IM going to play devils advocate here. As much as I love seeing youth player come through a la Henderson Colback, I think it is much harder to undearth a quality youth striker. There is a greater pressure on them, as their success can be measured simply down to number of goal, midfielders dont get this pressure, so tend to have a better look in. Lets face it, at the end of the day you play a striker to get goals, and if they aren't getting them, then its hard to justify their selection.
It reminds me of Freddie Sears at West Ham. Absolutely tore up the reserves and youth team, and went and scored on his first team debut. West Ham fans were raving about him. And why shouldnt they? Local boy come good, its the perfect footballing fairy tale.
Unfortunately Sears' form dipped, and he failed to score again. But West Ham fans still wanted him to stay and have a chance. He got loaned out to Championship clubs, and failed to score there. The excuse was having a goal disallowed that should have stood denting his confidence. It was at this point I realised a lot of the West Ham fans were simply looking through claret and blue tinted spectacles.
They -really- wanted him to do well, local lad, good early promise, of course they should give him a chance! I just feel that he was given far more of a chance than he should have had. And I fear the same could happen for Noble. It seems a lot of Sunderland fans expectations for him are very, very high, and risk being unrealistically high in some cases. He is being set up for a fall.
Of course he deserves a chance, but like Waghorn, if a reasonable offer came in, we should take it. 3 Million for Waggles look very attractive now, he has hardly set the Championship on fire.
I guess the crux of my point is, try look at our youth players' ability solely on merit, and don't allow local pride to cloud your judgement. As much as we'd all like our youth players to break through, sometimes Im afraid, it just doesnt work out that simple.
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