I have been raving about this boy for ages. I've seen him play a few times and he has either run the game, or been fouled out of it. Just hope Saints stick by him as he develops because he is not huge.
Many sign pro deals and then don't make it... If you're not knocking on the door at 17/18 then it's unlikely you'll make it at your current club.
what a load of rubbish - some people develop later than others and 17 is much to young, i would say 19/20 probably
It's a fact, it's brutal. The likes of Racine and co are on pro deals, they won't be playing for saints.
Watford's manager made an interesting point recently saying his young player's progress had been hampered by too much first team football too soon. I'm pretty sure every player's progress and current ability is assessed on an individual basis rather than the thought process 'you're 17, you should be in the first ream.' Although a long time ago didn't we release Kevin Phillips because he was deemed to small? We let Mike Williamson go without a single league appearance, he's now in the Premiership. A few more things need to be taken into account rather than just age.
Racine is unlikely, but Ben Reeves has a decent chance. Not many players make it into a PL team before 19/20/21. It's the physical anomalies like Bale, Walcott and Chamberlain that pull up trees at 16/17. The PL has a proper reserve league, so the best of our youth can play against the out-of-favour PL players who are very strong. It's much tougher than friendlies against Brentford and Exeter. It should sort the wheat from the chaff.
racine wont get in there, but players like Reeves & Hoskins have a chance, and as Itchen North Matt said, in a PL team its about 19/20/21 so what you said IMO is a load of crap - youve gotta show support to the yougsters and as OrmerodLoveFox said, too much 1st team too young can ruin a player so give them time to develop properly and break in around aged 20 - Lallana, Surman to name 2 didnt break in reguarly till around that age and they turned out alright didnt they?
I was thinking of people like Olly Lancashire in particular. OK maybe he wasn't destined to be a first team regular for years to come but his progress definitely wasn't aided by so much first team action, especially so much during tremendous pressure of a regulation battle. I also think the position of a player has a lot to do with when the player gets a chance in the first team. A centre back or goalkeeper for example will find opportunities harder to come by compared to lets say a winger, who could potentially be used as a substitute late on.
Obviously you don't know what knocking on the door means. That doesn't mean playing week in week out, it means being good enough to play in 5-10 games in a season. It takes a few years to become established for many, so by 22/23 you should be playing regularly.
so, by your logic Adam Lallana wasnt knocking on the door untill aged 20, despite making his debut aged 17?
