Ahead of his first possible cap for England Under 21's, Thomas James Carroll, or otherwise known as Tom Carroll,, is a player that we can be proud to have come through our youth system, a player who will no doubt go onto become a huge talent for club and country. A young central midfielder, with a slight frame (5ft 7in tall), low centre of gravity, who at first instance will look to be an easy pushover, with the premier league known for its physical game, yet how can you push some about, if you're not able to get near them? a quality Carroll has, is to find space within the pitch, away from the opposition, making time for himself to pick out a pass, or use his skill to make things happen with the natural ability to read the game. please log in to view this image These are rare qualities in today’s youngsters, British youngsters, as if we look at the general type of midfielder which comes through the youth system, the main focus tends to be on physical attributes, having a great engine or strength, when the English game is crying out for cultured midfielders, with the vision and creativity to change a game, a quality that has been severely lacking in recent years with the national team. Looking back to when Redknapp was manager and we had the pressure situation of taking penalties away to stoke, you could be forgiven for not even considering Carroll, as why would a apparent shy teenager, step up and take a penalty? A response which speaks highly about the players belief, not just in his own ability, but putting yourself in a pressure situation without shying away. When Modric was sold, we lost a player that can use his vision to start moves, someone with superb technique/vision, able to inject creativity into the team, a quality which has been missing this season. Carroll, is a player that can help fill this void and in each of his 18 appearances for us, he has impressed, without trying to impress, as his natural game stands out and I believe AVB is aware of his quality, yet hasn't used him as much as the team needs and his ability deserves. Next season will be a huge season for Tom, and I would hope instead of taking a gamble on a foreign "star", or trying to conclude deals at the last minute on transfer deadline day, we look to promote within and realise we have a youngster that can be an important part of the 1st team, and add some much needed creativity. [video=youtube_share;AkaCnmcuDnw]http://youtu.be/AkaCnmcuDnw[/video] A training ground goal, possibly an aspect we can look forward to once Carroll is given a deserved run in the first team and if as expected he lives up to his potential, we could have one of the finest passing midfielders to come through the English youth system in recent times.
Good post Boss, although I would disagree with your assertion that Carroll has been underused by AVB. It is much too early to start pinning our future hopes on this young man, who whilst showing a lot of quality in his appearances to date has not really shown enough to warrant much more game time. Whilst I have no doubt that AVB will have to use Carroll more often over the next couple of months, I think you are right in stating that next season will be the crucial time for his development. Certainly wish him all the best - for himself and the club - but it may be rather early days to think that he may be the Modric replacement.
I really like Carroll. His passing is excellent, he always wants the ball and he doesn't seem to be afraid of the physical aspects of the game, despite looking like he's about 12. The thing that's always struck me with him is his ability to find space and time in the middle of the park. He never seems rushed. Shame that he hasn't had more time in the first team this season, but perhaps it's taken him a little time to move up the pecking order? Jenas started the pre-season in the first XI, then was promptly replaced by Huddlestone and then quickly Dembele. He's not on the Belgian's level yet, by any means, but he appears to have seen of the other two.
I'm not sure about the modern idea of 'easing' young players into a team. If they are good enough they should play which ever end of the age spectrum we are talking about. Is it really neccessary to treat young players like some fragile endangered species?
Neatly links up to the Michael Owen interview that I mentioned on the Mouser Watch thread. He pointed out that he played an absolute ton of games when compared to Giggs at a similar age and the Welshman's benefited from it in the long run. Not sure how accurate that is though, having looked at his record. Maybe he didn't start all the time or something?
Logically that seems valid, but we're only talking about a sample of two which is hardly statistically significant. However in Owen's position you can understand his concerns that his career was not longer.
What is he saying? That if he'd started at top level later he would have lasted longer? Or would he have missed his most productive period as a striker? I don't see how a serious injury, which is what shortened his career surely, can be avoided by not playing when younger. I am not sure on this maybe players do need time to develop physically to cope with the modern games demands or do they? Players coming from other countries leagues have to adapt, Modric for example. That must be just as big a leap as a local 19 year old adapting to PL football. The thought is that we are losing out on the speed and enthusiasm of young players by gently introducing them rather than just throwing them in the deep end.
He's saying that he should've been used more sparingly when he was younger, so that his body had time to recover from the wear, tear and various knocks. No idea if he's right or not, though. His career was littered with a variety of injury problems, so it's hard to tell whether a more conservative approach in his early years would've helped him. Maybe he'd have flourished and fulfilled his potential completely or maybe he'd have missed out on the memories that most people have of him and just fizzled out. No way of finding out, unfortunately.
Plenty of young players get burned out due to playing too much - Raheem Sterling is clearly burned out at this point of the season, and an argument could be made for that being the reason Kyle Walker's form has nosedived this season.
Most aren't though. I think there's a lot to be said for the results we've got after loaning our youngsters out to get regular Premier League football under their belt before bringing them into our first team. We can debate whether it's actually improving these players or whether they're getting the loan offer because they're already good enough but it's a great way to give the manager the confidence to trust them with being an active member of our first team squad, regardless. The loan path might not be the road for Carroll to go down but I certainly wouldn't discount it and personally I'd rather we went for patient progress rather throwing him in the deep end.
good article, thanks. I've been in favor of Carroll getting more time since last year. The path not taken was to put Carroll in the Modric role and Dembele at CM. I've always thought it might have worked very well, but of course we'll never know, and I can't see unsettling the team to try it now. It's an interesting question whether 20-22 year olds are likelier to break down under the wear and tear of a PL season. Intuitively you might think it would be better to ease them in. On the other hand, you can also make a case that that's the ideal age from the point of view of being able to bounce back fast from a lot of abuse. I do know there's been a big problem with breaking top 14-17 girls on the tennis court. I find it a little amusing that people wonder why England doesn't develop Iniestas and Messis, and when a talented player comes along who's around their size, everyone worries that he's too small. Other things being equal, the shorter someone is, the lower their center of gravity is, and the faster he'll be able to change direction. While it's clear you want one or two big CBs, and probably a tall palyer or three for aerial threats, smaller for most positions will tend to be better.
It's been a big problem for years. Notts Forest let Shaun Wright-Phillips go when he was 17 because he was so small. Man City picked him up, he won their Young Player of the Year award four times on the bounce and was sold for £21m. Just one example.
I understand your view and it was a point I knew that would arise! Although I'm in the same camp as spurf and pnp, in that if their good enough then they should be trusted and while some young players burn out, carroll isn't a high energy player so i cant see that happening. As for him being the next Modric, he can help fill the void as they share similar qualities, although im not claiming hes at the overall level of Modric, its more Modrics departure imo left a void and Carroll has the ability to offer aspects which are missing since Modric left. He makes an impact each time he appears, can we say the same for siggy livermore & dempsey ? so carroll deserves as much a chance to prove his worth, especially when it benefits the team.
I believe if we went that path, we would have performed better as a team, but of course we will never know now! Also agree with your xavi/iniesta point and when doing research online i found an interview with sherwood who said much the same. We need players that can pass, keep the ball without being rushed, especially at international level (unless we're playing san marino )
Understand the loan thought as fergie used it to effect for all his youngsters, but the worry is sending a player out on loan often ends up with him warming the bench. Maybe a short term loan to a club like wigan would be positive, if Avb wasn't going to trust him yet, Utd done the same with cleverley and arsenal done the same with wiltshire.
Endangered species. Pritchard = future hope. 2-3 games out on league loan : several weeks injury. Welcome to your possible future.
We must be careful to judge players on what they do, not what their potential is. It's all very well saying that he *already* looks the part better than Siggy, Dempsey and Livermore but you're not comparing like for like, in terms of type of player, game time and the games he's involved in. Sure he's looked good, but I think its a completely extra step to say that he's there now. This is why introducing him as he is being introduced is the best thing.
