In an unconnected story, they've removed Old Trafford as a potential venue for England's Rugby World Cup bid. Did the RFU say the pitch wasn't up to standard?
Bloody hope so - never was his absence more evident than yesterday with Dawson and Caulker failing to manage Anichebe!!
Off to the Academy of Hoof to watch the U21s. Adidas rucksack with sky blue / orange trim is the one to avoid. Don't forget to wave at Spurcat (I mean Sherwood) in the dugout.
Tottenham Hotspur U21s: Vigouroux, Fredericks, Fryers, Kaboul, Hall, Veljkovic, McEvoy, Bentaleb, Coulthirst, Carroll, Ceballos. Subs: Munns, Priestley, Barthram, Gallifuoco, Dombaxe. Kaboul and Carroll get a run out. West Ham's side seems to have been drawn from the past, with Potts, Ruddock and Moncur starting. West Ham United U21s: Larkins, Spence, Shaw, Nasha, Potts, Ruddock, Paulista, Moncur, Maiga, Lletget, Turgott. Subs: Driver, Baxter, Tombides, Maguire, Bywater.
Kaboul completes an hour and isn't risked any further. A good run out for him, according to our Twitter feed. Barthram comes on, which seems to suggest that the whole back line needs to reorganise a bit.
A goalless second half sees the game finishing 1-1, which is slightly disappointing given the good run of form of the U21s and the number of chances that we seemed to have in the second period. Ceballos was the star man, according to West Ham's OS and McEvoy put in a dangerous performance. Nice to see Kaboul back in a Spurs shirt and getting some game time. please log in to view this image Alex Inglethorpe's Liverpool close the gap at the top to 8 points with a 3-2 win over the Woolwich at Anfield. The Goons had Wobbly Chesney in goal, but he failed to rescue them from defeat.
Kaboul seemed to come through ok last night. I believe the plan was to give him 45 minutes, so for him to play for an hour should be an encouraging sign. I was a bit concerned he might get crocked because at times West Ham were very keen to get stuck in and certainly some of our lighter lads took some hefty challenges. For me, we were the better footballing side throughout and showed more initative to try and win the game. Ceballos certainly did his growing repuatation no harm and McEvoy is getting better with each game. It's been a while since I last went to "Hoof It Park" and I had forgotten just how yappy their mob are. Seemed more intent on abusing our lads than getting behind their own.
We've scored more goals in this mini-league than any other 2 sides combined. That's incredible really, lets hope these young, goalscoring players can make it through to our first team especially if we keep missing out on the CL, we will need all the homegrown talent we can get.
Kaboul made one "acid test" at full stretch blocking tackle on the halfway line, and didn't seem to have problems. But he did have a box tussle where he fell to his knees, and was subbed a few mins after. Carroll was subbed at HT. Injury, or withdrawn as he will be in the squad for Basel (the MF threat wilted a bit after that) ??
Last nights draw means we still haven't quite got over the line to qualify for the end of the season play-offs. We currently have 26 points with 3 games left at Man United, Arsenal and Southampton. Liverpool, with 4 games remaining, can get 29 points, Man United can get 30 points and have 5 games left, and Southampton with 4 games left, can get 27 points. It's also worth mentioning that we currently have 13 players out on loan who have represented this under 21 side during this season. They are - Bostock, Byrne, Coulibaly, Falque, Kane, Luongo, Miles, Mason, Obika, Parrett, Pritchard, Smith and Townsend.
So you're basically saying that our U21s B team is winning the Elite Division! I've noticed the high turnover that we've had this season and can't help but think that it's a very sensible and progressive way of doing things. Winning the competition would be good publicity and nice for all involved, but getting first team experience is more beneficial in the long-term. It also allows those that have impressed at U18s and in the Nextgen to step up and push on. The academy staff and players have done a lot to be proud of this season, especially considering Alex Inglethorpe's departure. I'm sure that he deserves a fair amount of credit, too.
That does sound encouraging OS, because we appear to have loaned out most of the best of our youth side as the year has gone on, and yet it still seems to be performing well. I suppose it depends if the other teams around us have done the same but I've never heard it discussed, they seem to stay put. Sounds like we've really got something good going on on the youth front.
I think that Chelsea have a lot out, but their current side is in the 2nd tier of the tournament. They did reach the final of the Nextgen with Villa, though. Villa have promoted a lot of the equivalent players to their first team, but their results have suffered badly. Good for their development, but risky. Two of Chelsea's biggest prospects, both of whom they signed from Genk, have had a bit of a conflict, according to the media. Kevin De Bruyne's impressed for Werder Bremen, whilst Thibaut Cortouis' has looked very good for Atletico Madrid, but the latter's shagged the former's girlfriend! Must be something in the water at Stamford Bridge. It'll make the next Belgian squad meet up interesting, anyway.
In addition to the 13 I have already mentioned, I can think of Gomes, Rose, Bentley, Jenas, Stewart and Khumalo. That brings it to 19. Who am I forgetting ?? Does Grainger at Fulham count ?? And does Thomas Gardiner currently trialling for Ipswich under 21's count ??
