Liam Walsh

[atrottel]

Are you his dad?

Is who his dad?

 

[riddick]

I think you are spot on really. Koeman prioritises the physical side of the game, or simplistically lads who can run. We know how central Kluttenberg was in the summer and it's an area he made a priority.

Deulofeu has been let go, Barkley dropped, Jagielka dropped all in part because of their legs more than anything. The lads getting a chance: Davies, Calvert Lewin, Holgate, Lookman as well as now Kenny and Williams may be lacking in a host of areas but what they can do is run. As you say there's no magic with DCL (as thee is with Walsh) but he's big, works hard, a strong runner who can jump.

I always thought Walsh may have to wait until he was 20 or 21 to break through. The key question to me will be will he be willing I wait. You see a similar thing with Dowell, a very talented lad but not the athlete the manager wants.

On a slight aside some of te comments towards Williams have been a little unfair. Williams is a very talented player in his own right. Of the current under 18s crop I wouldn't rate any as highly as him. He just happened to play in a strong year group.

One of these is really unlike the others in so far as your statement to 'the one thing they can do is run'..

 

[catcherintherye]

One of these is really unlike the others in so far as your statement to 'the one thing they can do is run'..

No I agree. That should be they can run, they can do more but as a minimum they can physically can compete.

 

[lancs blue]

peter reid fine example of height aint everything

 

[Pabbers]

Academy coachs n scouts know its relavant, but they dont like to admit it.

 

[dave abrahams]

Of course there are small (or slight) players that are good but you still don't want too many in the team. If Gueye is playing in midfield already then it makes sense not to play another small player when you are up against, say, United or Chelsea or Stoke or West Brom. Practically you can't play, for example, Gueye, Walsh, Lookman, Dowell, Deulofeu and Baines in the same side because it will just give you too much of a physical disadvantage in terms of height and size and being muscled out of play.

Dowell is about six foot and a good twelve stone.

 

[atrottel]

Dowell is about six foot and a good twelve stone.

Yes, I was meaning with Dowell he looks (or maybe 'plays', if he has filled out now) slight, not that he is small. Same with Deulofeu.

 

[Lanolin]

I think people are going a little OTT based on the fact he wasn't named as a sub in one particular game. Often the decision to put someone on the bench as a 'filler' where you pretty much know that whatever happens you won't be bringing them on is done as a reward for the way they've been training or the progress they've made. It isn't necessarily indicative of where they are in the pecking order.

It's also worth repeating that the step up from junior to senior football is huge. Standing out at junior level is in no way a guarantee that you will be the next big thing, and as I've said in the Pennington thread, we're getting to the stage where to make a career at Everton you need to be genuinely top class, not just capable of playing in the premier league but ready to excel in it and be one of the best in your position. We need to accept that this will mean fewer local lads making the grade, simply because the law of averages says we're unlikely to unearth 6/7 lads born in the womens who all go on to get 50 England caps.

 

[TonyKay2]

I was told (by a lad off here actually) that Ledson left because of an issue with his dad who worked for the club.

Ledson's dad has never worked for Everton

 

[johnnydawg68]

Davies has come into the first team and we've all seen how well he has performed, Joe Williams I rated very highly, before
he got injured, thought he was better than Davies, haven't seen him since he came back, he's got it in him to do very well,
he hasn't let the bad injury get him down or hold him back, looks like he is having a good go at getting back to where he was, I rate Walsh at least the equal of those two but hasn't had the chances the other two lads have had, don't know the
reason, maybe Eggs is correct and Koeman doesn't rate him, if he leaves Everton it will be our loss and some other teams
gain, and it will be a big loss.

Ryan Ledson is another good player, was offered a decent contract at the end do lastl year, didn't want to play reserve team
football for the next couple of years and had the confidence to go to a lower league and play first team football, I believe hois in the running for player of the season in that league with Oxford Unt.

Couldn't agree more. I really, really don't get this one. I can understand sending him a season long loan next year to a side like Barnsley, just to gauge him against a higher quality of grown man than say at Yoevil. But we have to keep this lad.

 

[dave abrahams]

I think people are going a little OTT based on the fact he wasn't named as a sub in one particular game. Often the decision to put someone on the bench as a 'filler' where you pretty much know that whatever happens you won't be bringing them on is done as a reward for the way they've been training or the progress they've made. It isn't necessarily indicative of where they are in the pecking order.

It's also worth repeating that the step up from junior to senior football is huge. Standing out at junior level is in no way a guarantee that you will be the next big thing, and as I've said in the Pennington thread, we're getting to the stage where to make a career at Everton you need to be genuinely top class, not just capable of playing in the premier league but ready to excel in it and be one of the best in your position. We need to accept that this will mean fewer local lads making the grade, simply because the law of averages says we're unlikely to unearth 6/7 lads born in the womens who all go on to get 50 England caps.

Yes I agree that sometimes being picked for the bench is to indicate you are making progress and it is a pat on the back,
in Liam's case, to my knowledge, he has never been on the bench, so make what you will of that.

 

[johnnydawg68]

So can my nan. She's been dead 20 yrs.

Yer nan was a tiger in midfield though.

 

[voodoobloo]

Davies is already a big strong physical lad, ready for the rigors of top flight football.
Walsh because of his diminutive figure possibly from our coaches/koemans view is not
I am not saying this is right or i agree with this, i just think Walsh may have to prove to these guys he can tough it out against bigger more physical players then the ones at league 2 standard.

The big guys at league 2 standard tend to be more your big bruisers with a belly on them type, will wipe you out with a tackle but do not have the fitness or athleticism to keep up with you (your john parkin's, akinfenwa's etc).
You play in the premier league and you have the same physicality and strength but to add to that these physical guys are also big, strong and athletic (Wanayama's, Schneiderlin's, Matic's)

Obviously throughout the league there are small players who have dealt with that and excelled (kante and gueye off the top of my head straight away). But these guys were 25-26 when they came into this league and had played in the lower regions of france to prove themselves to coaches etc

I had dinner with and then watched the game with Joe Williams' agent. He said that being on the bench was a reward for coming back so strong after his injury- may also be a way to get him to sign a new contract.

 

[atrottel]

I had dinner with and then watched the game with Joe Williams' agent. He said that being on the bench was a reward for coming back so strong after his injury- may also be a way to get him to sign a new contract.

Didn't he sign a new one for three years just a month or so ago?

 

[Woolly Blue]

I don't think there is much difference in size to Walsh and Gana, I like Gana but Walsh can pass better and scores goals, not saying he is better than Gana, just that he deserves a chance, I think his size will not stop him from making a very good living out of football.

Walsh is a wee bit shorter than Gana, but that's academic in some ways. For his size, Gana is strong and good in the air so offers Koeman a, for want of a better term, more "complete" option. However, Walsh is only 19 so has bags of time to work on his strength. He's a real talent so I'd expect him to get a chance next season some time.

All this talk about the size of the player reminded me of what a youth coach at man city said to me, he said the average size of a premier league player is 5'10" ( Not sure how tall Walsh is ) just had a quick look on Google and this seems to be the case, so this perception that players are massive and you can only compete if you are the same is a myth

I wouldn't get hung up about average sizes, but, according to an article I skimmed, the average height of a Premier League team varies from 5'10" to just over 6', but height isn't everything. Generally I'd say the days of lightweight players like Ossie getting lots of games in the PL are pretty much over unless those players are exceptional. From what I've seen, Walsh could well be exceptional, and is already stronger than Ossie was.