Gooch made his full debut this morning coming on as a sub for the USMNT. Put in some lovely crosses and worked his balls off. We're now producing full international from our youth system. Pickford will no doubt be getting a friendly run out this season. Our youth system is coming on leaps and bounds. Well done to our academy and well done to Lynden
This augers well for the future, hope the more senior pro's in our squad man up and dont ruin the future of some of our promising youngsters.
It always puzzles me when people say "Our academy produces nothing" when you think of the players who have come through it - Henderson and Pickford at international level. Colback playing in the championship (not a dig but he was highly rated by some as recently as 18 months ago) Gooch for the USA. Watmore coming on and looking much more likely to turn into a decent player. Very few academies can boast the amount of professionals we have "created". I like how it looks for the future personally
All clubs need to be doing this, the truth is, biased maybe, players like Marcus Rashford excite me way more than a £59m Angel Di Maria or a £30m Memphis. We have bought a lot of youth players from other academies such as Luke Shaw from Southampton, and it's great when they kick on and become top class players, but there isn't anything like producing your own especially local lads.
Man U are a law unto themselves when it comes to producing footballers, I remember a youth cup game at Roker Park which drew a crowd of 24,000, in which Stiles and Giles played, they beat us in a very close game and we had a very good team at that time with Nick Sharkey being our stand out player.
The commentator apparently spoke with Gooch before the match. During the broadcast he reported that Moyes told Lyndon that he was very much in his plans over the next two seasons and that he was removed from the lineup to ease the pressure of expectation. --The latter sounds about half right.
Think that' very good man management personally. Youth players can burn out very quickly and need bedding in gradually - particularly after little or no first team experience. Gooch looked OK - comfortable and composed. Think he's definitely a big one for the future
So Moyes reckons he's going to be around for more than season... I'd have thought that as the manager, he's the one supposed to be keeping his feet on the ground. The bloke's delusional!!
He's been given a 4 or 5 year contract, why can't he have a long term plan in place? If you're given a contract for say, 6 months with a company in your line of work (I have no idea what industry you're in btw) do you only plan for the first 2 or do you set out a 6 month plan? Give the bloke a chance, we need to stop this cycle of chopping and changing managers ever season.
It was a tongue in cheek comment Giacc though reading it back it doesn't come across that way. Not the first time it seems. Our managers don't usually manage a season.
In the olden days players were scouted by local scouts who did it for the clubs all over Britain. ManU had a good supply all over simply because the had the biggest scouting network, their scout picked up George Best when he was about eight or nine. When Burnley were a force in the fifties and sixties they fielded a team with eight "Geordie" players, many of them internationals as they had there scouts hereabout under Allan Brown. Where they scored most was that they out faith in youth and development. Gazza was a failed trialist at Ipswich under Bobby Robson who later admitted he had made a mistake but Gazza was just not big enough at the time. We've gone too far from those days but schools were the biggest source of these kids, and for me the sooner we let kids go out and enjoy their game instead of being at academies from an early age just to become a utility player the better. Teachers, the removal of competitive spirit, and loss of playing fields and local leagues all contributed, but it is nice to see that development is re-iventing football again.
