Everton Youth Teams Thread

blueloon said:
Some strange England selections last week for upcoming games. No Chris Long in U20s squad, and in u18 squad are only Liam Walsh and Callum Connolly , no Ledson, Kenny or Kieran Dowell who was in the squad recently. Maybe giving others a chance as Ledson and Kenny have been fixtures in the team the last two seasons. I'd have thought Long's goals for Brentford and our u21s would have kept him in a squad he was in earlier on.
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It is a strange squad really. Dewnship was formerly involved with our academy (perhaps should have taken over the running of it) so I suspect he knows Dowell, Kenny and Ledson very well. Kenny has now turned 18, so there is a chance he is no longer eligible. Ledson will be 18 in 3 months so again there's ever chance they are looking to move on from those players and give younger players a chance.

Alternatively it could be down to burnout. Kenny has played almost every reserve fixture, and there has been some talk of Ledson needing a break. Likewise with Dowell he has been rested a few under 21's game so possible burnout. The FA will be in touch with academy's when selecting players.

Walsh has been quite overlooked by national squads. In and around the academy he is spoken of as the second most talented young player we have (behind Ledson but seem as very close). Connolly, Davies, Yates, Dowell, Kenny and Holland have all had international recognition to a greater degree than him. So it's interesting to see him selected. Connolly has been involved before so not much of a surprise.

What is fantastic for Everton, is that along with the 3 at the under 17's, we have 5 players around the under 18's level, showing 8 of our players have international recognition which is a very high number.

As for Long, I imagine the manager just doesn't fancy him. He went to the under 20's a couple of years ago as an 18 year old. He hasn't quite made the breakthrough a lot were hoping for. Lets see how he steps up this pre season.
 
blueloon said:
Some strange England selections last week for upcoming games. No Chris Long in U20s squad, and in u18 squad are only Liam Walsh and Callum Connolly , no Ledson, Kenny or Kieran Dowell who was in the squad recently. Maybe giving others a chance as Ledson and Kenny have been fixtures in the team the last two seasons. I'd have thought Long's goals for Brentford and our u21s would have kept him in a squad he was in earlier on.
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These end of season affairs are generally for the fringe players. Quite a lot of the more experienced ones have dropped out.
 
It's interesting how the school age and therefore Academy year impacts on players . As was said earlier, Ledson and Kenny were a year ahead of Connolly, Dowell, Walsh ( ?) and reflected in last years U17 for England. This year the " younger" 3 have made more progress as they catch up. Callum Connolly in particular came in to England U18 s with quite a bang last year, scoring 3 goals in 2 games if I remember right , playing as an attacking left back. From the 8 u17/18 he appears to be the only natural left footer, although Ledson, Yates, Holland have been seen to use their left when needed. While they may always retain a stronger side I would assume that at the Academy they are all encouraged to be two footed to an extent.
 
I think that some of the players mentioned are academy only and some are in transition.
The players in transition have possibly very little left to prove at underage level but are not ready yet to make a mark at senior level. It appears their progress has stalled but it may be that they are adapting to their new status.

Luck has a lot to do with a players career. Galloway got a game because even though there were three players ahead of him for left back the injuries to Baines and Oviedo and Garbutt not signing a contract opened up a position.
 

Pardon if this was already discussed... but do you guys have a clear view on the identity of that young super talented playmaker no.10 whom RM was coyly mentioning in that recent podcast interview? What I've seen online most seem to think this alluded to either Ledson or Dowell, but when reading the player bios on the OS I feel that Liam Walsh sounds like that kind of player the most. Yesterday's post by @catcherintherye seemed to suggest that LW is indeed a highly rated talent at the club.
 
Hantakun said:
Pardon if this was already discussed... but do you guys have a clear view on the identity of that young super talented playmaker no.10 whom RM was coyly mentioning in that recent podcast interview? What I've seen online most seem to think this alluded to either Ledson or Dowell, but when reading the player bios on the OS I feel that Liam Walsh sounds like that kind of player the most. Yesterday's post by @catcherintherye seemed to suggest that LW is indeed a highly rated talent at the club.
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....Walsh looks the part, not big but talented with a competitive attitude. I know (from his agent) that RM is a big fan but he has a way to go and it is a massive step up. Saying that, I don't see him or Ledson as No10 type, both more industrious midfielders. I might have that wrong. Dowell looks more mecurial and RM and his coaches have said they see him as a no10, so I guess he is the one being referred to.
 
I agree about Walsh to be fair I've only seem clips of him in the youth games

Did seen him live last summer at Rhyl when he was still only 16 but was getting stuck in
And technically he look superb with a brilliant range of passing

Like the other poster said him and ledson are more box to box aggressive players

With Tom Davies as well who's also played a few games for the 21's at 16 he's a more defensive midfielder, we have some great youngsters coming through

Other than dowell there is another 16yr old who played for the 21,s right at the end of the season
Anthony Evans who by all accounts is a goal scoring midfieder and is also highly thought of
 

Hantakun said:
Pardon if this was already discussed... but do you guys have a clear view on the identity of that young super talented playmaker no.10 whom RM was coyly mentioning in that recent podcast interview? What I've seen online most seem to think this alluded to either Ledson or Dowell, but when reading the player bios on the OS I feel that Liam Walsh sounds like that kind of player the most. Yesterday's post by @catcherintherye seemed to suggest that LW is indeed a highly rated talent at the club.
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Have you got the podcast mate? If I heard the words I might have more of an idea. I sense it might be Dowell though.
 

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