I was thinking the other day that he's playing aml and they might well be thinking flog max we've got this kid coming through, do we can cash in and buy another player to play there with Anderson playing a bit part over the next year or 2
I personally think nufc just hadn't been in a position to risk playing youth for 14 years. 1.The club has been in a relegation most of that time until the very end of seasons 2.Managers are only a game or 2 from losing their jobs, so they like to go with war horses not kids. I bet there's loads of young players never get the chance... Gordon at Everton has done brilliantly he's just a kid and he's only going to get better through playing - if Everton had done well and not got injuries he'd probably never have played for them. It's all just another advantage the likes of city have.. They're in a position where they can give youth players minutes and matches much more easily.
Steong rumours we're highjacking the bid. Depends how loyal to Gerrard he is, we're clearly on the up, whereas Villa will stay the same.
But again, what have the youth options been that they would have had to risk? Apart from Carroll and Dummett who else has made it? Mbabu maybe, but not sure he'd be a big improvement on what we already have. When the youth options are Nile Ranger, Phil Airey, Haris Vuckic, Jak Alnwick, James Tavernier, Wesley Ngo Baheng, Aaron Spear, Ben Tozer etc, there's a good reason they've never been risked.
The worrying thing is we don't know we only know the ones the idiot managers we've had under Ashley have given a try. Tavernier id take like... Toney we should've had... I suspect there's others.. Bobby clark ****ed off to Liverpool before we even had the chance
Toney wasn't an academy grad though, we signed him from Northampton. Under Ashley the academy was massively neglected, we just signed up any uesless kids just to fill up quotas, and within a few years they all ended up playing part time at the liles of Jarrow Roofing and Bedlington Terriers. It's one thing to say why do we never give the kids a chance, but when the academy is as bad as it has been, kid prospects have been non existant. It's definitely a priority now for the owners.
We don't have an academy it's never been invested in properly, but my point was that managers haven't been in a position to risk or develope anyone they thought might have it either. It was the great keegan I believe that sacrificed the youth team and we've never really done anything with it. Other clubs have been far more focused on it and have therfore produced
Our academy has been naff for over 30 years now, ever since the "golden generation" of Clark, Waton, Howey, Elliott, Appleby etc. Keegan scrapped the youth team when he was losing the plot, but Dalgliesh brought it back shortly after. There were a few that made the first team in the 2000s (Shola, Taylor etc), but when Ashley came along he didn't give 2 ****s about the academy (or the rest of the club), and its been an absolute waste of space. As for managers not being able to risk youth, i dunno.... If there was anyone with an ounce of talent in the academy id have given them a chance against Emmanuel Riviere, Shefi Kuqi, Luuk De Jong etc...
Yeah Keegan scrapped the reserves at the time which blocked the progress of the youth players leaving no path to the first team. I think he may have had the right ideas but carried it out in the wrong way. We don’t have reserves as such now but under 23’s who can have a limited number of over age players.
It was great to hear Staveley saying they'll be investing in all areas. I believe Newcastle will produce players again no problem once the club catches up with the rest.
This kid has massive potential. He reminds me a bit of Ross Barkley when he was young. The ball just sticks to his feet and he has a football brain. 2 years from now he’s a class player for us.
Send him to boro on loan, with an option to recall. No point benching him. He's only like 19 so let him having a couple of years in the CC.
