TL; DR / QUICK EXPLANATION:
We have kids deemed to get game time this year.
Who will it be?
Pick up to three names from the list.
So Everton are rich again, and as it's summer and all, and people are paying beyond stupid money for talent (£42m for Koulibaly?) while we have always been told we have young talent in droves. And we really do, it seems. Why, Everton's academy has always been among the elite schools of footballing talent, right? I am trying to imagine what fee we could have been getting if Wayne "remember the name" Rooney had emerged at this point in time instead of 15 years ago. Add that fee up to the hypothetical value of John Stones, and you'll become a wizard of quantum mathematics.
So yes, the inevitable big name signings are going to make it harder for our youngsters to break through and maybe get the run of their lifetime with a few games. Appearantly. But we know they're not fazed. Surely not. Just look at the confidence, arrogance and phenomenal swagger (sorry) with which lads like Galloway, Davies and Dowell took their chances last season. Let's add Conor Grant's stupid sick goals too. Performances which made me cheer them like they were my own kids, providing one of very few sources of optimism in what was otherwise a depressing year.
It's a new season, new kids, new chances for the old kids. Lots of uncertain futures, to be exact. Why does McAleny still exist? Will he ever play a premier league minute again, or is he doomed to slug it out in the lower leagues? Leandro Rodriguez, Shani Tarashaj and David Henen, who have yet to play for us, will definetly be providing some competition.
What, exactly, is a Matty Foulds? It might just be the title of a children's book on laundry room etiquette. It most definetly is clutch time for dreamboat left back Luke Garbutt too, as he must be feeling the pressure of being somewhere stuck in the middle between Baines and Galloway. And what about that Holgate kid, Galloway's mate? Shouldn't one of them soon go all Dele Alli up in here?
There's much less pressure, but still so much promise to be found in academy products like Pennington, who seemed rough but very composed at centre back at the end of last season. Then you've got the shining-light examples of Davies and Dowell - i wonder if we will see them again after the inevitable appearances in pre-season? One to keep a tab on must surely be young midfield general Ryan Ledson, who has captained England youth teams on four different levels.
From what we saw last year, one of them surely has it in them to A) Replace the actual need in the squad for another midfielder following the release of Pienaar and Osman and B) Provide some youthful optimism by being the antithesis to the on-field personas of Gibson or Cleverley, which i can only describe as mildly depressing, in the same way that watching one of those animal rescue police shows on that channel way down on the channel list is depressing.
Honorable mentions also go out to our young goalies, who after all have one of the toughest jobs in football. No goalie ever gets a chance, at least at a young age, to impress. An exempt from this rule is the career of Joel Robles, which we expect to go on this year in a certain direction. As we have seen, Joel himself prefers this direction to be like that of a drunk butterfly - so chances to dislodge him are actually much better than they have ever been at Everton. So kudos at least to Matheusz Hewelt, who has held off the challenges of a thousand other polish goalies to be our actual third choice keeper, and new lad Chris Renshaw. They're not on the poll due to room restrictions. Godspeed down there in the goalie dungeon.
If Koeman will pick them, remains to be seen. But he seemingly has a decent record with kids, and seems like the right personality to encourage and motivate the youngsters. He has also been saying all the right things, so surely we are in for some of those tantalising glimpses which make the mechanical motions of pre-season just that much more interesting to watch to make you consider paying for it.
So have at it. Let us know in the poll above which three lads you would give the nod to succeed this year. It's worth considering their position as well as previous experience, cost and seemingly their chances with Koeman and the yet-to-be-known new-look team. You've got up to three picks in the poll. Leave a comment for the lads you think it's time to move on. And i know, a few of these could already be considered "broken through", but their places in the XI or pecking order are most definetly up in the air, hence their inclusion.
We have kids deemed to get game time this year.
Who will it be?
Pick up to three names from the list.
So Everton are rich again, and as it's summer and all, and people are paying beyond stupid money for talent (£42m for Koulibaly?) while we have always been told we have young talent in droves. And we really do, it seems. Why, Everton's academy has always been among the elite schools of footballing talent, right? I am trying to imagine what fee we could have been getting if Wayne "remember the name" Rooney had emerged at this point in time instead of 15 years ago. Add that fee up to the hypothetical value of John Stones, and you'll become a wizard of quantum mathematics.
So yes, the inevitable big name signings are going to make it harder for our youngsters to break through and maybe get the run of their lifetime with a few games. Appearantly. But we know they're not fazed. Surely not. Just look at the confidence, arrogance and phenomenal swagger (sorry) with which lads like Galloway, Davies and Dowell took their chances last season. Let's add Conor Grant's stupid sick goals too. Performances which made me cheer them like they were my own kids, providing one of very few sources of optimism in what was otherwise a depressing year.
It's a new season, new kids, new chances for the old kids. Lots of uncertain futures, to be exact. Why does McAleny still exist? Will he ever play a premier league minute again, or is he doomed to slug it out in the lower leagues? Leandro Rodriguez, Shani Tarashaj and David Henen, who have yet to play for us, will definetly be providing some competition.
What, exactly, is a Matty Foulds? It might just be the title of a children's book on laundry room etiquette. It most definetly is clutch time for dreamboat left back Luke Garbutt too, as he must be feeling the pressure of being somewhere stuck in the middle between Baines and Galloway. And what about that Holgate kid, Galloway's mate? Shouldn't one of them soon go all Dele Alli up in here?
There's much less pressure, but still so much promise to be found in academy products like Pennington, who seemed rough but very composed at centre back at the end of last season. Then you've got the shining-light examples of Davies and Dowell - i wonder if we will see them again after the inevitable appearances in pre-season? One to keep a tab on must surely be young midfield general Ryan Ledson, who has captained England youth teams on four different levels.
From what we saw last year, one of them surely has it in them to A) Replace the actual need in the squad for another midfielder following the release of Pienaar and Osman and B) Provide some youthful optimism by being the antithesis to the on-field personas of Gibson or Cleverley, which i can only describe as mildly depressing, in the same way that watching one of those animal rescue police shows on that channel way down on the channel list is depressing.
Honorable mentions also go out to our young goalies, who after all have one of the toughest jobs in football. No goalie ever gets a chance, at least at a young age, to impress. An exempt from this rule is the career of Joel Robles, which we expect to go on this year in a certain direction. As we have seen, Joel himself prefers this direction to be like that of a drunk butterfly - so chances to dislodge him are actually much better than they have ever been at Everton. So kudos at least to Matheusz Hewelt, who has held off the challenges of a thousand other polish goalies to be our actual third choice keeper, and new lad Chris Renshaw. They're not on the poll due to room restrictions. Godspeed down there in the goalie dungeon.
If Koeman will pick them, remains to be seen. But he seemingly has a decent record with kids, and seems like the right personality to encourage and motivate the youngsters. He has also been saying all the right things, so surely we are in for some of those tantalising glimpses which make the mechanical motions of pre-season just that much more interesting to watch to make you consider paying for it.
So have at it. Let us know in the poll above which three lads you would give the nod to succeed this year. It's worth considering their position as well as previous experience, cost and seemingly their chances with Koeman and the yet-to-be-known new-look team. You've got up to three picks in the poll. Leave a comment for the lads you think it's time to move on. And i know, a few of these could already be considered "broken through", but their places in the XI or pecking order are most definetly up in the air, hence their inclusion.
