Ledson to leave Everton?

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He disappeared for the first few months of last season I think it was where he just wasn't used by any of the youth teams, and I remember a few questioning it on the youth team thread. I don't think it was ever really figured out what had happened to him.
 
mightymoyes said:
19 now and it doesnt seem championship clubs are banging the door down to offer him a loan
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Didn't realise he's just had a birthday. Still, 19 is really young to be writing him off but obviously the coaches see things we don't and they are in the best position to judge. Surely there is one team in the Championship that would take him, even league 1 at a push (but a good team), I just think that League 2 isn't going to aid his development.
 
toffeejack said:
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ryan-ledson-offered-chance-leave-11786187#rlabs=1 rt$category p$2




Seems an odd one, but reading from the youth thread it did seem he'd dropped down the pecking order. Thoughts @catcherintherye?
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It's a very odd article and slightly out of the blue and I do feel saddened by it. What I think is clear is that in all likelihood Ledson's future lies away from Everton.

As a teenager he was the most talented 16 year old we've had since Barkley. Only Rooney and Barkley were ahead of him. There will be a lot of theories that will explain what's "gone wrong" and I'm sure some will legitimately question my judgement of him over that period. The truth is that making it as a pro footballer is an in exact science and very difficult to predict largely because so much of it is predicated by good fortune. A change of manager here, a bad loan there, a mistake here, a player regaining fitness there, a new signing becoming available here etc can all massively impact upon a young player.

Football, especially with young players is a series of sliding doors moments. Had he not bee called up to the under 17's at the end of Martinez's first season and got some game time (as Martinez had said he would) on the last day and had a blinder like Davies did, maybe he'd have started next season playing more games? We don't know that but there's a strong possibility. Likewise had he not gone on loan last season, would he have been given a chance to play in the first team over Davies? Had Martinez stayed would he had been involved more? Had Stubbs stayed would his development have been quicker? We will never know

He ended up making his debut in Europe where I thought he acquitted himself very well and was one of the better players. He was a lot better for me than Dowell on the night.

From the outside looking in it just looked like he got lost a bit. He didn't seem to be with the first team yet he wasn't a regular or central man for the reserves. I could speculate a whole host of things here but it wouldn't be fair too. What we know was Unsworth seemed to prefer Williams and Davies in his midfield for whatever reason. I have alluded to difficulties in his development over the last 18 months starting around that European game and was always surprised he wasn't involved much.

There is every chance that he is pushing for this move. I mentioned last summer Davies and Dowell's rise will cause a challenging situation. Lads who have gone out on loan and done well will question why lads who've stayed can jump ahead of them, especially if it was sold to them in such a sequential way as what Martinez professed too (ie complete x number of training session, y number of reserve games, z number of games on loan, train again with the first team and make your debut). If a lad who is two steps behind you jumps ahead of you it is demoralising and will cause frustration.

As a result Ledson may well have said he wants to be involved with the first team and felt his best options are away from Everton and the club may be open to that. The reality is playing reserve football will probably not be seen as very appealing to Ledson who has been doing it for 3 years.

I am not a coach at Everton and can't really say what has happened only a small handful of people will have an interpretation that resembles the exact ins and outs. From my angle it looks like a lad who probably didn't fit with the classic model of how Martinez was trying to develop players and in the end didn't get some key brakes that meant his development stalled. Alongside that he was the eldest of a very talented year or 2 of players for Everton (the best in the country) and slowly players began to overtake him. This is exacerbated by him playing in the area we are strongest in with young players (central midfield).

I felt this season was the key season for him to step up. If I sensed it he probably did too. If he wasn't in the first team squad it would have been difficult to keep him here. It is with real sadness as I can say he looked no way inferior to Davies and I would say a lot superior to some of the lads who played in Central midfield over the last 2 years. However making it at the top level is about good fortune. There is also an increasing number of lads who start at a lower level and work their way back. If we move him on we can hopefully get a sell on clause and a buy back option.
 
...he was one of our most promising but this is a salient reminder of what a massive step up it is to Premiership level. It also serves to manage expectation on those who follow. It's a brutal business, I suspect he will still have a future in the game.
 
catcherintherye said:
It's a very odd article and slightly out of the blue and I do feel saddened by it. What I think is clear is that in all likelihood Ledson's future lies away from Everton.

As a teenager he was the most talented 16 year old we've had since Barkley. Only Rooney and Barkley were ahead of him. There will be a lot of theories that will explain what's "gone wrong" and I'm sure some will legitimately question my judgement of him over that period. The truth is that making it as a pro footballer is an in exact science and very difficult to predict largely because so much of it is predicated by good fortune. A change of manager here, a bad loan there, a mistake here, a player regaining fitness there, a new signing becoming available here etc can all massively impact upon a young player.

Football, especially with young players is a series of sliding doors moments. Had he not bee called up to the under 17's at the end of Martinez's first season and got some game time (as Martinez had said he would) on the last day and had a blinder like Davies did, maybe he'd have started next season playing more games? We don't know that but there's a strong possibility. Likewise had he not gone on loan last season, would he have been given a chance to play in the first team over Davies? Had Martinez stayed would he had been involved more? Had Stubbs stayed would his development have been quicker? We will never know

He ended up making his debut in Europe where I thought he acquitted himself very well and was one of the better players. He was a lot better for me than Dowell on the night.

From the outside looking in it just looked like he got lost a bit. He didn't seem to be with the first team yet he wasn't a regular or central man for the reserves. I could speculate a whole host of things here but it wouldn't be fair too. What we know was Unsworth seemed to prefer Williams and Davies in his midfield for whatever reason. I have alluded to difficulties in his development over the last 18 months starting around that European game and was always surprised he wasn't involved much.

There is every chance that he is pushing for this move. I mentioned last summer Davies and Dowell's rise will cause a challenging situation. Lads who have gone out on loan and done well will question why lads who've stayed can jump ahead of them, especially if it was sold to them in such a sequential way as what Martinez professed too (ie complete x number of training session, y number of reserve games, z number of games on loan, train again with the first team and make your debut). If a lad who is two steps behind you jumps ahead of you it is demoralising and will cause frustration.

As a result Ledson may well have said he wants to be involved with the first team and felt his best options are away from Everton and the club may be open to that. The reality is playing reserve football will probably not be seen as very appealing to Ledson who has been doing it for 3 years.

I am not a coach at Everton and can't really say what has happened only a small handful of people will have an interpretation that resembles the exact ins and outs. From my angle it looks like a lad who probably didn't fit with the classic model of how Martinez was trying to develop players and in the end didn't get some key brakes that meant his development stalled. Alongside that he was the eldest of a very talented year or 2 of players for Everton (the best in the country) and slowly players began to overtake him. This is exacerbated by him playing in the area we are strongest in with young players (central midfield).

I felt this season was the key season for him to step up. If I sensed it he probably did too. If he wasn't in the first team squad it would have been difficult to keep him here. It is with real sadness as I can say he looked no way inferior to Davies and I would say a lot superior to some of the lads who played in Central midfield over the last 2 years. However making it at the top level is about good fortune. There is also an increasing number of lads who start at a lower level and work their way back. If we move him on we can hopefully get a sell on clause and a buy back option.
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Great post mate.

I think a big thing to remember with any young player - in any sport - is that senior level is totally different to playing against your own age group. There are many players in sports like tennis who were world number 1s and grand slam winners as juniors, but never make it past the top 100 once they join the senior ranks. Others develop more slowly and have nondescript junior careers but become top class players in their 20s.

It's funny that you mention Dowell actually, as he seems to struggle to shine in the senior games I've seen. That's certainly not to say he won't make it by the way, but the wonderful ability he shows in the reserves doesn't seem to show itself in the games against older lads.
 
Weird thought but I don't think barkley can grow a brain for cm position and I think koeman knows this. Would he nice to sack off McCarthy and push barkley further foward as an obstacle really unesssary for youth players like ledson and davies. Surely ledson can pass better than McCarthy and tackle and defend better than barkley?
 
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