I've now watched the Swansea game and the club site should have a report up some time Monday as they do tend to write about a win. And what a win! 4-0 away from home with a good solid all round display. Watford born Shaq Forde was once again scorer and provider so will no doubt grab the headlines but special praise goes to central defensive pairing George Langston & Jack Burchell who really do look assured at this level, not just with their defensive work but how they play the ball out too. In midfield it was the impressive Lawal and Conteh who regularly broke up play and started attacks with quick incisive passing or carrying the ball forward. The 1st goal came on 31 minutes with a quickly taken short corner catching the Swans defence napping. From the left, Forde received the ball and played it in low with his left-foot causing a hapless defender to slice into his own goal at the near post. It was 2-0 after 53 minutes when Forde cut in from the right wing and sent the ball into the far corner with his left foot. No way it was a shot but hey, I won't tell if you don't. It should have been 3-0 five minutes later as Forde beat his man on the touchline with quick feet, once again cutting back onto his left foot before sending the ball low between defenders & keeper where it was heading for the inside of the left hand post. Sadly, Damari Hunter arrived to tap in but was adjudged to have been offside. No goal. It wasn't long before the third came however, with Bosun Lawal scoring via a beautifully flighted in-swinging free-kick from the right by yes, you guessed it - Shaq Forde. His left-foot curling the ball invitingly for Lawal to head home. 3-0. 75 minutes gone and the same pair combined in similar fashion to make it 4-0, only this time Forde's delivery came from a corner - are you sure you haven't been coaching set-pieces at the academy @reids?!? Good movement and a decent delivery meant Lawal headed in unchallenged. Swansea put the Watford defence under pressure in the final quarter but they mainly held firm with very good organisation and cover when needed. On the few occasions the home side did manage to get efforts on target, the Watford keeper (Marriott?) was there with several fine saves. Once again lots of promise shown both individually and as a team, and it was especially encouraging to see this kind of dominant display after playing so well in midweek in the cup win over Colchester. (It also flowed better watching it at 1.5x speed!)
Sounds like this Forde lad should be playing for the 1st team sooner rather than later, he could not do any worse than the current bunch we have up front
It'll be interesting if someone does take him anytime soon. He's certainly got a decent left foot, has a good physique for someone approximately 6 months away from his 17th birthday, looks quick enough and works hard defensively as well as going forward. But... there is something missing which I can't properly identify yet. In a broad sense it looks like he isn't sure what to do with the ball at his feet with a defender in front of him as he seems to freeze, losing possession easily. It could be he's waiting for the defender to commit before moving the ball and its his timing of when to move is out but it does look odd at times. I mentioned his physique and I don't think he makes good use of what looks like a strong upper body. This could be down to being a touch player and trying to drift by defenders and it can look soft when he's easily brushed off the ball, generally from a standing position. I just hope he hasn't got so much coaching in his ears he's losing the natural ability he obviously has. His feet are sometimes quick and when he does attack defenders while moving the ball he often sits them on their backside as they don't know which way he's going to go - here's a clue for any opposition teams; it's more than likely he'll favour going to his left. Defensively is the same and he should be making more use of his strength. He does work back and puts in tackles but I'm not sure he fully knows what he's doing, or isn't confident, at the defensive side. That may all sound pretty negative but he's definitely more than decent playing across the front line and is certainly someone the club like as he's already started for the U23s, albeit he looked stilted when I've seen him play for them. This may point to a confidence thing but I'm looking forward to watching him progress in the next season or two if he does stay. Other players I can see being poached are George Langston (18), Jack Burchell (18), Bosun Lawal (17), Damari Hunter (16) and George Abbott (15).
The Swansea win now has an article on the official site (they only seem to report wins!) and the goalkeeper is named as Mac Chisholm. As far as I can tell this was Chisolm's first start and only his second inclusion for the U18s, he was named as a sub for the FAYC game last week. He's currently listed as a Fulham player on the relevant sites so it's unclear who his parent club is at the moment. Chisholm isn't the first keeper listed for other clubs to have appeared for the academy side this season. Adam Hayton (Tottenham Hotspur) and Joshua Roach (West Ham United) are the others I've seen named who don't appear to be on Watford's books. https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/mac-chisholm/profil/spieler/566955 https://fulham.fandom.com/wiki/Mac_Chisholm https://dev.fulhamfc.com/player-profiles/mac-chisholm
A 2-2 draw at home to Cardiff today for the U23s. The trialist keeper was probably/possibly Rhys Davies as he played in the last U23 game, while the starting trialist was once again Louis Walsh (no, not THAT Louis Walsh!). As the trialist sub doesn't look like he made an appearance it will be sheer luck to find out who it was. Game action from the Cardiff Academy twitter account:
The keeper today wasn't Davies as he has now confirmed he has left Watford after his trial finished last week. No contract was offered and the search for the next Tony Meola continues.
Watford U18s were sitting top going into the last round of PDL games this year but lost out 2-1 to Ipswich earlier today. The Suffolk side have now leapfrogged the Hornets to take top spot on goal difference, and they also have the advantage of two games in hand. Unless the FAYC 4th round tie away to either Lincoln City or Preston North End is played between now and January, this mornings game will be the last time the U18s play in 2020. The U23s play their final game before the new year on Monday when they host Swansea City. Kick-off is at 1pm.
I've been told the U23s won their away game against Swansea 3-2 at lunchtime today. The Muñoz effect in action? It's probably worn off now. No Watford details as of yet but the Swans scorers were Declan John and Josh Thomas.
I may have goaded the Watford Twitter team a little and they've finally recognised the U23s game today by naming the scorers. Nothing else other than the result, mind. Anyway, a 3-2 win away at Swansea with the winner deep into injury time. Sam Dalby was credited with a goal in what, I think, is his first appearance of the season. Swansea took the lead on 12 minutes with Watford equalising shortly before half-time. Now, depending how Watford have listed the scorers it looks like Joseph Hungbo pulled the Hornets level. The Black Jacks regained the lead in the 72nd minute before Toby Stevenson scored 7 minutes later. Sam Dalby then scored the decisive goal in either the 93rd or 95th minute, depending on which independent site you choose to believe. Apologies for being bereft of any real detail such as the line-up but I've cobbled this together from five different sites/sources so far. If anything interesting turns up I'll post it if nobody else has.
A little further down the age groups, on Saturday Watford U16s lost 5-4 against their Ipswich counterparts. Rumours of David Moyes asking Watford to give Craig Dawson 90 minutes in the game as an over-age player are unfounded.
Watford's report for the Swansea win includes something which makes me think the whole thing is made u, and I'm not quite sure what to make of it really. https://www.watfordfc.com/match-report/under-23-swansea-city-2-3-watford I mean, reality has been turned on its head if this is true. Sam Dalby himself seems confused as to what he's just done and the possible implications of his actions. Even Matej Vydra looks concerned after hearing the news. A favour to ask @reids before I go searching - does instat have the names of the trialists for the Swansea game?
Cameron Jessup (ex Palace) + Louis Walsh look to be the trialists, don't have the name of the trialist on the bench sadly though!
Thanks Reids. Walsh surely must sign a contract soon - he's been on trial for some time now. Jessup was named by the club as sub for the FAYC game against Colchester so it's odd he's back to being a trialist again. Presumably there are either different regulations for FAYC games or U18 games in general. You mentioned last week the keeper trialist was Daniel Atherton so I guess he was the unused sub. Thanks again for the info and speed of posting, I'm very grateful.
Noticed George Langston trained with the first team yesterday: Firmly believe he will make the break through in the near future.
Is he a central defender like his dad? Hope he didn't go too near to Hughes - that guy is made of glass it seems.
Yep, a centre-back. Played right back for the U18s during the run to the FAYC semi-final two seasons ago when just 16 and looked very assured then. He was 18 in November so will join the U23s next year but he's already appearing on the bench for them so hopefully he'll start a few games this season, despite that age group having some half decent (for that level) centre-backs. He hasn't played for some time, only appearing in the last month or so due to a long term ACL injury I think. From what I've seen he's still rusty but as DrewH says, he'll make the breakthrough sooner rather than later. He's highly rated and liked by the club and although still completing his scholarship Langston signed a professional contract in November 2019. If my memory serves me right he was already injured when the contract was signed, that's how much they rate him. There was a pre-season video by the club showing the academy players and one of the fitness coaches/medical team said a couple of times how impressive his attitude is, how he's seen as a leader by that group and how other players raise their levels when he's around. He actually started at Spurs at 8 years old and was there for 4 years before Watford offered him a 6 week trial. He's been here ever since.
Somebody on the clubs media team must've taken a knock to the head because this is both informative and encouraging to read. As well as the players below, it's worth remembering Omar Riza, the clubs U23 lead coach, also works with the England U17s. https://www.watfordfc.com/news/news-england-call-ups-for-academy-pair International recognition for players in the club's Academy continued this week after two players returned from England duty. Advanced midfielders Billy Mardell-Smith and Reimeiro Moulton, both 14, spent three days with the England Under-15 squad at the national training base in St George's Park over the weekend. Moulton lives in Stevenage and signed for the club at the age of 12 after a spell at Arsenal, while St Albans-based Mardell-Smith has been with the Hornets since the age of nine. They were called up by England Under-15 coach Lee Skyrme for a talent identification camp. “They are both similar in terms of their position and attitude,” said Armand Kavaja (pictured at top), the Lead Phase Coach for the Under-15s and 16s. “Billy has a great attitude, is really focused and works hard. He is really tidy and efficient technically and can play as a No.8 or a No.10. We haven't picked his best position yet but that will come. He gets in very good positions and is a clever and intelligent player. “Remeiro has a similar character and is just as hard working. He is a bit more physically developed than Billy and dominates in the one-v-one. He is very clever and combines well with the forward players. Again, he can play 10 or eight and works box to box.” The double call-up adds to others this year for Tomas Gálvez (Finland), George Abbott (England & Wales), James Debayo (England), Bosun Lawal (Republic Ireland), Ryan Cassidy (Republic Ireland), JJ McKiernan (Northern Ireland), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (Scotland), Freddie Taylor (Wales), Jordan Harrison (Australia) and Erion Zabeli (Albania). “It's great recognition for the Academy,” said Kavaja. “It's recognition for the coaching, the recruitment and the scouting. We've got a bit of a conveyor belt of talent right now and they all want to learn and listen.”
Good to know Debayo is still here. It seems a bit of a stretch on the club's behalf to cite the first two players as having "England call-ups" though, to me that would suggest they'd actually been requested to be part of one of their actual squads for matches. However, they were just brought in "for a talent identification camp" after which there's a chance they might not be "identified" and so won't feature when it matters. Who was the last youth team player of ours to actually get a proper call-up at any youth level? Excluding Wilmot as he was already a youth international when we signed him. I'm guessing it's still only Sancho.
You've quoted the headline which is there to grab attention, lowerrous. It's quite clear from the article why they were with England. As for the last player(s) to actually play: McKeirnan turned out for the Irish U21s this season, Lo-Everton for Scotland U19s, Cassidy is a ROI U17, U18 & U19 player and also appeared on the bench for the U21s recently. Lawal is also an Irish U18 player I think. That's off the top of my head so there may be others. Out of those I've listed I suppose the one true academy player is Lo-Everton, the others all having been brought to the club in recent seasons. I don't know if any had international recognition before playing for Watford however.
Mystery now over as Mac Chisholm has signed for the club until the end of the season. https://www.watfordfc.com/news/academy-chisholm-joins-hornets Goalkeeper Mac Chisholm has signed for Watford’s Academy in a deal which runs until the end of this season. The 17-year-old joins from Fulham and will be part of the Hornets’ Under-18 squad for the remainder of 2020/21.
A few reports coming out saying EPL and FL clubs are in talks concerning compensation payments for academy players. It was spoken about on the forum a little while ago but I can't remember where and our concerns then are now echoed by clubs below Premier League level. Namely, with top sides unable to sign foreign players under 18 years of age the focus will be heightened on the 14 - 17 year olds in domestic academies. The current compensation scale isn't adequate so Football League clubs are looking to redress the balance before January. Presumably talks have been going for a while with an announcement is due soon and that's why stories of talks are emerging now.
Academy defender George Abbott takes part in the Wonderkid Challenge on BBC Sport. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/55175156
I would add Forde to that list, and if our current so called strikers continue to fire blanks I reckon putting one or two of those guys on the bench and giving them a cameo outing if we are struggling for a goal might just be worth a punt. You never know a star may be born?
Cassidy is having his first taste of 1st XI football at Accrington this season and while he went straight into the team at the beginning, he is now occupying a bench place when they play. Hopefully a season battling for a 1st team spot there will improve his all round game and he can be pushing for a spot next pre-season at least. Whether he'll have to go out on loan again will be down to which division we're in I would think. I feel a bit for him really because last season he was injured when Dalby was on the bench a few times and this time round he's not at the club when he would have been a definite sub early on, maybe even starting the League Cup games instead of or alongside Murray. Dalby is just back after a lengthy lay-off so will need to start again with the U23s in the New Year so this season is a write off in terms of the 1st XI. His contract ends this season but there is an option for an extra year if the club want him. He's got an eye for goal but, personally, I'm not seeing enough to make me think he'd make a mark in the Championship. Who knows though as I never saw Dele-Bashiru play anything like he did for the 1st XI when turning out for the U23s, yet Dan Phillips always looked a class above. So in my heart of hearts I can't say with any conviction either look likely to break through based on previous seasons playing for the U23s. But... it only takes a decent spell banging the goals in somewhere and either of them could elevate their game to at least deserve a chance to show what they can do at a higher level. Sorry for being a bit vague but at their ages (Cassidy is 20 in March, Dalby turned 21 this month) it's possible for lots of things to suddenly click and they'll be in the side next season. In Dalby's case that needs to happen soon while Cassidy has more time on his side judging by the contracts they were given.
Two players who had lengthy trial spells with Watford this season have now signed for other clubs. Former Manchester United academy player Junior Nkwonta appears to be at Reading. I can't find any official news but he's listed on some independent sites as now being part of the Royals U18 squad. A bit of a surprise with the second player. Louis Walsh (no, not that one) signed an 18 month contract for Southend United on December 26. He has since been on the bench in the two games after joining the Shrimpers. https://www.southendunited.co.uk/news/2020/december/blues-complete-signing-of-winger-louis-walsh/ I say it's a surprise because he had been with Watford's U23s for some time so they must have fancied him to have kept the player around for so long - off the top of my head I'd say he first appeared about a month ago, possibly 6 weeks. In the article I've linked he does mention the want of first team football and after training with Southend earlier this season it may well have been familiarity and the chance of playing league football which led him to sign for the Essex side. I've no idea if Watford actually offered him a contract.
Mr Recluse, just how many players do WFC have on the books, including those out on loan? Because if anyone will know I'm sure it is you. I've just checked the clubs official site and there are a total of 62 players listed in the First team, u23's & u18's squads. However, even I know there are others that are not shown anywhere on the site who are out on loan, such as Duelofeu for one. There are 6 GK's officially listed: - 3 in the first team squad, 2 in the u23's and 1 in the U18's. The Swedish lad Dahlberg is not listed anywhere although I know he is still our player and I'm guessing there are possibly others out on loan. There are 20 Defenders listed: - 9 in first team, 5 in u23's and 6 in u18's. The guy on loan at West Ham who's name escapes me, is not even listed, and again I expect there are others out on loan? There are 18 Mid Fielders: - 6 in first team, 5 in u23's and 7 in u18's. Again I expect there are others out on loan who are not listed. There are 18 Forwards: - There are 9 in the first team, which is hard to believe seeing how bad we are are scoring goals, 4 in u23's and 5 in u18's. That young lad you very recently posted about having signed, Djibril Fandje Toure, is not listed and I know there are definitely others. So Mr. Recluse how would you like to prove me right about how knowledgeable you are and name all the players who are officially on WFC's books, including those we currently have out on loan, and those who are currently on loan with us. I'm pretty sure there are others on here besides me that would appreciate seeing such a comprehensive list. However, if you don't fancy doing it then fair enough, but I reckon you might just be up for the challenge.
