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Everton Youth Teams Thread

It might not be Unsworths fault but the 23s are playing a totally different system to the first team. How are players going to be ready. Feeney and Foulds great players at this level but I suspect they know they won't make it here. Yet Astley is sat on the bench. He might as well be with the 18s at least he would play on a regular basis.
 
Nymzee said:
Or address where the Hell Gordon has gone to haha.
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I suspect Gordon has fallen into the same hole Davies and Kenny used to go - too good for u23s not yet able to occupy a permanent start/bench place. He also needs game time to improve, but if I take a deep breath then I can accept it for the moment,and hope he does better with Carlo than Unsworth on a wetnwindy Southport Monday night.
But it does bring us back to the frequent question , are our youngsters crap or are we just crap at helping them to bridge the gap from U23s to first team ? Possibly a bit of both .
 
blueloon said:
I suspect Gordon has fallen into the same hole Davies and Kenny used to go - too good for u23s not yet able to occupy a permanent start/bench place. He also needs game time to improve, but if I take a deep breath then I can accept it for the moment,and hope he does better with Carlo than Unsworth on a wetnwindy Southport Monday night.
But it does bring us back to the frequent question , are our youngsters crap or are we just crap at helping them to bridge the gap from U23s to first team ? Possibly a bit of both .
Click to expand...

For me, he’s training with the firsts and presumably going to match days with the firsts. If he’s in the squad, great. If he’s not in the squad then why the heck isn’t he playing Monday night’s just to keep him match sharp. It’s dumb handling IMO.
 

blueloon said:
I suspect Gordon has fallen into the same hole Davies and Kenny used to go - too good for u23s not yet able to occupy a permanent start/bench place. He also needs game time to improve, but if I take a deep breath then I can accept it for the moment,and hope he does better with Carlo than Unsworth on a wetnwindy Southport Monday night.
But it does bring us back to the frequent question , are our youngsters crap or are we just crap at helping them to bridge the gap from U23s to first team ? Possibly a bit of both .
Click to expand...
There seems to be no link between the U23s and the first team squad. You`d think that guys who aren't able to play for the first team should be getting a run out for the U23s just to be at least keeping them somewhat match ready. Promoting guys from the U23s to the first team just to fill a space in the match day squad and take away them getting game time with the U23s is daft.

When the reserve team football was re branded as U23s, it was supposed to give younger guys a chance to be playing regular football, to help them make the step up to first team football. Its no use to just bring a guy from the U23s to train as part of the first team if he isn't going to get any playing time for either setup. I wouldn't expect anyone making the step up from the U23s to be guaranteed a long run in the first team, but would expect to see them get a good run out instead of just being named on the bench.

I wonder if we put too much emphasis on winning the U23 league, rather than developing players to make the step up to the first team. We`ve seen how Liverpool have a bunch of youngsters that can make the step up if required, and fill in the gaps to give some first team players a break when fixtures are coming thick and fast. Man United have a good record of bringing players through their youth system and playing for the first team. They don`t all make the grade, but there`s some that would get chances at other premier league clubs. When we offload youth team players the only teams that they seem to end up at are at much lower levels, league one and two.
 

You would think Unsworth wants to manage a senior side permanently at some point?

Maybe after Unsy moves on we'd see a more similar style to the first team implemented with a new coach on board. Brands something something 5 year plan and so on.
 
onlyme said:
My lad has just got back from the game, said Simms isn't very good, his all round game is poor and for a big lad he's crap in the air. 2 good goals though, his first he poked in with his right foot cos he can't use his left.
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Well that’s a reasonable analysis of Simms ‘ ability, he is crap in the air and not good at holding the ball up , areas that can be worked on. I would though say he scored at least 10 goals with his left foot last season, he was always happy to smash a lose ball in with his left if he had the opportunity. His preferred foot is his right but his size and power means even his left foot is better than a lot of youngsters’ preferred foot just because he smashes the ball.
Last season those two chances he scored would have been wasted by Hornby and Sambou . At last we’ve got a kid in our U23s who can convert chances when put through and score goals . He’s a long way off being ready for our first team, but at just turned 19 time is on his side. Two seasons ago he struggled to break into the u18s, last season we know about his U18s feats but didn’t really register at U23s . This season he’s stepped up again . Gordon’s skills put him ahead of Simms, but you can’t fault him in terms of showing the ability to learn and progress each season .
 
People want to see golden boys or wonder kids from academy but, apart from their talents, don't know if they are ready physically and mentally especially the former.
Their sizes mean nothing because their muscles not fully grown yet and they risk to have injuries that could stay along with them all their careers. :)
 

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