H has told us she will report on the youth match she saw against Leeds. It got me wondering how and why some good young players become successful pros whist others fail. Is it attitude? Is it coaches? In other discussions on here there have been comments about how some players seem to succeed with a managerial change. Mark Yeats may be an example. The first Ross Jenkins certainly is. In recent years we have had young players who showed a lot of promise, some even making the first team, but who now play in the depths of non-league football. I have just discovered that we had a youth player Joe O'Cearuill who was snapped up by Arsenal in 2006/7. He now plays for Haringay Borough. Others include what seems like half the Forest Green Rovers side. What happened to Kieran Forbes, Liam Henderson, Jordan Parkes etc? (And I don't mean where are they now!). What happened to Scott Loach? I would be interested in your thoughts.
I think it would be any of a number of factors - the right coaching, the right manager, the right attitude, and some of it down to pure luck - right place, right time! Some reach a stage where they look promising, but never really kick on. Loach is an example of this for me. He almost burst onto the scene, but never progressed. He had the regular game time, so what was it. Was it a poor coaching team, or was it simply he peaked and that was the limit of his skills. For a keeper, he still has a long career ahead, so hope for his sake he can find that right coach who will take him to the next level. For some it is simply their attitude. Too much, too soon. Going from a few hundred quid a week, to a couple of grand... it can give them a big head, especially when they increase the hangers-on they have. I htink there were worries this was what was happening with Murray, and hence the lack of starts... but Zola has explained it's more about trying to fit him into the new system. I think a better example would be Ravel Morrison from Man Utd. He seems a true bad egg, with a bad attitude! So much at his feet, but thinks he has already made it. Following on from this... kind of, is the ones who move on too soon. A bigger club comes calling and they think they are better of there. I think Watford is a great place for a player to 'learn his trade'. The number of players to go from youth to first team is very impressive and not matched by many! Harry Forrester was slightly different as he had a bit of a problem with the club after the Young incident (I think), but he moved too soon and was probably better off staying. Some also take that step up too soon, with a bigger club calling. I thought Bouazza probably could have stayed maybe another season... not sure where he is now! You'll then get the ones who simply just aren't good enough. I think if a players comes through the youth ranks, there is a certain amount of 'rose-tinted specs', wanting to believe they are the next big thing. They break into the team, perform for a few games, but they just aren;t good enough to be a first teamer. I'm afraid to say it, but I think Ross Jenkins might be in this category. Maybe League 1 is his level... and what with our ability to sign better quality, I think his days at the club are numbered. Plenty of others, like Hand, Fisken, Diagouraga etc fall into this category
I think nowdays its pretty much which club your at as even a top player MIGHT not get a chance to break through for a long time with the big names unless as suggested that player is "in the right place at the right time" like Sterling or Cleverley - the former is probably Liverpool's 2nd best attacker and Man U were light in midfield whereas years ago they had some of the best in the world. Like any job the person has to have the right motivation and be given good advice rather than chasing the money....probably hard for a young kid who has seen the pros around with flash cars and the top of the range clothes. There was a time when coaches looked for big and physical players but manybe that is changing now. Its quite interested that you hear a lot of former Arsenal and Man U youth team players still make a fairly decent career for themselves but not so much from Liverpool or Chelsea..
I think it is a combination of the below that combine to influence the succes of any youngster on the books at a club before they are offered a pro contract: Skill, Physical strength, Attitude, Performance in matches, Rapport with manager, coach, teammates, Agents, Family, Friends, Genuine love for the game & the club they are at, media skills? I expect these (and some I've forgotten) have a vaying impact on one's success. A complex issue really.
Wouldn't be too sure of that NZ - Ross 'Longman' Jenkins didn't really flourish until his second managerial change, ie GT. GT always said that his relatively late development was down to his physique - tall and skinny - more than anything else, he simply didn't have the body strength to 'put himself about' in his earlier years. Not sure where Peter Crouch fits into that theory though.
Without wishing to be racist, clubs whose home shirts are red or blue tend to treat their young players like dirt. The rest tend to do it the right way. Ignoring Middlesbrough, it's surprising how accurate that sweeping generalisation is.
