Have I missed something with Gelhardt? Why is he suddenly ****? Thought he has done really well this season. Been a bit unlucky in front of goal imo.
For me Emu he has done nothing wrong, but is in danger of being bypassed. His little niggles havent helped his cause when he could have been starting in the absence of Bamford. Rodrigo took that spot off him….
Thought he was quiet vs Everton yet still had two good chances to score with Pickford making a great save on one occasion and him slicing an effort just wide in the other which was a chance he created for himself. Thought he was much better at Brentford where he linked play much better and when Bamford came on he dropped deeper and created alot from there. Think he has a bright future. Still only 20.
I read this statement and thought yes I agree. However because of who I am, I then have to check to see if what I believed is true. There are 11 players who are aged 20 or under that have either similar or more playing time than Gelhardt this season. Brighton - 1 Scum - 1 Liverpool - 2 Brentford - 1 Leeds - 1 Southampton - 4 Crystal Palace - 1 Everton - 1 I am sure that someone will mention various other players that have been regular first team players at the age of 20, and again I would be inclined to agree with that statement. However it is also something that would take a little longer than 5 minutes to check out, and I don't have the time for that today
Harry Kane didn't start games for Spurs until he was knocking on for 22 btw. At 21 he was just coming off the bench.
He's only started twice. He's no Messi I'll give you that. As stated above, he's a good 18 months to two years in front of Kane at this point. Give him games and a bit of patience and we will reap the rewards either on the pitch or financially.
Time for a laugh tune in to the bbc as womens football is starting now. Villa v city with a crowd of hundreds. Football my arse.
This one again. Anecdotal evidence that messi, mbappe, haaland were banging them in as kids. Reality is consistent top level performances for most players don’t start until 22-23 and peak playing years are considered to be 25-30. Yet still this stuff gets repeated. How many w*nked over Ivan Toney the other week. He’s 26. He wasn't scoring regularly in league 1 until he was 22. Finally made the dizzy heights of the championship at 24. That’s normal progression. Yet Joffy doesn’t bang them in the premier league after a few games and at 20, we’re deciding he’s not going to make it. Now he may not make it at the highest level. Few do, but FFS guys. Part of the problem is expectation… hearing that the kids teams are good and demanding we pick them… because they can’t be worse than the first team etc etc. Well I’m afraid they can. It’s a huge step up.
Sako, Martinelli and fast Eddie for a start who played ages ago. having a quick google around all the top clubs in the world and the old saying goes, if they’re good enough they are old enough. For me Joffy should have started last season when Paddy broke down. But James was used instead. This season exactly the same and yes we were told dead keg or some other such niggle stopped it. There are loads in ghe prem and have been and Liverpool have had a few like Jones, Elliot etc, Arsenal loads I think 6 now including a couple sold. But check out some of these names and some of ghem are English who decided to go abroad to play ratherthan be ignored here. maduaki, Bellingham, Sancho etc Musiali Szaboszlai Adeyemi Wirtz Davies Foden Gilmour Pedri Gavi Fati Vinitcius Jr Camavinga Greenwood Saka Alvarez Tonali Gravernbech Alberto Mendes Gvardiol Almada CDK Doku Rodrygo Caicedo Arsenal just put a 15yo onto the pitch against Brentford, so Joffy needs to get a shift on or the club need to sell him if Marsch doesnt fancy him
I've identified 5 (there are probably ones I've missed) Arsenal players who made significant premier league appearances between ages 18-20 Martinelli - Played 3107 minutes ( + 1082 minutes playing in a different league, 41 minutes whilst under age 18) Saka - Played 7313 minutes (all in EPL, 7 minutes whilst under the age of 18) Smith Rowe - Played 1545 Minutes (+1205 minutes in a different league) Nelson - Played 842 minutes (+629 minutes in a different league, 146 minutes whilst under 18) Nketiah - Played 712 minutes ( + 496 minutes in a different league, I wonder who that was with ) Just for comparison Gelhardt - Played 858 minutes ( +457 minutes in a different league, whilst under the age of 18) All of the Arsenal players above, have a complete 3 seasons of potentially being available to have played in the Premier League. Gelhardt has just entered his 3rd season. He never made an appearance in his first season
If they’re good enough they’re old enough - very true. But out of context here. It doesn’t mean if they’re not good enough at 20 they won’t be. Kids mature physically and mentally at different ages. Arsenal are an exception… which is why they’re being quoted. Key word there is ‘exception’ again. How many of those guys were first choice by 20. Sako. I compared Martinelli with gelhardt last year and they were getting similar minutes at similar ages… and joffy would have had more minutes had he not been injury prone.
When did he play for Arsenal Plus I am sure I don't need to go back that far to prove which point you wish to make
