I've never seen someone so clearly too good for youth football but not even close to being good enough for men's. I hope it just the physical side of things as he is still small despite being 20. Hopefully he bulks up soon and we can start to see him around the first team..
Academy teams have been smashing the goals in this season. I know nothing about the Fulham players, but Saints team was really experienced for this level, plenty have had multiple lower league loan spells
I feel sorry for Ballard. Had a good start on loan at Reading, a terrible injury and 2 poor loans at clubs either fighting relegation or not playing to his strengths following a change of manager. I still have faith he'll make it (hopefully here), but can't help but feel his opportunity is passing here. Going into the final year of his contract so decisions need to be made.
Makes sense to give him a year extension and loan him out again and see how he does. Whether he wants to do that is another question
Well worth another contract; needs to be given time to mature and grow into mens football I think. Whether we'll give him that, or whether Dom will want that, who knows!
I feel like he’s been on the verge of breaking through for years and years. Thought he was older than he is though. That said, from his pov, if he’s not going to be involved with us next season he probably never will be, so why sign a new contract with us? He might as well move on.
I don’t think he would be in a position to turn us down if we offered an extra year, he’d be unlikely to get the same wage directly with a league one/league two team
He has got to be given a chance to be in and around the squad next season, surely? Come on Saints, show the lad a pathway, he deserves at least the chance with his record.
Our striker situation is a mess and needs a complete revamp. Very difficult to know how it will look come the start of the season/end of the transfer window or even how many strikers our new manager will favour playing. The only one who I'm sure will still be here is Ross Stewart and he HAS to be treated as a bonus player rather than counted as one of our strikers. We absolutely need at least one new starting quality striker regardless of who leaves. Not sure how Ballard will end up fitting in to that, but he probably needs to be treated similar to Ross Stewart in that if he breaks through and does well it's a bonus, but we can't rely on him.
I don’t see why. He hasn’t shown anything like the level required at men’s football during his loan spells. By all means give him another deal and loan him out again telling him that he needs to do well with whoever he joins and that’s his pathway, but it would be madness to rely on him as one of the main strikers for next season. If he isn’t going to be a main striker then a loan deal where he will play regularly is surely better anyway? I wonder if the club think Robinson is ahead of him?
I agree that we shouldn’t rely on Ballard going into next season, but I also don't think it's too useful judging him on these loan spells. Joining a team of strangers, all older men, must be difficult. No teenager is going to waltz into the dressing room and start demanding players to do this and do that for him. When he is back in a team that he is familiar with (u21s), he scores for fun. I reckon keep him at the club for preseason and up until December at least. Give him twenty minutes whenever we can afford to. Judge him on that. It's so important that there is a pathway to the first team. If our youngsters just get packed off on loan to some dirty northern League Two team every season, they might as well just ask for a permanent transfer.
Dom Ballard’s record for the U21s is insane. 14 goals and 6 assists in his last 8 appearances for the U21s. 4 hat tricks in 6 games. Surely he has to be given a chance in the Championship?
We haven’t exactly been a club that shys away from giving youngsters a chance so I think the pathway is there, if you are good enough. Personally I don’t see 20 mins here and there as more beneficial than a season playing regularly but there are pros and cons to both. Similarly to SAA and Dibling (and Ballard) last year the timing is unfortunate. We will be looking to come straight back up and unless they really are good enough I don’t think a manager is going to want to risk playing unproven kids in games if there is a more experienced pro available . Could ultimately cost him his job which is clearly a big risk to take. Agree that providing a pathway is important but could argue that “go prove yourself on loan then you will get a chance” is just as feasible as “prove it playing 20 mins when we feel like it”
