Young players who make it...

[lazza]

So, I browse the EDS forum from time to time, and the debate in a lot of the threads is the same: is player X at 17/18/19/20 years old ready for a taste of the first team? I can see valid points made for both sides of the argument.

But one question that always comes to mind is: how good are those players that do break through as a 17- or 18-year-old? What is it that makes them be able to step up a level at such an early age.

I remember seeing Paul Lake playing in his first couple of seasons when he was still a teenager, and you would never have guessed his age by his skill and style, but I have no idea how he made that step up to senior level and I wonder how he had been performing for the youth team that sealed the deal for the management at City to put him up to the senior team. And I don't think he spent any time anywhere on loan, either...

For those of you long-term watchers of our youth development, do those that make it as teenagers stand out from an
early age?

I remember seeing a kid at the high school my wife works at playing some completely mesmerising football at U16 level, being by far the best player on the pitch, and he was already on Middlesbrough's books (and plying in their U18s, I thin). When he left school, he stayed at Boro joining their academy full time, but he never hit the big time, and plays in the Scottish 3rd tier now...

 

[Clubber]

Regards breaking through at the age of 17-18, i think a big part of this has to be, for the prem now, the physical build of a player or excessive pace, which is a big shame.

Look at most of the kids who catch the eye of the media, all either shoulders wider than a fridge or can run sub 10 secs 100m. This is the reason the England team has no Silva's or players of that ilk, who can "thread the needle" with lovely little passes. It seems to be "Why have an exquisite first touch when you have the pace to make up for you poor one".

I am still of the opinion that the "power and pace" game of the English league is the most detrimental thing to the international set up. People love the end to end game of the premiership, but the lack of control and tactical awareness is what costs us at international level and this doesn't seem to be at the forefront of any "top young players" mind.

Greg Dyke, may be trying to stop non-EU players from flooding the UK market, but what he should really be doing is encouraging some of our own young talent to move to the continent and develop their skills and knowledge.

 

[Neville Kneville]

So, I browse the EDS forum from time to time, and the debate in a lot of the threads is the same: is player X at 17/18/19/20 years old ready for a taste of the first team? I can see valid points made for both sides of the argument.

But one question that always comes to mind is: how good are those players that do break through as a 17- or 18-year-old? What is it that makes them be able to step up a level at such an early age.

I remember seeing Paul Lake playing in his first couple of seasons when he was still a teenager, and you would never have guessed his age by his skill and style, but I have no idea how he made that step up to senior level and I wonder how he had been performing for the youth team that sealed the deal for the management at City to put him up to the senior team. And I don't think he spent any time anywhere on loan, either...

For those of you long-term watchers of our youth development, do those that make it as teenagers stand out from an
early age?

I remember seeing a kid at the high school my wife works at playing some completely mesmerising football at U16 level, being by far the best player on the pitch, and he was already on Middlesbrough's books (and plying in their U18s, I thin). When he left school, he stayed at Boro joining their academy full time, but he never hit the big time, and plays in the Scottish 3rd tier now...

In this country over the last few decades, the majority of the ones to come through have tended to be the athletes on the whole. But the absolute best players, who made it at the top level, have often not particularly been the best athletes. Which should be an indicator of where we have been going wrong.

If you look at the team Lake came from, they were almost all outstanding at youth team level, but also, most of them had physical attributes. They were mostly either fast, strong, big or all 3, as well as one or two being very talented footballers as well.

The footballing gem at that level other than Lake, was Paul Moulden, but he was too slow to make it at the top. Ian Scott was also a really nice footballer, but not an athlete. The rest all pretty much made it, the only small ones being Beresford & Simpson, who were both quick & tricky, the rest were all well built lads.

The group we have now are a lot better imo than most of those players were as footballers & smarter, but not quite as phsically powerful on the whole.

I think most of them now are good enough as footballers & it will be the physical side, plus equally, attitude, workrate, bottle etc, which decides who makes it. I don't think fotball ability is even a question with many of them.

I doubt they lack much in ability compared to the first team tbh & some are better as pure footballers already, than many in the first team squad. But the Premier League is a different story altogether, & you have to produce it.

That's the difficult bit.