Everton Youth Teams Thread

johnnydawg68 said:
Long shot, but will we ever see an Everton side with Barkley, Walsh, Dowell, and Ledson playing together?
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Well it's a really hard one to answer. In all honesty it is unlikely but not impossible.

Obviously Barkley is a first team regular. It's likely Ledson will be too. Dowell and Walsh both stand a good chance. But there is a chance at least one of them won't make the grade.

The second issue is how they would play together. They are all at their best as Central players. Dowell or Barkley could play on the flanks but would be wasted there.

I think we have a good chance of all 4 playing for the first team though.
 
Ledson, Dowell, Walsh and Kenny are all born in the same year I think. Will be really interesting watching them all coming through, hopefully around the same time. Green is only a year younger too.

Edit: by coming through I mean transitioning to professional league football, whether that's with us or not.
 
hetion said:
Ledson, Dowell, Walsh and Kenny are all born in the same year I think. Will be really interesting watching them all coming through, hopefully around the same time. Green is only a year younger too.

Edit: by coming through I mean transitioning to professional league football, whether that's with us or not.
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George Green won't make it in my opinion. Was speaking to my mate the other day who played with him at Tranmere and he said that he isn't that good and he certainly not as good as the players we have given them in the past such as Baxter, Wallace and Kennedy. Also said that he was sent back before the final league game as due to his attitude.
 
hetion said:
Ledson, Dowell, Walsh and Kenny are all born in the same year I think. Will be really interesting watching them all coming through, hopefully around the same time. Green is only a year younger too.

Edit: by coming through I mean transitioning to professional league football, whether that's with us or not.
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green is at least 2 years older than some of them you've mentioned
 

AdamEFC said:
George Green won't make it in my opinion. Was speaking to my mate the other day who played with him at Tranmere and he said that he isn't that good and he certainly not as good as the players we have given them in the past such as Baxter, Wallace and Kennedy. Also said that he was sent back before the final league game as due to his attitude.
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That's usually code for something rather more serious....
 
hetion said:
Ledson, Dowell, Walsh and Kenny are all born in the same year I think. Will be really interesting watching them all coming through, hopefully around the same time. Green is only a year younger too.

Edit: by coming through I mean transitioning to professional league football, whether that's with us or not.
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Yes they are, all within about 9 months of each other. It has been known for some time that we had a very strong age group at that level. As young players they went about 2 years unbeaten I think, and would generally hammer all opposition. It has been the basis of us winning the youth league last year, and finishing second this year.
It is hard to compare to other year groups and teams but it's certainly strongest we have had since the 98 era and has ever chance of being stronger than that.

What is also interesting is Ledson's year group were the first to "start" at Finch Farm. There was always a perception that before we moved to Finch Farm, we had everything there to have a top draw academy, apart from facilities. Coaches, scouting, a metropolitan area that remains football mad and a club that had a tradition of bringing through players. Where we lagged behind were facilities. That has now changed and we are starting to see the results of that.
What will be interesting will be whether the current crop of under 18's/17's are a bit of an anomaly or part of a wider shift due to Finch Farm being the final piece of the jigsaw.

I always try to be cautious of our young players. But we have a very strong, widely accepted as the strongest in the country. I spoke to someone at Liverpool the other day and they were very complimentary about our current crop. If you read RAWK they discuss Walsh, Kenny and Ledson in a jealous way, questioning why they haven't got them at their academy.

The closest I remember to this situation was 98. We then brought on Jeffers, Ball, Dunne, Cadamateri, Osman and Hibbert. Had it not been for mis-management Jeffers and Cadamateri could have done far better. There was also players like O'Brien (who was captain and got injured) Mcleod, Milligan who all made first team starts. If we manage our young players properly, there is enormous potential over the next 5 years.
 
AdamEFC said:
He said that he came to the team thinking he was better than everyone else and better than he actually is. Also said that he wasn't bothered about the results because he would be back at Everton regardless.
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i doubt he'll be at everton beyond his current contract though so he may enjoy it while he can.
 
AdamEFC said:
He said that he came to the team thinking he was better than everyone else and better than he actually is. Also said that he wasn't bothered about the results because he would be back at Everton regardless.
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If this is true (and without trying to insult your credibility you have to take everything with a pinch of salt) it does fit in with the wider picture of those in and around the club more generally.

What is often hard to get and makes it hardest to predict when commenting on young players is that ability at the age of 16 is by in large irrelevant. It is worth about 10% of the final output. The development between 16-22 is key critical. Physically the body changes within that period and boys grow into men, develop their natural shape etc. It's a similar process in footballing terms. A world class 16 year old with a poor attitude with fall behind a decent 16 year old with a great attitude I would say (as above) 90% of the time.

Gary Neville was not considered a top talent as a teenager. Through his own work and dedication went on to be one of the best full backs in the country. Jose Baxter was highly thought of as a 16 year old and will end up playing at league 1 level.

To get it back to George I think it has all gone to his head a bit. He has a wonderful left foot but whether he has enough about him to knuckle down and turn himself from a talented 16 year old into a first team player is hugely debateable. The Tranmere loan was a fantastic opportunity for him, though it may not seem it now. Not just to play for Tranmere, but to put himself in the shop window for future loans or a permanent transfer away. It was a great opportunity for him to play games that really mattered, and get to know the feeling of being a hero in big games.

If you contrast him with how Pennington has conducted himself firstly at Tranmere and then at Coventry the difference is for all to see. It's a great shame. But what it also highlights is being a great player at 16 is merely the start of a journey. You haven't "made it" you are at the start of a long road ahead. I suspect he will start being overtaken by younger players in the academy.
 

HK_Evertonian said:
Has anyone seen Antony Evans played?
He played the U-21 game at 16 years old.
Could he be a good prodigy?
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He is highly rated, an attacking midfield player. It is not that uncommon for under 16's to play for our reserves though. Ledson, Kenny and Donuhue have all done this in recent years. But yes it will be interesting to see how he develops.
 
catcherintherye said:
He is highly rated, an attacking midfield player. It is not that uncommon for under 16's to play for our reserves though. Ledson, Kenny and Donuhue have all done this in recent years. But yes it will be interesting to see how he develops.
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never seen him play but heard good things, is it possible he was the player martinez suggested could be the potential no.10 in a few years and not dowell or walsh?
 
mightymoyes said:
never seen him play but heard good things, is it possible he was the player martinez suggested could be the potential no.10 in a few years and not dowell or walsh?
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I remember him saying how highly he rated the U16s last season so I wouldn't be surprised if it was someone from that age group.
 
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mightymoyes said:
never seen him play but heard good things, is it possible he was the player martinez suggested could be the potential no.10 in a few years and not dowell or walsh?
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Someone asked a similar question a few pages back mate, which I gave a response for, so I won't subject the forum to the full detail of it again!

However in all honesty it could be Dowell or Walsh. Dowell is the more classic number 10. But Martinez spoke of a player who could play in deeper areas and impact the game from deeper, not just the final third, which is definitely Walsh's strength (Dowell is really someone who flourishes in the final third). Along with that Martinez said he was a couple of years away, which suggests more Walsh as he's a bit behind Dowell in terms of development. Could be either though.
 

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