Dolan proud of academy progress

It may not get the most recognition, but our academy is certainly thriving under the radar.

The Royals’ under 18 side, under the leadership of academy director Eamonn Dolan, made the Premier League elite final with Fulham, but unfortunately lost 3-0 to Fulham. The development of academy graduates Alex McCarthy, Jem Karacan, Alex Pearce and Hal Robson-Kanu also reflects the growth of our youth system in recent years.

Speaking to the Official Reading FC website, Dolan said: ‘Youth development is very hard to understand unless you’ve worked in it. The idea of football is to win the game, but we’re living in a world where image is very important. Barcelona haven’t just set the bar for top clubs to win, they’ve increased the pressure to win with style.’

‘We’re very much under the radar here at our Academy, with no huge amount of history compared with the likes of Aston Villa and Chelsea. But especially over these last five years, we have had great history. We have a mission statement here and that’s to produce brilliantly technical players who work tremendously hard.’

It does go under the radar sometimes how much we have improved in our youth structure, but the under 18 final gave rightful recognition to our growth in recent years. On paper, it technically meant we are the second best under 18 side in the country, better than the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United! Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though…..