Our brightest academy hope is heading to Man Utd, choosing them over Chelsea. https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/fo...fc-harry-amass-watford-transfer-b1069181.html
This was already posted in the youth thread. As has pointed out by some over the years, as soon as any of our youth team products get an England call-up it's only a matter of time before they get nicked.
Utterly pointless trying to bring kids through. Most don't make it and the few that are any good get picked off.
If I were a young player I’d trust my development at any other outfit than our festering unlanced boil of a club.
Pereyra was crap by the time he left us. Masina, Success and Zeegelaar still get minutes for them. Samir was supposedly their best defender and was crap for us.
Serie A is still 4th on UEFA's league coefficient ranking. https://www.uefa.com/nationalassociations/uefarankings/country/ Sure Napoli are good this year, but I wouldn't read too much in to Inter and AC right now when they've done little more to get to where they are than beat badly out of form Barca and Spurs respectively at home 1-0.
The badly out of form Barca who have won 22 games, and lost 2 and drawn 2 games all season in La Liga and have +40 GD?
I have it on good authority that if Samir stayed this squad would have been best in Championship history?
Fair enough I misremembered with Barca, should have double-checked first. I'd thought they started the season slowly.
Whatever he was, it wasn't much better than the dross we already had at CB last season and at the start of this one.
We should be hoovering up every talented 17 year old from Brazil and West Africa. On the basis that not all of them will want to live in the Lancaster rain belt, we might get a few youth players into the first team.
On the contrary, the better of the young players are being poached by some of the best clubs in the country, so I think those young players would see us as a good place to get their foot through the door as a professional footballer. Obviously this does us no favours whatsoever.
As a matter of interest have any of the players, Sancho aside, that have been poached from us gone on to play in a top league yet? I presume it's all a bit early to say but if they haven't is it possible had they stayed that thy might have been involved in the first team by now
I'm sure the players pinched would at least have had the chance to win a first team place and kick on their career with us. There's an understandable desire to see our youngsters get a chance but generally when the players not good enough to be pinched have played, like in the Carabao cup, they haven't impressed, and haven't gone on to achieve a decent career in the game.
Of the ones I can recall, it's too early to say. The recent annoying ones have been: Tomas Galvez - only just turned 18, there's an outside chance he could have had some of Morris' minutes this season had he stayed with us, but it'll probably be another season until he either gets loaned or is given minutes for City. Romari Forde - at Arsenal, still 16 Remiero Moulton - at Brighton, still 16 James Debayo - at Leeds, still 17, got an England call-up recently There was also: Basilio Rieno Socoliche - an attacking midfielder who left us for Palace 2 seasons ago and has now just turned 18. Not had any minutes yet for Palace. Those are the only ones I can remember or find. There's probably more, including ones that weren't reported on.
Can’t remember the history of all this, but am I along the right lines of saying this was some sort of awful deal done that ceded power to bigger clubs when it comes to this sort of thing? I know there are probably employment law issues to consider, but the whole thing just seems mad as far as player development is concerned. I think it would be much better for the players to have to stay with their clubs until, say 21. But obviously that’s ignoring the fact it wouldn’t work for the bigger clubs.