Seems Hughtons been a busy man lending out our players http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/steer-loan-to-cambridge-476692.aspx Good for him to get a bit of playing time but surprised a bigger team didn't want him for a year looks really good in my opinion
Another one that on the face of it makes perfect sense. He's third in the pecking order at the moment behind Bunn, so it's all good experience and he'll be playing competitive football albeit at a much lower level. Also, Cambridge is not too far away so he shouldn't have to re-locate
agree billy, i too am a bit surprised he's not going to be playing at a slightly higher level. by all accounts did very well last season in a short spell at yeovil in league one.
It was obvious that he would have to go out on loan but to a Conference side? He will get game time but what will he learn? It is a general point but it does worry me. Butterfield and Ayala are 22 and go out on loan to top Championship sides. Our home grown younger players are virtually the same age but are on loan to far lower Clubs where they are getting game time but learning very little from the standard of player they are playing with and against. I have said before that I do not think that Korey Smith, Adeyemi or Francomb are going to make it and now I cannot see that a loan move to Cambridge is going to do much for Steer's career path unless he is just going to play for them but do the majority of training with us.
agree about steer's loan move being strange and i think you're right about smith and adeyemi - they both strike me as lower league players and in their early 20s already, but francomb really does have a chance. he is by a considerable standard the best player in league two according to wimbledon fans. every time he's popped the yellow jersey on he's looked good. too early to write him off for sure, likewise steer - they are both kids. butterfield and ayala are out on loan to top championship clubs, recovering from long term injuries, so i don't really understand what you are getting at with them.
I think that might be exactly the situation mate, we do have one of the best coaching set-ups for goalkeepers so I would make perfect sense for him to continue training with us.
I think it's probably to do with the location thing as well. Maybe the whole John Ruddy link to Cambridge as well, I mean they developed him and I know it's been a while but they probably don't have bad goalkeeper coaching staff if they trained him up. I don't think it's too bad a move for him, still think he needs the experience and if only Cambridge went in for him than that's fair enough.
Sorry Supers but I was not having a go at Butterfield or Ayala. I was trying to make the point that they are roughly the same age as the other 3, are obviously good enough to play at a high level and if the other 3 were going to make it as well they would also be on loan to top Championship Clubs.
Good for him to get game time, and if he still trains with us then that'll help. I think it's just a shame we don't have any higher quality teams in the area really.
I look forward to watching him play in the near future! I will give you guys an assessment of his performances if you like!
I think a problem with keepers is clubs don't need that many, they're not versatile like some midfielders and defenders, there's also only one in each team and one on the bench so why would better teams risk it on a younger keeper when a lot are playing well into their late 30's and some early 40's and with an older keeper you have a track record, potential reliability and experience. Thats why i was surprised a team didn't want him for a year reckon he's more than good enough for a year in league 1 but wouldn't expect a championship team to risk him with the massive choice of keepers about. He looked brilliant at West Brom last year in the FA cup so really hope we can get him some game time somewhere next year to keep his development going as he could be brilliant.
He's got a big future in the game JWM, he's shaping up to be better than Rudd and eventually even better than Ruddy I would say!
I know things are bad, but at worst next season you'll only be in League 1, unless there are some financial issues that we don't know about!!!
While the Conference seems a big drop it is the 5th division and it is full of ex League Cup winners etc. I've always argued the a keepers job is the same at most levels. Well hit shots or close range headers are the same in any league and if you have to stop them its all good practice. As I said in another thread though, personally I always think that in many cases, a loan spell could well be more than just getting game time. And I agree that Smith, Adeyemi, Francomb and probably Rudd and Steer will not be playing for us in the future. Ruddy is mid twenties as is Bunn. That's like being a teenager for keepers. By the time Steer would have even the remotest or freakest of chances of figuring in the 1st team, the next youth keeper will be off the production line.
