, the sharks of the predatory chain snap anything approaching talent, "just to see if they'll make it." Don't believe me? Chelsea have FORTY PLAYERS out on LOAN.

StT.
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Maybe if there was a rule change so that each club had to play 2 under 22's it would be a benefit, first to young players as they'd know they would get a chance, secondly to international teams.

Just my opinion but i think it's partly to do with location, in terms of national teams Wales don't have as many quality young players as England does, if we tried to sign them would they come to Cardiff when they can get in at the other PL clubs - maybe not, Then the PL clubs can afford to sign young players from outside the UK.

Youth development is really best left for established PL clubs, they can afford to buy one and loan him out for 2 years before giving him a game, they can afford to lose a game because they a squad big enough to cope and rotate when they get an injury.

A lot of people in the so called "football know" will tell you that throwing a young player into a relegation battle can ruin his career with the pressure of trying not to make a mistake etc so i have no complaints with us being bottom of the stat league on this one.

Cardiff City have failed to give a single Premier League minute to a single player under the age of 23 player this season.

Who cares ?? we are here to survive in this league ,we dont have the players for that and besides how about the big clubs look at chelsea barely play any of theirs so much so that their main one wants to go to Germany !!

don't get the

anyones that's been watching knows this.

Read of it what you will, we don't exactly have an old team and as the saying goes, if you're good enough then you're old enough...

Bamba has also got better with age as have a few other of the lads

Who cares ?? we are here to survive in this league ,we dont have the players for that and besides how about the big clubs look at chelsea barely play any of theirs so much so that their main one wants to go to Germany !!

Seen a comment somewhere the other day that Chelsea have 40 players out on loan ..... how mad is that , seems like they snap up all promising players just to stop other clubs getting them whatever the cost