Everton Youth Teams Thread

[Kever10]

Don't think you'll ever know for certain mate. It's one of them.

What I do think is strange is that Davies probably only got his chance at the time because Walsh and Ledson were both on loan. Both players were ranked ahead of Davies at the time. Both now struggling to get into championship teams.

That's not quite true. While I agree that Walsh and Ledson were the apparent stand outs coming through, Davies was quietly building his own reputation nicely. I remember going to watch a few youth games with the intention of watching Ledson/Walsh/Green, and come away being more impressed by Davies/Charsley/Williams. And Davies had also been hand picked to train with the Senior England team before he made his Full Everton debut, so he had been noticed by people in the know.

I know he has had lots of criticism of late, some of it warranted, like not imposing himself on games. Some of it though, people saying he's got no ability at all, is just insultingly inaccurate. He has a lot of natural ability, and what's more, the confidence and mental side of the game that is required. His main problem has been an unusual combination of having been given too much game time/responsibility in the very early stages, mainly due to neccesity, a problem we have lumbered on many of our promising young players going back decades, followed immediately by an unprecedented lack of opportunities and game time. He literally went from complete burn out to zero chance of developing any kind of form or rhythm.

Hopefully, with the season all but done for, and given the January transfer strategy indicating a switch from the short term to a longer strategy based build, we might grant him some more opportunities to show what he can do.

Just a shame that we didn't manage to shift Gueye, because I've discussed in other threads, I genuinely think, despite his stats, that he and Sigurdsson are the main reason our midfield has been so disjointed, and it's the likes of Davies who has suffered most as a result.

 

[yakublue]

Why would we keep him?

Hes on £70k a week and not good enough to start.

So its either him or Kenny,/Holgate as backup.

2 of the 3 will go i think.

He's on £70k a week mate. Who's going to buy him? Why do you think jagielka is still at the club?

 

[Barnfred 55]

That's not quite true. While I agree that Walsh and Ledson were the apparent stand outs coming through, Davies was quietly building his own reputation nicely. I remember going to watch a few youth games with the intention of watching Ledson/Walsh/Green, and come away being more impressed by Davies/Charsley/Williams. And Davies had also been hand picked to train with the Senior England team before he made his Full Everton debut, so he had been noticed by people in the know.

I know he has had lots of criticism of late, some of it warranted, like not imposing himself on games. Some of it though, people saying he's got no ability at all, is just insultingly inaccurate. He has a lot of natural ability, and what's more, the confidence and mental side of the game that is required. His main problem has been an unusual combination of having been given too much game time/responsibility in the very early stages, mainly due to neccesity, a problem we have lumbered on many of our promising young players going back decades, followed immediately by an unprecedented lack of opportunities and game time. He literally went from complete burn out to zero chance of developing any kind of form or rhythm.

Hopefully, with the season all but done for, and given the January transfer strategy indicating a switch from the short term to a longer strategy based build, we might grant him some more opportunities to show what he can do.

Just a shame that we didn't manage to shift Gueye, because I've discussed in other threads, I genuinely think, despite his stats, that he and Sigurdsson are the main reason our midfield has been so disjointed, and it's the likes of Davies who has suffered most as a result.

I wasn't having a go at Davies in my post mate. I spend half my time on here defending our younger players.

 

[johnnydawg68]

That's not quite true. While I agree that Walsh and Ledson were the apparent stand outs coming through, Davies was quietly building his own reputation nicely. I remember going to watch a few youth games with the intention of watching Ledson/Walsh/Green, and come away being more impressed by Davies/Charsley/Williams. And Davies had also been hand picked to train with the Senior England team before he made his Full Everton debut, so he had been noticed by people in the know.

I know he has had lots of criticism of late, some of it warranted, like not imposing himself on games. Some of it though, people saying he's got no ability at all, is just insultingly inaccurate. He has a lot of natural ability, and what's more, the confidence and mental side of the game that is required. His main problem has been an unusual combination of having been given too much game time/responsibility in the very early stages, mainly due to neccesity, a problem we have lumbered on many of our promising young players going back decades, followed immediately by an unprecedented lack of opportunities and game time. He literally went from complete burn out to zero chance of developing any kind of form or rhythm.

Hopefully, with the season all but done for, and given the January transfer strategy indicating a switch from the short term to a longer strategy based build, we might grant him some more opportunities to show what he can do.

Just a shame that we didn't manage to shift Gueye, because I've discussed in other threads, I genuinely think, despite his stats, that he and Sigurdsson are the main reason our midfield has been so disjointed, and it's the likes of Davies who has suffered most as a result.

Agree on Gueye and Siggy. Might not be the most popular POV, but I agree with you.

 

[Philw]

Hes got over 8/10 in both games so far.

Keep it up and we could be seeing £12-15mil fee.

....yep,I saw some of his debut and thought he played very well. The fact he’s on loan suggests he’s behind Coleman and Kenny at RB, and all of the CBs including Jagielka. Not withstanding us bringing in summer reinforcements, we have the likes of Kyle John around the first team at a very young age.

With the squad the size it is, I imagine Holgate will be moved on if a decent offer comes in.

Holgate will be part of the first team next season.

I'd like him to stay, but if not and we do get a decent fee for him it's not a bad bit of business. There was an interesting article on Man City (and Chelsea/Barca's) youth system in the telegraph the other day: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...ty-continue-reap-rich-dividends-youth-set-up/

Not sure how I feel about effectively farming youth players for cash, but it may be something we have to do to help raise transfer funds for the first team, whilst hopefully unearthing a few gems along the way.

 

[Eggs]

I'd like him to stay, but if not and we do get a decent fee for him it's not a bad bit of business. There was an interesting article on Man City (and Chelsea/Barca's) youth system in the telegraph the other day: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...ty-continue-reap-rich-dividends-youth-set-up/

Not sure how I feel about effectively farming youth players for cash, but it may be something we have to do to help raise transfer funds for the first team, whilst hopefully unearthing a few gems along the way.

...yep, they were talking about the Man City ‘model’ on the radio last night.

Strangely, the likes of Holgate isn’t an Acadamy player as such, but buying promising youngsters certainly seems a worthwhile strategy. Stones, Holgate, DCL and Lookman are all good investments that more than compensate for the likes of Galloway, Tarashej etc.

 

[johnnydawg68]

Had a listen to the Academy Watch podcast on the Blue Room extra - which is a great listen always by the way - and the glowing praise for Ryan Astley is really exciting. "A young John Stones" was the comp. Our U18s could potentially produce a few players for the first team it seems and Astley appears to be the shining start.

 

[Lanolin]

Don't think you'll ever know for certain mate. It's one of them.

What I do think is strange is that Davies probably only got his chance at the time because Walsh and Ledson were both on loan. Both players were ranked ahead of Davies at the time. Both now struggling to get into championship teams.

I would imagine that within the club Ledson and Walsh weren't rated quite as highly as they were on here, hence the club being perfectly content for them to leave, and them not pulling up any trees in the Championship.

Often fans get caught up in the hype that surrounds a player at 16 or so, and just carry on thinking they're the next big thing when in reality they've been overtaken by others. I can recall it happening with Green, Kissock, Hope etc as well as the 2 already mentioned. This is what I meant earlier about the coaches, they're looking for players who've got what it takes to play at the top, not just people who will excel at junior level. Often that means its not the obvious players who are earmarked for bigger things.

 

[Zatara]

Had a listen to the Academy Watch podcast on the Blue Room extra - which is a great listen always by the way - and the glowing praise for Ryan Astley is really exciting. "A young John Stones" was the comp. Our U18s could potentially produce a few players for the first team it seems and Astley appears to be the shining start.

Would be amazing if we did have a home grown Stones.

 

[Stephenlloyd]

I would imagine that within the club Ledson and Walsh weren't rated quite as highly as they were on here, hence the club being perfectly content for them to leave, and them not pulling up any trees in the Championship.

Often fans get caught up in the hype that surrounds a player at 16 or so, and just carry on thinking they're the next big thing when in reality they've been overtaken by others. I can recall it happening with Green, Kissock, Hope etc as well as the 2 already mentioned. This is what I meant earlier about the coaches, they're looking for players who've got what it takes to play at the top, not just people who will excel at junior level. Often that means its not the obvious players who are earmarked for bigger things.

To be fair to Walsh he joined a club in and around the play offs last January and even when they started to drop down the table, the manager was reluctant to change to team for some reason.

He also had to wait fir his chance this season, when it finally come he was really impressive and was getting praised by all the fans, who were saying he should stay in the team. Unfortunately he picked up an injury and is still out.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Walsh eventually gets to the premier league.

 

[messymascot]

I know he didn't do so well at Wigan but I think Connolly might be worth keeping if he comes back as a squad player down to the number of positions he covers. These youngsters don't always have to be starters they can be squad players on lower wages who are less likely to rock the boat if not starting games.

 

[Stephenlloyd]

I know he didn't do so well at Wigan but I think Connolly might be worth keeping if he comes back as a squad player down to the number of positions he covers. These youngsters don't always have to be starters they can be squad players on lower wages who are less likely to rock the boat if not starting games.

It’s strange how different loans work out, he was excellent at Ipswich, playing in midfield last season.

 

[mightymoyes]

I would imagine that within the club Ledson and Walsh weren't rated quite as highly as they were on here, hence the club being perfectly content for them to leave, and them not pulling up any trees in the Championship.

Often fans get caught up in the hype that surrounds a player at 16 or so, and just carry on thinking they're the next big thing when in reality they've been overtaken by others. I can recall it happening with Green, Kissock, Hope etc as well as the 2 already mentioned. This is what I meant earlier about the coaches, they're looking for players who've got what it takes to play at the top, not just people who will excel at junior level. Often that means its not the obvious players who are earmarked for bigger things.

Nonsense, ledson would've been on the bench for the first team at 16 if he wasn't away on international duty. He just didnt kick on for whatever reason

 

[messymascot]

It’s strange how different loans work out, he was excellent at Ipswich, playing in midfield last season.

Yeah see how he goes at Bolton. He can play either full back, midfield and even centre back although I suspect he might be too lightweight in premier league for there.

 

[Eggs]

Had a listen to the Academy Watch podcast on the Blue Room extra - which is a great listen always by the way - and the glowing praise for Ryan Astley is really exciting. "A young John Stones" was the comp. Our U18s could potentially produce a few players for the first team it seems and Astley appears to be the shining start.

...I listened to live commentary of the last FA Youth Cup game and the team were really under the cosh for the last 20mins and throughout extra time. It’s at such times you look out for the lads who put their bodies on the line and die for the cause and Astley sounded like the game really mattered to him. Not only that, but he stepped up and smashed in a penalty in the shoot-out.

Encouraging.