Everton Youth Teams Thread

[Eggs]

I am, and always have been a massive fan of Mason Holgate. I thought he was too easily bullied against West Ham and wasn't surprised when he was dropped for the returning Keane. He's still young so the odd poor game is to be expected, but I was much more concerned by his performance against the Kenyan team the other night. Such was the quality of the opposition, I'm pretty sure our U23 side would have been more than good enough to beat them. Holgate defensively was ok I suppose, but his distribution was dreadful and that's being kind. Watching Browning in the U23s and he's on a different level to Holgate at the moment.

I would send Browning out on loan in January to the championship. If he really impresses, and I mean he looks a cut above championship level, I'd reward him with a 2/3 year contract and he can become 4th choice defender next season behind the 3 you mentioned (assuming we're able to sign Zouma or somebody else of the same level). I'd then send Holgate out on loan for next season but I'd like to see him go abroad to maybe Germany or France.

I actually think we only need 3 top defenders and a 4th younger player as cover. Having watched Feeney lately in the U23s, I think he could also do with the benefit of a good loan next season before being considered ready for that 4th slot. So I'm not quite giving up on Browning yet.

..you and I have touched on this before, but we have to be very careful giving players like Browning new contracts given his age and the fact that his loan spells have been underwhelming. Silva was critical of the squad being too big and we have already rewarded Matty Pennington with a new contract. Other CBs will be coming through and Silva might even want to dip into the transfer market.

He’s been a stand-out this season for U23s but with just 6 months left on his current contract, a loan in January will almost certainly mean it’s the last we see of Browning at Everton.

 

[Barnfred 55]

..you and I have touched on this before, but we have to be very careful giving players like Browning new contracts given his age and the fact that his loan spells have been underwhelming. Silva was critical of the squad being too big and we have already rewarded Matty Pennington with a new contract. Other CBs will be coming through and Silva might even want to dip into the transfer market.

He’s been a stand-out this season for U23s but with just 6 months left on his current contract, a loan in January will almost certainly mean it’s the last we see of Browning at Everton.

Understand that Eggs. As I said last time, the contract would only come into play if he was showing outstanding form at championship level.(think the words I used were that he looked a cut above championship level). If not we just let his contract lapse. And we're talking about him being 4th choice in place of Holgate. A club like Everton cannot accommodate 4 top CBs as we couldn't keep them all happy, but we still need that 4th person cover. Both Feeney and Gibson will need a full season at open age football before they'll be anywhere near ready. Jags is past it.

You are probably right in that we will have seen the last of him if he goes on loan in Jan, but if he does smash it in the championship, should we just let him go without trying to keep him here. Top championship defenders aged 24 are going for £20m and big contracts these days and will probably expect to be starters. We'd have somebody who would probably relish another chance to make it at his boyhood club. We would probably get away with a 2 year extension on pretty low wages with a promise to extend if he starts to hold down a regular spot.

Not sure why you're so against this Eggs. I agree with your overall view on the younger players and I'm as dumbfounded as you why Pennington was given another year on his existing deal given it still had a year left anyway. But I'm looking at this as an exception purely because of the form the lad is showing coupled by the fact that his development has been so hampered by injuries. He's an athlete (normally the type of defender you go for) and has all the physical attributes to make a top drawer defender. If he does super well on loan in the second half of the season at a decent level, I really can't see the problem in giving him a short term extension.

 

[Eggs]

Understand that Eggs. As I said last time, the contract would only come into play if he was showing outstanding form at championship level.(think the words I used were that he looked a cut above championship level). If not we just let his contract lapse. And we're talking about him being 4th choice in place of Holgate. A club like Everton cannot accommodate 4 top CBs as we couldn't keep them all happy, but we still need that 4th person cover. Both Feeney and Gibson will need a full season at open age football before they'll be anywhere near ready. Jags is past it.

You are probably right in that we will have seen the last of him if he goes on loan in Jan, but if he does smash it in the championship, should we just let him go without trying to keep him here. Top championship defenders aged 24 are going for £20m and big contracts these days and will probably expect to be starters. We'd have somebody who would probably relish another chance to make it at his boyhood club. We would probably get away with a 2 year extension on pretty low wages with a promise to extend if he starts to hold down a regular spot.

Not sure why you're so against this Eggs. I agree with your overall view on the younger players and I'm as dumbfounded as you why Pennington was given another year on his existing deal given it still had a year left anyway. But I'm looking at this as an exception purely because of the form the lad is showing coupled by the fact that his development has been so hampered by injuries. He's an athlete (normally the type of defender you go for) and has all the physical attributes to make a top drawer defender. If he does super well on loan in the second half of the season at a decent level, I really can't see the problem in giving him a short term extension.

...it’s not that i’m so much against it, Fred, i’m just a bit wary of handing out contracts to a player who is no longer a promising youngster. Sure, he might turn out to be quality but like Duffy he’ll probably need to do that elsewhere. I’m also wary of players who’s form and fitness picks up near the end of a contract.

The other consideration is that he might not want a new contract as he’s in a fine position to negotiate a decent deal elsewhere.

 

[Barnfred 55]

...it’s not that i’m so much against it, Fred, i’m just a bit wary of handing out contracts to a player who is no longer a promising youngster. Sure, he might turn out to be quality but like Duffy he’ll probably need to do that elsewhere.

The other consideration is that he might not want a new contract as he’s in a fine position to negotiate a decent deal elsewhere.

Would you be happy if we had Duffy here as 4th choice? Plus he's almost 27 so doesn't have the potential upside of Browning and neither does he have his athleticism.

Yes, Browning may not think it is his best career move and decline the contract to get more guaranteed playing time. Maybe the team he was loaned to actually won promotion to the premier and want to sign him permanently. Maybe other premier teams will come in for him. He may have plenty of offers on the table. But that doesn't mean that we should not at least try.

Turn this on it's head Eggs. What do you think we should be looking for in our back up defender? Do you think we should hold onto Holgate if he's showing no signs of development?. Should we keep hold of Jags?. Should we rely on one of our younger players who haven't yet had any exposure to open age football? Or should we buy somebody in fill the role and what type of profile should we be going for?

 

[Eggs]

Would you be happy if we had Duffy here as 4th choice? Plus he's almost 27 so doesn't have the potential upside of Browning and neither does he have his athleticism.

Yes, Browning may not think it is his best career move and decline the contract to get more guaranteed playing time. Maybe the team he was loaned to actually won promotion to the premier and want to sign him permanently. Maybe other premier teams will come in for him. He may have plenty of offers on the table. But that doesn't mean that we should not at least try.

Turn this on it's head Eggs. What do you think we should be looking for in our back up defender? Do you think we should hold onto Holgate if he's showing no signs of development?. Should we keep hold of Jags?. Should we rely on one of our younger players who haven't yet had any exposure to open age football? Or should we buy somebody in fill the role and what type of profile should we be going for?

...you know my view on CBs, Fred. I want Rolls Royce athletes with quality to match. We should strive to bring in better than we have, i’d be content if Keane was our back-up. I like Holgate but I’ve never been the biggest fan of him at CB. The club rewarded Pennington with a contract so I assume he’s ahead of Browning in the queue.

 

[Nymzee]

I am, and always have been a massive fan of Mason Holgate. I thought he was too easily bullied against West Ham and wasn't surprised when he was dropped for the returning Keane. He's still young so the odd poor game is to be expected, but I was much more concerned by his performance against the Kenyan team the other night. Such was the quality of the opposition, I'm pretty sure our U23 side would have been more than good enough to beat them. Holgate defensively was ok I suppose, but his distribution was dreadful and that's being kind. Watching Browning in the U23s and he's on a different level to Holgate at the moment.

I would send Browning out on loan in January to the championship. If he really impresses, and I mean he looks a cut above championship level, I'd reward him with a 2/3 year contract and he can become 4th choice defender next season behind the 3 you mentioned (assuming we're able to sign Zouma or somebody else of the same level). I'd then send Holgate out on loan for next season but I'd like to see him go abroad to maybe Germany or France.

I actually think we only need 3 top defenders and a 4th younger player as cover. Having watched Feeney lately in the U23s, I think he could also do with the benefit of a good loan next season before being considered ready for that 4th slot. So I'm not quite giving up on Browning yet.

I love you but Browning will never be good enough to even be our 4th choice.

 

[Barnfred 55]

I love you but Browning will never be good enough to even be our 4th choice.

You should have stopped at I love you. You were doing fine up until then

You're probably right though Nymz. He'd have to absolutely boss it in his loan spell to even get a sniff of a contract, and chances are he won't walk straight into his new team anyway.

 

[Nymzee]

You should have stopped at I love you. You were doing fine up until then

You're probably right though Nymz. He'd have to absolutely boss it in his loan spell to even get a sniff of a contract, and chances are he won't walk straight into his new team anyway.

You just have to look at his past loans really. Rarely impressed at Championship level. Pennington gets better plaudits and you wouldn’t say he had much of a chance would you.

 

[Barnfred 55]

You just have to look at his past loans really. Rarely impressed at Championship level. Pennington gets better plaudits and you wouldn’t say he had much of a chance would you.

But as I've said in my numerous posts on this, he's always been injured. This is the first decent run of games the lad has had since he was 18. I've been watching U21/23 games for years and I've never seen a player stand out as much as Browning has done in every game I've seen of him this season. He really is a class apart from everyone else. He's been so good I'm just asking the question if his injuries have held back his development and we're only starting to see the real player come through now.

It would be a shame of we let him go and he did evolve into a top defender, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if that happened given what I've seen this season. I am a little bit surprised that Silva hasn't at least had a good look at him in training.

 

[Eggs]

But as I've said in my numerous posts on this, he's always been injured. This is the first decent run of games the lad has had since he was 18. I've been watching U21/23 games for years and I've never seen a player stand out as much as Browning has done in every game I've seen of him this season. He really is a class apart from everyone else. He's been so good I'm just asking the question if his injuries have held back his development and we're only starting to see the real player come through now.

It would be a shame of we let him go and he did evolve into a top defender, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if that happened given what I've seen this season. I am a little bit surprised that Silva hasn't at least had a good look at him in training.

...he has been very impressive for the U23s, but i’m sure Silva/Brands have already formed a view of Browning. I think he was in the squad for the Southampton League Cup game.

The reality is he’s already 24 so he shouldn’t really be in this thread.

 

[GwladysBlue]

 

[Ruairi77]

wow, what the hell?

 

[Connor]

 

[Brisan123]

Well that makes a mess of our academy plans for a few years
Can we appeal the decision ?
Has any other club got a ban as long as this ?

 

[GwladysBlue]

wow, what the hell?

Tapping up a Cardiff youngster.