Could not find an appropriate thread to put this on so here it is: - Etebo and Baah played in this match yesterday, does anyone know how they got on as I can't find any news on how the team got on or how Etebo and Baah played on either here or the official club site. Mods, by all means move this to another thread if there is a more suitable one that I could not find.
A friend went to the recent game v Huddersfield (another 3-0 defeat) They said the keeper touched the ball more than anyone else - so much passing around the back. And not very good at it either so always got caught.
Imagine a club with a footballing philosophy in place that means the first team, U23s and U18s are all in sync and play with a similar style. Since Omer Riza has been in charge of the U23s I think we've gone through at least four head coaches, all with a different way of playing. I doubt any of the current U23 bunch are good enough anyway but the set up here gives them no chance of making it.
It’s almost like contrary to TVOR’s predictions, a 19 year old kid from Rochdale that’s never kicked a ball above league 1 level, isn’t going to have a Michael Owen WC 1998 style impact on our season after all.
I think you're over-egging that a bit - the first team have played 433 for 7 years now since Joka, with only a few brief switches to 442 with QSF and Hodgson, and 352 with Ivic. There's really not been that much change formation wise and I believe the youth teams also generally stick to 433 which is the most common system currently deployed at the top level of the game and so the one it makes most sense for them to be familiar with. As for anything else "footballing philosophy" wise, what they learn should generally be the same key technical things which should theoretically enable them to adapt and thrive regardless of the manager and their particular approach. Clearly it's working well enough as well or else we wouldn't be having Man City and Arsenal nicking our top youngsters at 15. I doubt you get many youth teams and youth team players who are so drilled to just one rigid style of play which is exactly the same as the first team in the way you seem to envisage. For one thing, a youth team player might be in an academy for 10 years before being ready for the first team, and there aren't many clubs, not only us, who will have the exact same manager with the exact same style of play for such a length of time. Secondly, the vast majority of youth team players won't make it at the club they're in the academy of, in which case it'd be pretty useless for them if they only knew and were capable of one very specific way of playing, given they'll likely end up at another club anyway at some point in their career if they turn professional. Rather, more than being forced in to a particular style, youth footballers need to learn the technical skills, footballing intelligence, basic principles, reading of the game etc which should enable them to thrive in different systems. After all, even the same manager who has been at the same club for a long time might often switch up the team's formation and style of play from week to week depending on the opposition, for instance a mid-table club like Southampton, who generally play on the front-foot, but will be more set-up for defending deep and playing on the counter attack when facing the top sides.
