All I can say is Meghoma looked vastly better than our regular left back last season in those 4 appearances he did get to make. And the point is not that he should have been starting but that he deserved more chances off the bench. I suspect our young players suffered the most that we could not kill off any game.
Bale and Shaw were both playing at 17, the lad was decent in the cup games and deserved a chance. One of the games where we watched Stephen’s being absolute pony at left back was when we lost at home to Millwall. The situation was perfect for RM to play him and give him a chance until suspensions or injuries allowed the more seasoned full backs to come back in. We really don’t help ourselves and then feel like victims when players like Miles, JJ Morgan, Doyle & Gomes leave at the first opportunity.
17 is crazy young. If he was 19 then I'd agree. But at 17 it's probably more beneficial for them to be playing full games for the u21s, than be stuck on the first team bench waiting for ten minutes once every four or five games.
And how many games did JJ Morgan and Doyle play last season? And Gomes and Miles have both literally just turned 16. They should be expecting first team football already? Do me a favour. It's not about playing time. Come off it.
Just to play devil's advocate, it may not be as much about current playing time as it is about a route into the team. If he joined us in the expectation of getting more game time and found himself behind Manning, then saw Bree and Stephens played ahead of him as well he may have been concerned about that. Then this summer the club have signed another LB in Charlie Taylor and Wellington from Brazil is also supposed to be signing (although to be fair it sounds as though he may go out on loan). But you can easily see why Meghoma might feel he's now even further away from the first team - possibly 6th choice LB - so there's no prospect of playing much at all here. In that scenario if he got offers from overseas clubs who will play him he might want to go.
Maybe he just isn't good enough or ready yet. He held his own in those cup games, sure. But if he was really as good as people on here believe, then he would have featured more. RM and the coaching staff watch these players every day in training.
Of course. That's why I say devil's advocate. I have no real clue how good he is and to be fair to Saints I don't think there are too many world beaters that we've let go at an early age. If anything I feel we're more prone to hanging on to youngsters too long.
Nonono, he couldn’t have done a worse job than Manning or Mara or Sulemana last season so we should’ve played him all the time
Yeah but having mega rich owners isn't even half the battle with FFP. Otherwise Newcastle would be the dominant force by now. I don't keep that close an eye on goings on at other clubs to have an accurate view of it tbf, because they are obviously selling players too for big money which I've missed. It's just whenever I've seen spending tables over the last 5 or so years they are always in the top 5. Pretty sure they were even like 7th in the world. Just feels like they must have been using every loophole in the books to get around FFP. They just seem to keep on spending big and I never seem to hear about them struggling with FFP.
The motivation is money for those moves, 100% agree but as a club with a lower wage structure, our selling point should be a pathway to the first team at a faster rate than others can offer. Sam Amo has been the only player given a fair crack of the whip in the league over the last few seasons and he signed a new contract and that’s despite his one and only start not being terribly successful, but at least he got to have a go. Meghomas was the most obvious last season in terms of him being our only fit left back and not playing, but we’ve had other examples in recent seasons where the scenario was perfect for a youngster to get a chance and we went for an old square peg in the round hole
We haven't been good at playing youngsters for about a decade tbh. Not sure how our reputation for it has persisted so long. Shame really.
Last year was too risky to play the kids as we needed to go up. This year is too risky as we need to stay up.
Wish Che all the best. No ill feeling towards him at all, it feels like him moving on now is best for all parties. Good luck in Italy Che!
Che would have been a good option this season but he did his job and helped get us back up, so it is good to end on a positive note. Can't blame him at all for wanting to try out italy. Can clearly see the appeal of being a millionaire in Turin, pretty sure I'd make a similar decision if it was mine to make!
My best mate is a villa fan so I always keep an eye on them. The only dodgy deals seem to be the recent youth transfers. They have made a lot of money on players - (Douglas Luiz this season for example)and they will probably sell at least 1 more for big money. (Diaby for 50mil is rumoured). They are genuinely really well run. Every player they have sold, they have replaced well. They employ the money ball strategy excellently. Combine that with some extreme talent coming through the academy all at once and then slap Unai Emery (world class manager) and it’s easy to see why they are so successful.
