Everton Youth Teams Thread


formerly manx toffee said:
There is a good article on toffeeweb. I won't link it. That talks about Liam Walsh. He is not one I have heard much hype on on here but sounded as though he is rated highly.

Any of you guys who watch the youth teams have a view on him ?
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I think Walsh been mentioned quite a lot on this thread and is highly rated by all the fans who have seen him

Just lately it's been dominated by dowell & Evans

I have seen him twice and he's impressed me both times

He works really hard not afraid to get stuck in
Can be making a tackle on the edge of his own box one minute and then up the other end having a shot the next

And he's really good on the ball and his range of passing is fantastic

I think there is somebody on this thread who knows his agent?

And has mentioned how highly Martinez rates him
 
Stephenlloyd said:
I think Walsh been mentioned quite a lot on this thread and is highly rated by all the fans who have seen him

Just lately it's been dominated by dowell & Evans

I have seen him twice and he's impressed me both times

He works really hard not afraid to get stuck in
Can be making a tackle on the edge of his own box one minute and then up the other end having a shot the next

And he's really good on the ball and his range of passing is fantastic

I think there is somebody on this thread who knows his agent?

And has mentioned how highly Martinez rates him
Click to expand...
Thanks for this. Sorry if I missed the chatter. I have see the Dowell activity and previously around Ledson, et al but hadn't caught Walsh.

Thanks again
 
formerly manx toffee said:
There is a good article on toffeeweb. I won't link it. That talks about Liam Walsh. He is not one I have heard much hype on on here but sounded as though he is rated highly.

Any of you guys who watch the youth teams have a view on him ?
Click to expand...

Have you got the original link mate? I'm sure it will be an interesting read. Eggs knows Walsh's agent and talks very positively about him.

I have to say I really like Walsh. He reminds me of a player like Paul Scholes towards the end of Scholes career in that he has the ability to control the flow and tempo of the game. He also has a nasty side to him, reminiscent of Scholes and is quite slide in build. When we beat Liverpool under 18's 5-0 (another hammering to join a long list) last season he controlled the game effortlessly, scored one, made a couple and was spraying passes all over. He was on another level to any of their players and was a stand out amongst our team.

He is a very talented player. The big but in all of this though is his lack of size mean he will probably be one that takes a little longer to make it to the first team that some of his counterparts. Ledson is upwards of 6 ft and well built and I would expect him to be able to deal with the rigours of men's football. Kenny has grown and filled out over the last 12 months. Dowell has also grown in size over the last 18 months. When you then look at lads like Tom Davies, he has a fantastic engine and covers the ground very well. Walsh is a little lad still, not much more than 5 foot 7 currently.

This lack of size has meant to date he may not have been as involved in higher age group sides as his abilities would reflect. As an under 16 he didn't get many outings for the under 18's. Donuhue, Ledson, Kenny, Dowell all played up a lot more than him. Likewise it took him a bit longer to break into the reserves compared to some other players. However once he has got into those sides he has really excelled.

Ultimately he is a very talented player. However whereas you can see Ledson getting minutes this season as well as Dowell, and Kenny probably getting some game time in the next 18 months I think Walsh's debut may be a couple of years away yet. That shouldn't worry us though, it follows a pattern of what's happened to date, and so far when Walsh has made the step up, he has excelled. He will be fantastic for a Martinez side as well.
 
catcherintherye said:
Have you got the original link mate? I'm sure it will be an interesting read. Eggs knows Walsh's agent and talks very positively about him.

I have to say I really like Walsh. He reminds me of a player like Paul Scholes towards the end of Scholes career in that he has the ability to control the flow and tempo of the game. He also has a nasty side to him, reminiscent of Scholes and is quite slide in build. When we beat Liverpool under 18's 5-0 (another hammering to join a long list) last season he controlled the game effortlessly, scored one, made a couple and was spraying passes all over. He was on another level to any of their players and was a stand out amongst our team.

He is a very talented player. The big but in all of this though is his lack of size mean he will probably be one that takes a little longer to make it to the first team that some of his counterparts. Ledson is upwards of 6 ft and well built and I would expect him to be able to deal with the rigours of men's football. Kenny has grown and filled out over the last 12 months. Dowell has also grown in size over the last 18 months. When you then look at lads like Tom Davies, he has a fantastic engine and covers the ground very well. Walsh is a little lad still, not much more than 5 foot 7 currently.

This lack of size has meant to date he may not have been as involved in higher age group sides as his abilities would reflect. As an under 16 he didn't get many outings for the under 18's. Donuhue, Ledson, Kenny, Dowell all played up a lot more than him. Likewise it took him a bit longer to break into the reserves compared to some other players. However once he has got into those sides he has really excelled.

Ultimately he is a very talented player. However whereas you can see Ledson getting minutes this season as well as Dowell, and Kenny probably getting some game time in the next 18 months I think Walsh's debut may be a couple of years away yet. That shouldn't worry us though, it follows a pattern of what's happened to date, and so far when Walsh has made the step up, he has excelled. He will be fantastic for a Martinez side as well.
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I think this is the article @formerly manx toffee was referring to:-


Is Liam Walsh the "special talent"?

You’d have thought that a coat with a tee-shirt underneath would have been more than enough to stave off the cold in the summer but I should have known better. It turned out to be a night so nippy I actually required a half-time Bovril to keep me warmed up.
Being from the Wirral, I figured I might as well head along to see the U-21s against Tranmere Rovers. My Rovers’ supporting mate picked me up, along with a few of his fellow Rovers’ fans, and on we went to Prenton Park, calling in for a quick pint at the pub before heading into the fairly sparsly attended ground.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve heard of a few of the names in the U-21s though don’t know what most of them look like. I did recognise Ryan Ledson and David Henen and was particularly keen to see how they got on. Antonee Robinson and Matthew Pennington both began the game also following their appearances at Dundee the previous night.

Everton began fairly well and got themselves ahead on 13 minutes with a slick counter-attacking goal which saw Henen play in Donohue. His shot was saved by Davies but the lively Tom Davies had made up good ground to support the attack and poked home the rebound.

Everton were doing OK and seemed fairly comfortable with all the hallmarks of Roberto Martinez’s style of playing the ball out from the back prevalent. We even conceded following a familiarly terrible defensive mix up which presented an opportunity for Margetts which he duly despatched. This seemed to turn the tide in the match and the older, experienced Tranmere Rovers players seemed to gain ascendancy and took the lead on 41 minutes when Stockton headed in quite easily from a corner.

Our young goalkeeper Mateusz Hewelt was having a game to forget and will certainly need to work on his catching I would suggest. The young Pole contrived to try and punch everything instead and had a tough evening. The injury suffered to David Henen nine minutes from the break also rocked Everton back a little as we no longer had that pacey outlet up front when he was replaced by the much taller figure of Callum Dyson. Half-time Everton trailed 1-2, meanwhile my friend Colin’s two Rovers supporting chums had already given up and retired back to the pub.

Right at the beginning of the second half, Donohue almost levelled the game after gliding past a few players before stroking the ball just past the post, however just four minutes later Tranmere had effectively sealed the game when a good ball in found Stockton who had shown good movement to get beyond our backline. He dared Hewelt to come and greet him which he did, before Stockton squared the ball for Margetts to score his second of the night.

Everton were distinctly second best at least until Liam Walsh and Harry Charsley were introduced on 63 minutes, with Liam Walsh in particular impressing me. When we had the chance to chat with Roberto Martinez in May he spoke of a “special talent” within the ranks and I just wonder if this could be the kid he was referring to. Liam Walsh is a local boy from Huyton and I’m loathe to put pressure on a lad of only 18 years of age, but he really looked the part to me.

The players always looked to give him the ball. He has very quick feet and an eye for a pass and moves the ball very intelligently. He is slight. Perhaps has a bit more growing to do but certainly impressed me the most and it seemed to bring more out of some of the other players.

Robinson was all of a sudden galloping forward confidently whilst Jack Bainbridge also seemed competent marauding forward with the ball at the back. Alas Everton didn’t get back into the game but Walsh came close with a free kick that was tipped over the bar, and put in a lovely through ball for Conor Grant, whose low shot trickled just wide.

I could be way off course of course though only time will tell.

Players who stood out: Antonee Robinson, Tom Davies, Jack Bainbridge and of course Liam Walsh. I would like to see more of David Henen as he looked lively if unspectacular before coming off injured.
 

hetion said:
Where does Walsh play? Is he a bit of a box-to-box CM? Do we have any Barry-role holding midfielders in the youth ranks?
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He is not really like Barry at all mate. He is a slight lad, who's ability is his passing and vision. Walsh may well play holding midfield, but he will be more of a deep lying playmaker like Scholes used to be.

We don't really have a like for like with Barry. The closest I can think of would be Joe Williams who is more of a natural defensive midfield player. Having said that I have also thought Kenny has a bit of the Lee Carsley about him.
 
LinekersLegs said:
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I've always liked the look of Jones when I've seen him, whether at RB or right-sided midfielder - quick, strong and good on the ball. Think I remember him as a CM a couple of years ago but I suppose we have quite a lot of quality in that position. Did anyone get to see him at Plymouth last season?

Also, thanks to @catcherintherye for his excellent posts in this thread and for the Salinger reference in his name (even if Salinger's interest in youth development was a little iffy...). A real pleasure to read.
 

Saint Domingo said:
Probably thanking his lucky stars he's not a left back. Although there seems to be a few lads Pennington, Kenny, Jones who have all played at RB. Didn't Robinson come on there against Dundee as well. Which one is the most likely Seamus Coleman successor?
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@catcherintherye had a few insights on that question, think the last one was this discussing Yates
catcherintherye said:
This lad speaks very well for himself. He was rated highly as an under 16. At the start of the season he struggled to break into our under 18's team, but over the second half of the season has really excelled.

I know @Zatara asked me a while back who could be our new right back. I ran the rule over Browning, Kenny and Jones concluding that none of them where an absolute natural fit or dead cert.

This lad looks the most natural fit in terms of style. He gets forward well, comfortable on the ball, quick and agile. One to keep an eye on.
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