Hard to find much fan opinion on him over there but stats speak for themselves, good on him league 2 is a canny leap from darlo and our under 21s and he’s took to it well, credit to him hopefully another future star on our hands
Seems like every time he plays they get a positive result and a clean sheet. Not a lot of hard evidence to go off but there's a lot of buzz about the lads potential and he seems to be justifying it. Tricky for rookie keepers to drop down the leagues and replace established players but he's doing it.
Absolutely. Serious talent. I know some were frustrated he wasn’t playing earlier in the season but I know for a fact just being in a matchday EFL squad would’ve done him wonders too. Experience is absolutely vital and that can be gained in some aspects even when not playing.
Mayenda's loan at Hibs seems to have done him wonders and he barely played. Not quite black and white with minutes and progression.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that Marty Young becomes our first choice keeper by the end of 2026.
What’s the deal with him? Does he come back in the summer or was it one that becomes permanent in the summer? Can’t find anything anywhere about it
It's mad that people still forget how young some of these lads are. I see Rigg being doubted, for some average performances in the championship at 17. People said Mayenda wouldn't amount to much because he was on Hibs bench at 18. Less so, Matty Young, who people need to realise is a teen playing in league 2....as a goalie! Which is very rare. It's actually outstanding the turnaround we've had in the last few years, we lost lads like Stephenson, Mumba, Hugill to name a few (must've been double figures). I know people have snide comments that "we should be grateful we got beat 5-0 off Bolton", but we really should be more appreciative of Speakman and Kyril for where we are. It hasn't been simple or smooth, but it's been entertaining and now we are genuinely looking at an assembled side that people thought would fester around mid table before a ball was kicked, now compete for the top two places.
Think there is a deal in place but not 100% sure He won't be back at us imo, was def worth the risk but can't ever seeing him play regularly in British football
I hope that the likes of Stephenson and Hugill have just a twinge of regret seeing how well we are developing young players and give them the chance to get first team football. Neither have played for their clubs since leaving us.
Neither of those pushed for a move, did they? I could be wrong but I’m sure it was Donald and co. actively looking to sell our better youngsters.
That's it, there was never a guarantee they'd have made it here but they ended up financially better off
Stephenson having a cracking loan spell at dundee utd atm but agree he would have been best staying with us (hindsight is great tho) They were effectively forced out the club as those 2 crooks needed extra cash
Paul Reid’s tenure as academy boss was a shambles, I’m sure his hands were tied in some respects but I don’t blame the likes of Hugill or Stephenson for leaving. Often Manchester United or Liverpool academy products will get a decent league move if released anyway, a higher drop off point if you will. These lads weren’t to know the new ownership would place such an emphasis on youth development. I find the more recent departures of Okoronko, Cotcher and Robertson more baffling.
Yeh you only have to see how good our academy is now to realise just how bad it was then. Nothing against the staff working there as I’m sure they were good. But the step up is vast and you can understand why players would be tempted for bigger clubs. Especially all this was considering it was an era where fans thought Chris Maguire was mint and the idea of bringing through a youth product seemed alien.
