I am able to watch daily kids playing football .. I overlook a school playing field … from their first few games nearly all the kids.. probably 5 or 6years old ...want to play as goal scorer, very few want to stay back! it becomes a process of "self selection" gradually one or 2 adopt the position of winger/ defence. The main point of interest is none really want to play in goal!!!! but gradually the odd one or 2 take it on...knowing I suspect if they want a game their outfield prowess is not going to get them picked! my limited football was due to rugby.. I was good at that.. county standard / Played for Keynsham first team when 17 !! So I opted for defence/ wing / I was quick 100 yards in 12 . 5 secs! and had a very powerful right kick [ years of kicking rugby balls ] I wonder what a coach would have played me as, if I had been of league football standard???
I played against Keynsham quite a few times in the late 80s to late 90s when I lived in Bristol. The thing with kids is that someone with a bit of skill can run rings round the opposition especially if they have pace. Unfortunately, a lot never move away from that and get found out when organisation and tactics start playing a bigger part. They keep trying to beat the opposition on their own. Probably why defenders come to the fore later in life. It's not just down to raw ability.
Psychologically young kids believe they can dribble the whole length of the pitch thinking they are Messi or Ronaldo. They lack the comprehension level at an early age to understand physical limitations, team plat, ability level etc . Kids frequently do like defending and their comprehensive ability sees comically almost glued to the edge of the box. because that is what they look at defending as being... And when the FA studied U7's one of the top reasons for playing was getting muddy .. Bless them.
To get back to the theme of the thread for sec, I'm not sure about the coming season, or how we will fare. I think it's possibly an even stronger league than last time and there is some big money being spent by the likes of Stoke with their parachute payment. I expect Stoke, Forest, West Brom, Villa (if the refinancing goes through in time), Boro, and Derby to be among the front runners. I really don't expect us to be troubling the top six but there are a lot of teams we should be capable of beating. Haven't been blown away by our signings so far but time will tell. Tim Krul would have been a good signing imo, and is at exactly the right age (30) but he's been snapped up by Norwich, Mo Eisa might be one for the future but how he'll fare on a cold winters night in Wigan or somewhere equally horrible is debateable, With several players having left, I'm concerned about both our defence and our attack over a 50 odd plus games season,
agree pretty muc h with your reasoning.. however I am dubious about it being a stronger, as opposed to a " more broader" group of teams capable of making top 6. last season, after 10th game [ no mention this season so far of anyone saying " if by the 10th game " ] there was a dozen teams all capable, come the 30th game only about 8 in contention to make 4th/5th 6th. This season, I reckon there is 16 teams all likely to having a go, with at the other end Bolton, Rotherham millwall, reading QPR, hull,Blackburn could be lowly contenders, not sure about WIGAN AND IPSWICH ….. all vying to be "not in bottom 8 I reckon MO could be a real find, but will LJ have the bottle to give him game time? other signings, well, weimann 8/10 hunt, webster 7/10 ................... will any replace reid/ flint? we didn't seem to miss them? but will never know if we had them would we have won? ….or even lost!
Too early to judge the new signings, though on paper in terms of perceived ability and/or potential against transfer fees they all seem good value, though some fans may have wanted at least one high-profile marquee signing. Expectations have been tempered by the outgoings so maybe we'll benefit from the reduced pressure. 11th would be a decent finish.
He’s come from Cheltenham and non league teams in the UK, and with a better away form than home. So I guess he will not be fazed by a cold Northern night. It’s not like he’s come from Dubai or equally as hot these past years.
100% agree 1for, if we are relying on Matty Taylor to provide the majority of goals this season then we will be in a relegation fight for sure!!
