The u21, u18 and u16 teams all won against Millwall on Saturday. Well done, but it is pathetic that it is now Monday evening (well, for you lot anyway, I am still sweltering in a Dominican afternoon) and there is still no report of the u21s on the OS. Plenty of other crap on the OS, much of it nothing to do with football. The great thing about our winning younger sides is that they are nearly always much younger than their opponents. Our u21s are mostly u19s, and we make little use of the option to include three over-age players whereas other clubs always do, but we are still nearly top of the league. They should be dynamite next season. I realise the point of the development teams is not to produce good teams, but to produce good individual players. A team of eleven very good youngsters will usually win the league, but it would be better to have three truly outstanding players carring a bunch of mediocrities. I am not sure if we have even one truly outstanding player in our u21s. Maybe a bit early to tell? Poyet looks the most likely but he is still an u18. What do All Hell and Forest Hill Billy think?
Good post, eddie. I'd be interested in AllHell and FHB's opinions as well, as they probably see more of these games than the rest of us put together.
Yes, I should have mentioned him alongside Poyet. I meant to write "... carrying a bunch of mediocrities". One thing I don't like about this board is the short window of opportunity to edit one's posts. I am active on another board using the same software and we have literally weeks to make corrections. I can spell very well but I am an awful typist.
I only recently started watching the under-21's and have not seen the under-18's much in the last year or so, but when I saw the under-21's recently I was mightily impressed by the way young Joe Piggott has come on since last time I saw him, both in terms of football know-how and physique. Morgan Fox at LB is another who has come on a lot in the last year. Having recently taken early retirement I hope to see a few more under-21 games this season. The trouble with the under-18 games is that this season they are mostly on match days; AHLL usually manages both, but for me it's a bit tricky.
A bit like the U21s the U18's are a group rather than individual players - Most likely for Pro career - Poyet Most skillful - Gerard Hardest working - Muldoon Most consistent - Lennon Most potential - Sho-Silva Possible superstar - Joe Gomez (still a schoolboy and an ever present in U18s)
Finally got a report of the u21 win on the OS, but curious that the team is still not listed. I wonder if we played a few ringers to make sure we beat Millwall. I know Allan Simonsen has been hanging around the Valley lately. Perhaps we gave him a game and a couple more of his European Player of the Year colleagues?
