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Daily Palace: Is Palace's Pied Piper Scale Mass Youth Exodus a Worry for the Academy?
25 Plays18 days ago
As they do everyday Wale, Joe, Alex, and Dan are discussing the latest goings on at the Mighty Palace
In this Episode: Joe and Wale spend 24 minutes talking about youth football, before Joe outs himself as a child by finishing the episode demanding a candy floss burrito.
Season :- 1 Episode:- 100
Premier League Season 24/25
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:00:10
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hello, and welcome back to the Daily Palace podcast. It's Wayans Wednesday. Join me today from Glasgow. It's Wale LaGuardian Baccarat. How's it going, mate?
00:00:23
Wale Bakare
All right, Paul, great to see you. You all right?
00:00:25
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, I'm very well, very well, thank you, mate.
Crystal Palace's Interest in Zaid Betteca
00:00:29
Global Sports Podcast Network
Today, like a pair of over-involved Project Mbappe dance at the touchline in their kids' Sunday league matches, ah we are going to spend an inordinate amount of time over-earnestly discussing youth football. ah Divorce lawyers form an orderly queue.
00:00:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
Kicking things off, Palace and a handful of other clubs have been linked ah with signing Birmingham City Prospect Zaid Betteca. Despite having played for the first team already, 17-year-old is yet to sign a pro contract, opening the door for a team like Palace to swoop in.
Unpredictability of Young Football Talents
00:01:10
Global Sports Podcast Network
Good signing, do you reckon? From what you can tell?
00:01:13
Wale Bakare
Well, yeah, it looks promising. But, you know, um but that's all we can say. ah There's no telling us to what the future holds. But then, but you know, just like every venture in life, you go into a lot of things open, they turn out well. So, but sick from what we've seen looks promising, um is skillful, is able to be more than a man sometimes, is strong, um looks like he has the physique, you know, to go on and become a great footballer, but
00:01:51
Wale Bakare
You know, it's so it's always difficult to, like I could mention so many names, players who, not just now, but even many years ago, I remember one of my favorite players was Barcelona's Javier Saviola, and he was really good at that time, and I totally just never lived up to the billing boy and care kick from Barcelona's another.
00:01:53
Global Sports Podcast Network
yeah
00:02:14
Wale Bakare
I remember him particularly because,
00:02:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah. A lot from Barcelona.
00:02:17
Wale Bakare
Yeah, I remember in particular, because see, there was the on the 17 World Cup, I think in 2007, 2007, it was won by Nigeria then.
00:02:18
Global Sports Podcast Network
I don't know what it means.
00:02:29
Wale Bakare
And but the three best players in the tournament was a certain, Boyd Kirkich was third. Chris Santos Macaulay is Nigerian, was the ISG's current tournament and Tony Cruz,
00:02:43
Wale Bakare
was the best player in that tournament. Of course, we know what he went on to become, but see the other guys.
00:02:45
Global Sports Podcast Network
One of that was out.
00:02:49
Wale Bakare
See the other guys who never lived up to the building. Kekic more than the Nigerian man, Chris Santos-Makoli. And you could go on for so many other tournament players. I remember mentioning Leopold's Ryan Brewster the other day on one of the episodes a couple of weeks after I then got a winner for Sheffield.
00:03:09
Wale Bakare
I never heard the game. So many players um love ah show promise, but um sometimes they don't leave up to the billing.
Pros and Cons of Betteca's Transfer Options
00:03:19
Wale Bakare
But with Zodiac, it does, as I said, it looks a good prospect as all it takes to be a good footballer in the right setup, given the right amount of time and the guidance um um'm quite hopefully will turn out to be a talent.
00:03:38
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I have to say when I asked that question when I was not expecting to be speaking about having Saviola straight afterwards. It's a nice blast from the fast that. um Yeah, I think you're right. The the main thing is it' it seems promising. It's clearly rated by Birmingham.
00:03:57
Global Sports Podcast Network
It's actually very difficult to tell at this stage. There's not only so many variables that can change and different paths, their careers can go down critical junctures that have to go in the right way for them. But there's just a bit of a lack of information. um But what we do know is that he's available because he hasn't signed depression or
Challenges for Clubs Retaining Young Talents
00:04:21
Global Sports Podcast Network
contracts yet. There's not a whole lot Berlin could do to stop him going if he wanted to go.
00:04:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
so parts don't stand to lose much you wouldn't have to pay any huge compensation fees I think Norwich and Rangers are also interested so I guess it depends for him where he sees the best balance of professional opportunities and um chance to develop. He might feel he's got more of a chance to, um in a funny way, with the way that Birmingham have distorted League One, their lavish spending, get some minutes at Palace. They've got Alfie May, Stansfield, Lyndon Dykes so all blocking the way for him. He might feel Palace's lack of options that, you know, maybe he's actually ah
00:05:02
Global Sports Podcast Network
he's actually got more, you have more chance to get involved at the Eagles. um Half of why I asked that, oh, why this question is that it sets us up to talk about something which a few ah palace journalists now that's particularly the athletic, again, recently in another article by Matt Wuznam have picked up on,
00:05:30
Global Sports Podcast Network
which is Palace here essentially trying to do what other teams have done to Palace quite a lot recently. um As in they're trying to poach a youth player before they can sign a professional contract. So just last week um Palace youth player Jesse Derry rejected a professional contract on his 17th birthday and signalled his intention to leave the club.
00:06:01
Global Sports Podcast Network
That would mean he joined other starlets like Samuel the sail and Reggie Watson who have already departed for pastures richer and more internationally renowned within the last year in similar circumstances. Is it a trend Palace should be concerned by do you think? one
00:06:23
Wale Bakare
but Any team would be concerned, but I would be quick to point out, is it really happening to just Palace at the moment? I don't think the answer is yes, because I know there's been, I think Arsenal lost two of their academic academy prospects to Chelsea. I think ah Chelsea lost one in the summer to Liverpool as well. So that there's been you know teams going that route of um you know, just matching up players before they are able to sign a professional contract. And yeah you you'd see the the the the sense in that, considering if we if the the player signs a professional contract and then comes good, they will be signing them for a lot more money. We've seen how much, you know, 18, 19, 20-year-olds are going for.
00:07:15
Wale Bakare
ah in the were in the market these days. So it's you you'd see what what was going on there, but um um I'm not sure it's something you can really avoid at the moment because that there's very little tool to tie the players down with. um It's difficult for Palace. You mentioned Lussell, you mentioned Derry. I think the Lussell coach, Chelsea or something. So it's it's it's difficult to tie the players down when you're talking about competing with academies of teams like Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester, CT, United, Tottenham.
Importance of Pathways for Youth Players
00:07:56
Wale Bakare
For some of these young players,
00:07:58
Wale Bakare
this will be more attractive to them. And these days, it's you you're dealing with so many. I was watching. one of the episodes of the Overlook, and Jimmy Carr was saying, you know, a lot of players these days with people, and they say, we've spoken to their people, and you need to be. There's so many, you know, people, ah you know, in the ears of young players, particularly, who are giving advice and and and all sorts. So it's difficult, actually. But the the good thing for Palais is, while we talk about
00:08:35
Wale Bakare
you know teams that ah appear more attractive and teams that you know can offer more in terms of you know the the project to these players. There are Pallas's standard as well. Pallas can go to and snatch up a few of them when we're talking about the player from the Birmingham under 21s. That's slightly different.
00:09:01
Wale Bakare
but Well, we know that there are other clubs that Palace can go to and try to get some players before signing a professional contract as well. as Yes, it's concerning when you look at the fact that you've had a player was you know come up the ranks, been at the club for so many years, you you want to have players that understand the club from when they were engaged. You want them to go on into the first team. Aside from the fact that it is a testament of our Grady Academy is there's also that feeling know um of satisfaction from watching players that, you know, grew up in the team.
00:09:45
Wale Bakare
you're going into the first team. And you incidentally, I think for Darian Watson, their fathers you know might have had that journey and played for the Palace of Boston. But it's it's different times that there's really little you can do. If the players set on leaving, them and then they're leaving. that There's also the question about opportunities, you you need to show to a lot of players in the academy that there is opportunities there in the first team.
00:10:20
Wale Bakare
um
00:10:23
Wale Bakare
Yes, at the moment, there's Tarek Mitchell, Klein had to leave and then he's back at Palace, but Klein is is is an old man already. But maybe Tarek Mitchell still, yeah, a lot of players can look at Tarek Mitchell and say that there's an opportunity. but At the moment, in many of the Premier League clubs, I'm not sure there's a lot of opportunity as regards, well, maybe some Liverpool guys in academic can look at Trent Alexander-Annald Bradley the right back.
00:10:59
Wale Bakare
and some of the players have had the chance in the FA Cup and ah the League Cup. But if you look at Palace, can a lot of the guys in the academy look at it and say of that that there's an opportunity there? the When you look at the squad at the moment, how many from the academy there's been you know a lot of purchases coming into the club. So that is something that can give Palace an advantage if there is that clear ah pathway and you know some of these players can see and some of these people around them can see that there is that clear pathway maybe they can you know sign a professional contract see how things go into making it into the first team and then ah make a move if they want eventually but it is's it's difficult that there's really not much you can say to these young players if they want to leave they want to leave and
00:11:38
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yes.
00:11:51
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:11:56
Wale Bakare
There's just so many when the shiny things are
Opportunities for Crystal Palace Youth Players
00:11:59
Wale Bakare
dangled in front of them from these other sides that are richer and bigger in the scheme of things, it's difficult to to keep on to this players.
00:12:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, I think it's a bit of a concern, a couple of reasons. I think it's a bit of a concern for Palace um and in the way that it's just... I'll pick up on this more, sort of after Braywood, losing players in a way which could be avoidable, who could go on to be really top players. Now, you never know with youth players, as we've spoken about before. It's a bit random, it depends on the opportunity. and having the chance to strike when the irons hot whether they make it but reggie Reggie Watson for instance is someone you think could could go on to be a really top player he's 15 and he's already been playing in the under 21s at Chelsea and
00:12:54
Global Sports Podcast Network
Given Chelsea's approach to player recruitment, I can't imagine the under 20 ones is an easy team to break in, so there must be quite a lot of options there, and high quality ones, particularly given the quality of the Cobham Academy over the years.
00:13:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
So that's always got me a bit of a concern. I'm also personally concerned because I love fullbacks who can defend really well and can't cross a ball. I worry they're going extinct and Aaron Wambasaka and Terry Mitchell are perhaps the two great exponents of that role in modern football. So for the old fashioned Lee Dixon style fullback, I ah worry if Palace's Academy stops bringing top players through, whether yeah whether they'll go extinct completely in the league.
00:13:39
Global Sports Podcast Network
I'm a proponent of defensive fallbacks and I'm also a proponent of easy to use podcasting software. So on that note, we'll have a word from our sponsor and pick back up about Palaces Academy when we're back.
00:14:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
So you sort of preempted this question a little bit while they there. But you were talking about paths into the first team. And there are players who've been really successful at Palace. They can look to Mitch and the current squads. And Zaha before, who's who's been Palace's most important player probably the last 20 years, maybe 50 years. So it's clearly like it's not the case that There's nothing there for them or or nothing there for them to hang onto for hope. But do you think Palace could be doing more to show their most talented youth players that there is a pathway into the squad? Could they be using some of their prospects a little more now at the moment, particularly of the squad being so thin? What do you think? Has that... Haven't they made a rod for their own back in that way with them yeah sticking to the tried, tested, experienced players?
00:15:14
Wale Bakare
Well, that there's been debuts for Ike Binone and Gare Kelly-Powa this season. The question is, look, if you... It's it's a it's a
Cultural and Systemic Challenges in Football
00:15:28
Wale Bakare
ah to performance business. If you give a player an opportunity and they...
00:15:36
Wale Bakare
perform well, then you will keep playing them. I don't expect a palace will be playing ah someone for the sake of giving an example to the other guys in the academy to say there's a pathway because the results you know are important. if if If the teams get relegated, for example, a lot of the players will be you know, queuing to leave anyway. So Palace wants to keep that level of in a Premier League side and they would want to have quality players on on the pitch. So opportunities will come to players that are deserving of them. It will not be given just for the sake of it. It will not be given just to show that there's a pathway to the ah to the senior side. So it's
00:16:22
Wale Bakare
vote it Look, as as I said earlier, there's not much you can do, honestly. The the factors surrounding this makes it tough for a lot of sides. the The competition is fierce amongst now academies you know in the Premier League. put put A lot of teams are looking to poach someone off the other if they see they can do good business there. And for teams like Palace, when Chelsea comes, when United,
00:16:53
Wale Bakare
comes when CT come and Liverpool come. It's difficult to say to these players, look, ah you would have a better or brighter chance here. Meanwhile, remember that a lot of younger younger players are also backing themselves to go on and be the best that they can be. So they would look at Chelsea and say, well, I can you know crack it there as well. I can't get it get in there. And if if they've got some of their mates already making these moves, you know will the yeah they will be having conversations about it the themselves. these ah These are dreams that they will be having themselves. There's also the financial part of it.
00:17:30
Wale Bakare
So this it's it's not very, very easy. it it's It's something that we've seen in the last, more prominently in the last couple of seasons, and it doesn't look like it will be stopping. There will be teams coming in for players before they sign professional contracts. There will be bigger teams taking players off you know clubs that are not their stature. Palace ah maybe once or twice.
00:17:57
Wale Bakare
done it to teams below them as well. We'll be looking to do it to teams below them. you you it's It's not something that can that can really be ah mitigated at the moment. you know it's It's a business that will that that we yeah everything just needs to find a way to to work around it. Of course, ah if There is players coming from the academy into the first team and they are performing well. I'm sure, you know, Glasner, for example, will give more opportunities, ah particularly with, although when I look at Palace's cup games this season, it's been largely played by the same first team regulars. Maybe opportunities can be given to some more players in those cup games,
00:18:48
Wale Bakare
But at the same time, if you want to have a cop run, it looks like something, you know, Glastner wanted to do. ah Unfortunately, after great results in previous rounds in the League Cop, the team, the pilots then lost to Asma, ah you know, in in very in a very close game. Gabra Isu's got to actually end the game. But now there's the FA cop run.
Crystal Palace's Cup Performances
00:19:15
Wale Bakare
you're looking at it and saying if we get a result against Millwall, depending on how lucky we get with the next straw, we might be talking about going to Wembley here. So it's not one that he wants to experiment with or it's not one way he wants to just give chances for the sake of it.
00:19:32
Wale Bakare
But it would be nice to you know use the cop games to give opportunities as one of the guys from the academy. And maybe Zach and maybe there's one or two that will look at that and say, well, there's this's opportunity here. But there's really not much you can do, to be honest.
00:19:49
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah I kind of think there maybe were a few players that Palace could have given the opportunities this year and wouldn't be a good example but the opportunities they may would have had to play were predicated upon injuries and situations that the team wouldn't have foreseen because the squads come to look quite fit this season. And I think at the start of the year, I mean, we're not football players. We didn't think it seemed
00:20:22
Global Sports Podcast Network
that thin after the end of the um the end of the summer transfer window. I think we felt good business had been done. They'd kind of strengthened just in time and they'd been more or less okay. And then a few key long-term injuries struck and it suddenly looks like panic stations. I think in hindsight, someone like David Ozo who's done well at Derby or particularly Jezrin Raksacki who's probably been the most talented player to come out of the youth academy for a long while and just hasn't got his chance at Palace and seems to have been slightly frustrated by that. Le could have ended up as big players this season and then that would have sent a good message to the academy players, whereas in reality the way it's worked out particularly in Rakusaki's position is
00:21:14
Global Sports Podcast Network
Essays come in and who's a great player but I don't think he was doing better in the championship for Millwall than Rakusaki was for has been for Sheffield and Deveni's played a lot of games and both of them on the one hand look accounting players could look at and be like, oh, well, yes, they do give young players a chance. On the other hand, they might think they don't trust their own an academy because both of these players have come in from elsewhere. And they're the youth players getting a chance. Other than that, but guy I don't particularly blame glass to fly. I think that's sort of circumstantial. um Do you think, again, we don't see him in training every day, we don't quite get his quality.
00:22:05
Global Sports Podcast Network
From what we've seen of Caleb, Caleb Capora, I think he looks good enough. that I would like to see him get a bit more football just 20, 30 minutes here and there to give Munoz a rest.
00:22:20
Global Sports Podcast Network
I don't think he looks like a world beta, but he seems competent. He doesn't seem overwhelmed by the pace of top level football. So I wonder if he could get a bit more a bit more football.
00:22:31
Global Sports Podcast Network
But on the whole, yeah, I don't think there's anything too much that Palace doing wrong. I think it's it's just, as you say, it's very hard, very hard to keep.
00:22:40
Wale Bakare
Yeah.
00:22:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
and the filthy mitts of Chelsea, Manchester United, etc. off your players when they come calling with big money and recognisable badges and the real smart ones will stay at Palace and become the next Wilf Zaha, Tyrone Mitchell or John Bostock if they're lucky. On that we'll have a wait ah pause for a word from the network and then finish up by talking about an entirely different kind of football from across a big ocean.
Comparing American and Association Football
00:23:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
Wow, it's time to turn our attention to some other Eagles. Across the pond, Philadelphia's own Birds of Prey won the Super Bowl at the weekend. I'm a firm believer that association football beats all other sports, hands down, across most aspects. Hence why I insist on calling it association football as a furthest concession I'll go. It will not be called soccer.
00:24:07
Global Sports Podcast Network
But the Super Bowl got me thinking, if I had to take one thing from the American variant of the sport, what would it be? What would it be for you while they, what would you take from American football if you had to take it one thing?
00:24:22
Wale Bakare
First of all, I have to say that yeah I've enjoyed watching the Super Bowl over the years more because of the halftime shows. Maybe not this year, to be honest. ah but um oh I like Kendrick.
00:24:34
Global Sports Podcast Network
You're not a fan of Gendry's show.
00:24:39
Wale Bakare
Usually it's been with more people, you know, look at look at the performance the other year with Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Eminem.
00:24:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah,
00:24:50
Wale Bakare
That's more like something I enjoy. no But yeah, anyway. um So um but I might not know a lot of the rules but I know that with ah American football that the coaches are able to challenge some refereeing decisions in the game. I think they get two and then if they're successful on both occasions they can get a further third. Now That then, I know that brings a question about, oh, is there more delays in the games? We've already got delays with VAR. But then we we've seen a couple of times when there's been VAR decisions that have north that have not you know even after review been entirely correct. um i I just wonder whether the managerial challenge, when Luis Diaz definitely got a goal against Tottenham,
00:25:45
Wale Bakare
would have helped. There is also the other part of the things that at the moment, although this might be about VR, ru ah I've said this before, it looks like I'm i'm stuck on it and I just want to show up about it. Why is it that?
00:26:03
Wale Bakare
when someone's scored a goal, VR can go all the way back and say, oh, there's been a foul leading to that goal, even if it's been a foul on the other side of of the pitch. But then, if I've attempted to, if there's, dead and I keep giving the example, if you could go, if you can look for the game, is so I'm sure you'll find on YouTube, Brighton Man City, that, what was that?
00:26:28
Wale Bakare
That was the last season, yeah, towards the end of the season, Brighton, Manchester, although Manchester won 3-1 or something. But the first goal was a free kick, but I feel forward to it. It was never a foul. But then VR wouldn't look at a foul outside the box and say, oh, it shouldn't have been a free kick. We've had corner kicks that shouldn't have been corner kicks, you know.
00:26:48
Wale Bakare
And then it's led to a goal. I don't know whether that's something challenging and saying, go look at that again.
00:26:54
Global Sports Podcast Network
Thanks.
00:26:55
Wale Bakare
I can bet it wasn't a corner kick. And then if they if they get successful twice, they get another one. We'll waste more time, but That's the closest I can think. As long as it's going to ah protect from you know more errors being made, it's just that I just wonder if if the referees looked at it and the VR has looked at it, if you ask them to look at it again, will they still change their mind? If they don't change their mind, what then happens? It just brings me back to the start of the conversation again. But that that's the closest thing I could ask to be brought into football, whether it will work, I don't know.
00:27:34
Global Sports Podcast Network
Well, I think that's actually a good ah sensible suggestion, why they ah which is starting to start contrast to my suggestion, which is candy floss burrito, which is something that's served at the Arizona I wanna call him the Arizona Pelicans.
00:27:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
Have I made a note of this? Arizona's team. Arizona Falcons?
00:28:03
Wale Bakare
I don't know what they're called.
00:28:04
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hmm.
00:28:07
Global Sports Podcast Network
systems Wow, Arizona, we'll call them Arizona for this. They serve something called a candy floss or cotton candy burrito there. It features cotton candy flavored ice cream. It's it's it' wrapped in cotton candy and that it's got cotton candy flavored ice cream mixed with fruity pebbles, fruit loops, marshmallows, skittles, mini M&Ms, gummy bears, and sprinkles.
00:28:37
Global Sports Podcast Network
um
00:28:37
Wale Bakare
I'm sorry, is it on a cardinal circle, huh?
00:28:38
Global Sports Podcast Network
it
00:28:40
Global Sports Podcast Network
Cardinals, that was it. That was it. Arizona Cardinals. Yeah, I think it's designed designed to give a heart attack to any sweet tooth Phoenixite or any Mexican who already thought Taco Bell was a bit of a Mickey take. um But I'd love one. I want to try one.
00:28:58
Global Sports Podcast Network
It might have something to do with them missing out on the playoffs in the NFL. I'm not sure.
00:29:05
Wale Bakare
Baby.
00:29:05
Global Sports Podcast Network
Maybe the club doctors were ah too busy attending to fans. The atmosphere was a bit too subdued. But ah I want to eat it on a on dreary Sunday at midday as fast as possible before the rain melts the shell on the terraces.
00:29:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
um I might dunk it in Bovril. And I want to stand there and be abused and improvised song by other fans, calling me a creep for trying it. So I'm absolutely all over this cotton candy breed.
Episode Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:29:35
Global Sports Podcast Network
So if anyone can get one over to me, any kind listeners ah feel for like travel a well in the post from Arizona, then please, please do ship it my way. um I think that's all we have time for today. So thank you for joining me, Wiley.
00:29:49
Wale Bakare
Cheers, well, always nice chatting with you. Cheers.
00:29:54
Global Sports Podcast Network
worst size ja you to I am now gonna have to have my boring savoury dinner with dreams of cotton candy burritos. If you've listened this far, give us five stars, help us get discovered. um We'll be back as usual ah for the rest of the week tomorrow and the next day and hope that you tune in again then. But until then, it's goodbye.