Ledson to leave Everton?

[atrottel]

Only really seen him play properly for England, outside the UEFA match which I was at, and he looked pretty good at an international youth level.

Having kept up with the main loans in last season's thread, I would say the following:
Walsh was loved to bits by Yeovil - they are all hoping he plays tonight.
Kenny - Oxford fans liked him, but maybe not as much as the player they had on loan the year before in his position.
Ledson - Cambridge fans were OK but not wild about him, seemed quite up and down. Some comments about him disappearing in games and being on a different (better) wavelength than his team-mates when it came to passing into space.

As people have said, there is a lot of competition in central midfield (in both first team squad and youth terms) and Barkley and Besic are not really wizened pros. Gueye has plonked himself right in the first team spot that Ledson would have been aiming at, Davies has shown well there too. (Joe Williams is another youth player who is returning from injury soon.)

Story says clubs are in for him, not that we are dangling him out for bites. Be good to see him going on loan at good League One level but then there comes a point where the player (Lundstram, Baxter, etc.) decides to get started on their career rather than playing at an empty Southport or Stevenage ground week in week out.

 

[bluestevon]

Bin Barkley? Erm...is that how you interpret me saying we should play him in a certain position - that seems obvious to me is the one he's destined for - as me saying we should bin him?

Past 20 years mate, never mind 30. Players who've come through (appearances in brackets):

Osman (358)
Rodwell (68)
Rooney (48)
Ball (116)
Barkley (109)
Jeffers (51)
Anichebe (73)
Cadamarteri (50)
Dunne (65)
Hibbert (297)

Not bad as a return - all those first team games.

And that's not to mention players like Branch, McCann, Vaughan, Duffy, Baxter, Pennington, Browning etc who got some game time.

The next generation who can become part of the top list are Davies, Dowell, Connoly and Kenny...but only if they get on the pitch.

Ten players in twenty years sounds decent, until you analyse it a bit mate, cadamarteri, anichebe where frankly crap. Rodwell, Jeffers did absolutely nothing in there careers and were both cases of overhyped English players whose best years happened before 22/23,
Osman and hibbert both examples of how badly underfunded that either played a quarter of the games they did for us.

Dunne and ball both decent mid table calibre players at there best.

Only Rooney who we sold early and Barkley that we've turned out in twenty years have been anything more than a decent run of the mill calibre player.

 

[davek]

Ten players in twenty years sounds decent, until you analyse it a bit mate, cadamarteri, anichebe where frankly crap. Rodwell, Jeffers did absolutely nothing in there careers and were both cases of overhyped English players whose best years happened before 22/23,
Osman and hibbert both examples of how badly underfunded that either played a quarter of the games they did for us.

Dunne and ball both decent mid table calibre players at there best.

Only Rooney who we sold early and Barkley that we've turned out in twenty years have been anything more than a decent run of the mill calibre player.

Hold on, you've moved the goalposts a bit there. It was 'a good career at the top level', now it's changed to 'did absolutely nothing'...which I take to mean 'won nothing'? Well there's 6 full England internationals in that list of 10 and all of them went on to record a good career in the top flight.

Do you believe for an academy to be functioning and thought a success that we have to churn a couple of Rooney's out every 5 years?

The academy is there to do exactly what it achieves: creates a couple of players every few seasons who come in and put real pressure on the first team and get in there to snatch a place.

Are we not in that game anymore because Mr Moneybags turned up and we have to have the latest Carlos Kick-a-ball for £60M or a player doesn't count?

 

[atrottel]

We also received what at that time were fairly massive fees for Rodwell, Anichebe and Jeffers....

 

[zzr45]

But, but on FIFA and FM he's boss..

Seems like he reached his level rapidly - he's another kid that shone because of playing close to his potential as a younger player, the ability to develop into an elite footballer probably isn't in his locker. Intresting article about the new(ish) Academy Director on the Echo page today which ties in nicely where it seems they have started to develop more of a scientific method to monitoring progress rather than subjective feeling.

 

[Zaschrona]

If we sell him with a buy back clause, then I can understand the move. Otherwise a big big mistake.

 

[The Mr T]

The new John-Paul Kissock

Has Koeman told him to cut his hair?

 

[Deleted member 28206]

FWIW he's very very promising, in my opinion.

 

[grandjoeblue]

If we sell him with a buy back clause, then I can understand the move. Otherwise a big big mistake.

I was about to mention this, all the foreign clubs tend to be doing this and it might be a decent option with the talented young lads.

Buy him back in 2 years if hes class for a couple of million.

 

[CahillsCornerFlag]

Wouldn't be letting him leave on a permanent basis, even if competition for CM spots is fierce.

 

[TonyKay2]

So he played 1 game when he was 17, was arguably man of the match and now looks like he will be moving on at the age of 19 and a couple of days. Jeez.

 

[DownOnTheUpside]

Hope we wont be kicking ourselves over this

 

[Duncan Disordely]

 

[Ashtonian]

Ryan Ledson has joined Oxford United on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee.

The Netherton-born midfielder, who joined the Blues’ Academy aged five, has signed a three-year deal with the League One outfit.

Having previously been named on the first-team bench on a handful of occasions, Ledson made his senior Toffees debut aged 17 in the Europa League group game against FC Krasnodar in December 2014.

He joined Cambridge United on loan in November 2015, picking up the Man of the Match prize on his debut against Accrington Stanley and going on to make a further 27 appearances for the League Two side.

Ledson now joins fellow Everton Academy product John Lundstram, who was named Oxford’s captain ahead of the 2016/17 season, at the Kassam Stadium.

Everton Football Club would like wish Ryan all the best for the future.

Sad to see him leave. Always thought he would have been a great player for us tbh, dreamed of a Ledson Barkley partnership.

 

[Smiggs]

Sad to see him leave. Always thought he would have been a great player for us tbh, dreamed of a Ledson Barkley partnership.

unless he has pushed for the move because of lack of playing time/ young players jumping ahead