Neville Kneville
Well-Known Member
I do feel that Barker has more variation to his game and i agree, Roberts has gone backwards since the Juve game, but you also said the same about Manu Garcia during pre season and now look at him, he is struggling to perform to a good level in the EDS team.
I know your a big believer in giving youth a chance and your very optimistic about the academy, but the only time we should ever give youth a chance is if they are standing out in the academy on a consistent basis, i.e. Jason Denayer who for me looked head and shoulders above anything i have seen in the past decade or so. Any of the other players would not get a look in right now for me, possibly only Pablo Maffeo as he is quite a consistent player and seeing as we have had injuries in that position throughout the past year.
I am not counting Iheanacho within that bracket and i now class him as a first team player.
The only time we should give youth a chance is if they stand out in the academy ? So that would be Barker, Bryan, Maffeo, Boadu if he wss fit, Ambrose once he recovers last season's form from the current bunch, & not Roberts or Garcia at present, although Roberts deserved a chance due to his performance v Juve. What he has shown since then, is much less goal threat, pace & intelligence compared to Barker, wheras Garcia has shown a lower level of pretty much everything, by comparison to pretty much everybody.
I'm sure both Roberts & Garcia will raise their level sooner or later because both have great talent, but it appears to me that if the club pays money for you, then you automatically get closer to the first team.
It's about time some of the players who deserve a chance, are given a chance.
Incidentally, what is the fucking point of taking Barker with the first team, when he has played hardly any football for months & wasn't even considered worth 5 mins v Palace ? What the fuck is he supposed to do if he gets on v Seville ? Why were two kids who aren't involved, preferred to him ? Where is the plan in that ?
There isn't one.