bluebrotha77
Player Valuation: £20m
Ya true to.great prospect isnt he.some left peg hopefully he keeps progressing nicely.what about right back?
bluebrotha77
Player Valuation: £20m
Blueloon just gave a good account of our options in the full back positions.seems to be alot of good young lads there coming through.credit to the academy and the coaching staff.
It is a good read. Opinions probably vary person to person. I probably would have said Byrne is worthy of a mention just yet. His description of the other players is very good.
One player to keep an eye on from left field is going to be Connolly. As an under 15/16 he was a bit of a utility man, might play central midfield or across the back four. He got a fair amount of game time for the under 21's as a 16 year old which made me keep a closer eye on him. When I would watch him, also for England he didn't always shine out (goals aside from fullback) but the last couple of games I've really noticed him kicking on.
Against Liverpool under 21's I thought he had a very solid game. He has a good spring and looks already to be close to 6 ft so will be quite a tall lad when he finishes his physical development. He was also strong in the tackle, quite quick and comfortable on the ball. When we moved to a back 3 he was also impressive as an outside centre half, and in some games he's played Centre Back in a 2. He looks a solid defender.
Often with young players physical development is very important. In the space of 6 months they can grow a couple of inches, or fill out that bit more which can make a huge difference, and give the player confidence.
I remember when I played as a fullback between the ages of 18-19 I filled out a bit got stronger, fitter and taller. Not only did it give me a physical edge, but also enormous confidence. I felt I could get tighter to the winger knowing I wouldn't be brushed aside. I felt confident outjumping them in the air, and also knew if I ran past him when we were attacking he wouldn't have the stamina to mark me. The penny dropped and this is what happens for most young players. The little bit of extra strength/height can drastically change the way they play and see improvements.
Connolly has really come on. I suspect Martinez still wants to use a back 3 in the long term. If he shifts to that I think Connolly is almost the perfect potential left sided centre half. As I said I was very impressed with him in the mini derby. Sometimes you have to look beyond the results and watch someone closely and see if they are ticking the boxes. Can they tackle? Are they tall? Do they want the ball? Are they composed with it? Mistakes happen and will get ironed out as they get older, it's a question of whether there are the raw ingredients there.
The obvious comparison to Connolly is Kenny, who is around 6 months older. I would say Connolly is taller and quicker than Kenny. Kenny has filled out a lot in the last 18 months so I hope that continues. I think his best position may be in the Barry role in front of the back four though. He is very competitive and disciplined. If he can play 20-30 games for Wigan this season that would be fantastic for him.
This is a difficult question, as what do we consider Roberto's formation? Is it the 4-2-3-1? Or the 4-3-3 or longer term potential the 3-4-3? For the sake of simplicity lets use the 4-3-3.
Griffiths
Kenny Pennington Holgate Connolly
Ledson Walsh Davies
Evans Dyson Dowell.
Some of those are a lot closer than others though.
He is having a brilliant loan down there which will do him the world of good. Two years ago he looked a really good prospect but in the last year or so he just appeared to stall a bit. He never nailed down a regular spot on the reserves. Looks like a loan to kick start himself again was just what he needed.
He has all the attributes to be successful. He will be a big strong lad, quite quick and mobile.
always interesting to read about progression of the youth teams. I've been impressed with how many players have progressed to be part of the squad under Martinez. Will be interesting to see how many either make their debuts this season or at least part of the matchday squads. It does seem that the club has a real strategy to ensure each player makes the most of themselves.
The only times I have seen these lads to be honest is in pre season friendly's.
When I have seen them without a few experienced heads in their e.g Tranmere pre season they can look a little bit soft or predictable sometimes.
But whenever I have seen them with a sprinkling of first team players to help them they always seem a lot more relaxed and less likely to get bullied and seem to react well with having a few of them around them.
I noticed when geri was in the barca b team (the successful side, not the one that got relegated) they brought in a few older players who have played lower league Spanish football etc to help nuture them through games. I don't think its a coincidence that with a couple of seniors in the u21 side that beat spurs it helped the lads out
When I have seen them without a few experienced heads in their e.g Tranmere pre season they can look a little bit soft or predictable sometimes.
But whenever I have seen them with a sprinkling of first team players to help them they always seem a lot more relaxed and less likely to get bullied and seem to react well with having a few of them around them.
I noticed when geri was in the barca b team (the successful side, not the one that got relegated) they brought in a few older players who have played lower league Spanish football etc to help nuture them through games. I don't think its a coincidence that with a couple of seniors in the u21 side that beat spurs it helped the lads out
bluebrotha77
Player Valuation: £20m
Ya this is a great thread for people like myself who dont get to see the younger players regularly.its a pity theres not much coverage anywhere of there matches so its great that you can see some highlights here or match reports and get regular enough updates on the progression of the younger players.keep up the good work fellow blue posters
How is Kenny getting on at Wigan?
From what I have heard from people on here is that Wigan fans tend to think he is not developed enough and the weak link, or is that just them being harsh?
From what I have heard from people on here is that Wigan fans tend to think he is not developed enough and the weak link, or is that just them being harsh?
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
That's the problem with the U 21's. Years ago the reserves had experienced pros. either coming back from injury or not in the first team squad who helped the younger players.
I also remember Baxter saying that u21 football was pointless as the pro's who were coming back were not interested at all.
Maybe that's a sign of modern football that an u21 game is beneath certain pro's
I reckon so. It's the only reason I can fathom for him getting so many youth CBs in the ranks haha. Then again the youth teams are still playing with 4 at the back so maybe not.
Hard to tell from the forums as there only appear to be about 10 active fans!
He has had good reviews and bad reviews, not seen any saying he is anything other than a good prospect though. Certainly the manager rates him as he picks him every week over Kevin McNaughton who has senior Scotland caps.
......that was also the case with the A and B teams in the Lancashire League. I witnessed internationals like Bracewell and Van den Hauwe coming back from long injuries playing with the youngsters at Bellefield.
johnnydawg68
Chairperson, People's Front of Saint Domingo
Because most keepers don't become PL class until they are much older. Keepers prime tends to be about 5 years later than outfield positions. So it's going to be even rarer to see a GK come through an academy to the first team without leaving and playing quite a bit in the lower divisions IMO.
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