They do need LB depth though after Bertrand left. More chance of him getting a game there than here.
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They do need LB depth though after Bertrand left. More chance of him getting a game there than here.
Billy Dean
Player Valuation: £70m
Totally agree. A lot of clubs refuse to let their young players out on loan unless they sign a long contract beforehand which I think is quite unethical and can think of a few examples where IMO that's hindered a promising young player's career. If the players don't look after themselves then no one else will.
mightymoyes
Player Valuation: £70m
Ishe Samuels-Smith played for england u16s today vs scotland, be ironic if small doing a bunk opened up a chance at left back for him in a couple of years
Re your “ Professional football clubs show absolutely zero loyalty to these kids and will ditch them quicker than you can say Rafael Benitez is a dinosaur. So why fans expect them to show unrequited loyalty in return is beyond me.” But the biggest criticism over the past few years has been that we show too much loyalty, keep kids on too long, give them contracts longer than they deserve. ! We often see tweets of players who move on thanking the club for their time here .
Im not bothered too much about Small now, shame he’s gone, but he’s hardly caused the same stir as Bellingham or Sancho at the same age. Sitting out pre season until he gets what he wants will stay with him. One more action like that will mark him out. I remebeer Gerrard’s cousin Bobby Duncan refusing to play for City until he got his “ dream move” to the RS. A year later he was at it again and agitated for an acrimonious move to Fiorentina , then last season he was back to England with Derby and lately he was rumoured to be off to a Danish club. He’s still only 20. Sometimes these kids have their heads turned into believing they’re better than they are.
I‘ll be glad when he’s gone and we focus our posts on those kids we have got.
England win 3-2 . The u16 squads are always quite large , they cast a wide net, but it’s good to see him playing, I know he’s played u15s in the past. The path is there if he stays injury free , as last years u18 left backs Lowey and Small have gone, leaving Joe Anderson at U23s and any of the new Scholars who can play LB. At 15years old there’s no rush for him though .
Barnfred 55
Player Valuation: £80m
Of course he has to prove he's good enough.
But if he does he'll play. Do you think he would here? And I don't mean a 15 minute run out in a cup game that's already won against lesser opposition.
Not a chance.
Barnfred 55
Player Valuation: £80m
Do you think they offered contract extension for the lads welfare or because they were protecting their own financial interest. I.e transfer fee or compensation. Call me cynical but I'd say it's the latter in most cases. It's something they do a lot less often of late.
You may well be right about Small not making it. I haven't been overly impressed by him myself. My point was more a general one. And I did also say I didn't condone him not training.
mightymoyes
Player Valuation: £70m
If he was outstanding he'd have as much chance of playing here as at Southampton, but there's literally no suggestion from what I've seen that is the reality.
Maybe Southampton give opportunities to average 17 year olds but I'm not aware that's the case.
Barnfred 55
Player Valuation: £80m
Disagree completely. We had 2 young lads last year showing fantastic form in the league cup, but when opportunities came up through injury they were both overlooked. Out of form senior players were preferred and others played out of positions.
We haven't had a manager that trusted young players since Martinez and I very much doubt Benitez is any different.
I didn’t say Small wont make it , that’s your quote.
Where we also disagree is the way you and others seem to be critical of our club and turned Small into a Chief Bromden from One flew over the Cuckoos Nest type figure, breaking free from the evil system that has held him captive and striking a blow for freedom.
mightymoyes
Player Valuation: £70m
Dont remember martinez bringing many academy players through to the 1st team
Barnfred 55
Player Valuation: £80m
Sorry. Thought you were questioning his ability.
All I'm saying is that these young lads are treated like commodities of clubs and are often dropped like hot cakes. They should be allowed to have more say in their own futures without fans laying into them calling them divies and much worse. Loyalty works 2 ways.
Barnfred 55
Player Valuation: £80m
I never actually said academy players. I was referring to young players. He trusted them if they were good enough. Barkley, Stones and Deulofeu were all 19 when Martinez started playing them regularly and Lukaku was 20. Galloway was another who played quite a few and the likes of Browning and Pennington also had a handful. He also gave 1st team debuts in his final season to the likes of Ledson, Kenny, Davies, Connolly and Dowell who were all 17/18 at the time. They may well have had more games had he stayed.
There are a lot of accusations you can throw at Martinez during his spell at Everton, but not being prepared to put trust in young players isn't one of them.
mightymoyes
Player Valuation: £70m
We were talking about small so assumed you meant academy players.
He gave all them a few minutes when it obvious he was getting sacked or in dead rubber europa league matches though, I don't think he could be considered a great developer of youth players either.
Barnfred 55
Player Valuation: £80m
He trusted young players if they were good enough is what I'm saying. Most managers don't. None of ours have since him, except the few games from Unsworth of course.
We don't know what would have happened to our "golden generation" had he stayed. In fairness he didn't have a great deal to work with before they came through. Browning being the only standout player from about 3/4 years of produce. And he was hampered with injuries.