2018/19 U23s, Development, U19s etc

[Clever Fox]

9 hours ago, MarriedaLeicesterGirl said:

I think Choudhury is third choice to pair with Ndidi right now, but first choice to replace Ndidi if he gets injured or suspended.

Yes agreed, But it's only their superior experience is the advantage, They need to step up and deliver  with sharper passing and more penetration. If they can't do that then I think Choudhury will get his chance.

[les-tah]

Hamza stood out a Mile last night .. looked levels above.

[Devonfox1884]

Hamza is understudy to Wilf, and Iborra is understudy to Silva. I doubt we’ll ever see Iborra and Silva play in a 2 apart from injuries.

[Steve Earle]

Anyone know what’s happened to Sam Hughes, aka ‘the next big thing’?

[brucey]

44 minutes ago, Steve Earle said:

Anyone know what’s happened to Sam Hughes, aka ‘the next big thing’?

Hughes was in the stands next to Madders and Chilly watching the U23 game yesterday. Likely has been injured over the summer.

[Shane]

Ndukwu looks a different player after doing pre-season with the first team.

 

Last season he looked talented but lazy in my opinion. 

 

However last night his work rate was fantastic, chasing back and pressing the opposition from the front. Also on the ball he made all the right choices, he knew when to pass and when to be selfish. 

 

You can see he has a footballing brain. I don’t think we have a winger like him with his skill set, so he could be useful in the first team squad imo. 

Edited 14 August 2018 by Shane

[Foxy-Lady]

59 minutes ago, Steve Earle said:

Anyone know what’s happened to Sam Hughes, aka ‘the next big thing’?

Long term back injury.  Likely to be out for 2-3 months.  Wouldn't have been playing U23s anyway this season as had loan deals lined up before injury occurred.

[Foxy-Lady]

10 minutes ago, Shane said:

Ndukwu looks a different player after doing pre-season with the first team.

 

Last season he looked talented but lazy in my opinion. 

 

However last night his work rate was fantastic, chasing back and pressing the opposition from the front. Also on the ball he made all the right choices, he knew when to pass and when to be selfish. 

 

You can see he has a footballing brain. I don’t think we have a winger like him with his skill set, so he could be useful in the first team squad imo. 

 

Incredibly talented player.....but also incredibly lazy!   Brilliant.... and yet frustrating to watch in equal measure

 

Suspect he would walk into most Championship/lower league sides on pure ability but not sure they would be overly impressed with his work ethic in a league where every game is a "dog-fight".

[davieG]

Leicester City loanee George Thomas is looking forward to being in claret and blue for his first Scunthorpe United derby match against Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup.

The 21-year-old is equally looking forward to playing under the floodlights at Glanford Park and hopes the Iron can progress to round two.

“I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a game under the lights as well and hopefully the fans will be there to show their support and we can put on a performance for them,” he told iFollow Iron.

“Cups are always important. It’s vital to stay in as many competitions as you can during a season. It’ll be no different against Doncaster. We’ll be giving it our all and hopefully we can get through.

“It was made clear in training that it’s a local derby and there’s a rivalry there. They’ll be coming at us all guns blazing, so we have to match them, play our football and see what we can do. 

“They’ve had a good start, we’ve had a good start, so hopefully it’ll be a good game.”

The attacker made his Iron debut at the weekend, playing the full 90 minutes in the draw against Walsall. He assessed his performance and hopes he can build on his first appearance for the club.

He continued: “I thought I worked hard and got 90 minutes, but we were a bit disappointed not to get the three points. It was a good benchmark and we go from there. Four points from the first two games is good and hopefully we can build on that.

“I’ve really enjoyed it and I’ve settled in pretty quickly. The boys have been sound with me and I think it’s important for me to train well and get as many minutes as I can. For me, it’s about building on my 90 minutes and hopefully the goals and the assists will come.”

 

https://www.scunthorpe-united.co.uk/news/2018/august/thomas-looking-forward-to-derby-experience/

[Foxy-Lady]

Is it just me, or did anyone else notice the following last night....

 

1/. we finished the game with 6 Defenders on the field last night (Johnson, Knight, Benkovic, Elder, Umbelega, Pascanu) + 2 defensive minded CDMs (Choudhury, Sherriff). 

2/. After scoring in first 5 mins due to a defensive error on their part, their keeper had only one save to make in the entire match.

3/. we NEVER once made any attempt to play out from the back (long goal kicks every time which invariably resulted in a bun-fight for 2nd phase possession).   "kick it long and hope for a bit of luck" is the way they play football on local parks isn't it?

 

Not exactly the most entertaining football ive ever watched and im pretty sure that regardless of the result, none of us would be too happy if we had to pay and watch that every game with the 1st team.......just ask Man Utd fans after last Fridays game!! 

 

(PS  I thought Dewsbury-Hall looked our best player last night until he went off injured)

Edited 14 August 2018 by Foxy-Lady

[Foxxed]

6 minutes ago, Foxy-Lady said:

Is it just me, or did anyone else notice the following last night....

 

1/. we finished the game with 6 Defenders on the field last night (Johnson, Knight, Benkovic, Elder, Umbelega, Pascanu) + 2 defensive minded CDMs (Choudhury, Sherriff). 

2/. After scoring in first 5 mins due to a defensive error on their part, their keeper had only one save to make in the entire match.

3/. we NEVER once made any attempt to play out from the back (long goal kicks every time which invariably resulted in a bun-fight for 2nd phase possession).   "kick it long and hope for a bit of luck" is the way they play football on local parks isn't it?

 

Not exactly the most entertaining football ive ever watched and im pretty sure that regardless of the result, none of us would be too happy if we had to pay and watch that every game with the 1st team.......just ask Man Utd fans after last Fridays game!! 

 

 

Towards the end Knight was playing as a midfielder so saying we had six defenders isn't exactly true. But it wasn't exciting, flowing football in the second half, and struggled to get going at occasions, I agree. But it did have flashes of excitement when Ndukwu and Knight went on runs, or when Hamza got hold of the ball, or during Darnell's promising run. But we were often let down by a frustrated Loft, who looked like he may pick up a red, and Uche's runs into their area sadly all fizzeled out. Beaglehole is probably trying to ape Puel's style without massive success, at least initially.

[Foxy-Lady]

22 minutes ago, Foxxed said:

Towards the end Knight was playing as a midfielder so saying we had six defenders isn't exactly true. But it wasn't exciting, flowing football in the second half, and struggled to get going at occasions, I agree. But it did have flashes of excitement when Ndukwu and Knight went on runs, or when Hamza got hold of the ball, or during Darnell's promising run. But we were often let down by a frustrated Loft, who looked like he may pick up a red, and Uche's runs into their area sadly all fizzeled out. Beaglehole is probably trying to ape Puel's style without massive success, at least initially.

Agreed on all points.

I wasn't implying we were actually playing with 6 at the back, merely that we had 8 defensive orientated players on the pitch against a  very average Swansea side which is unlikely to produce free-flowing attacking football as defensive minded players natural instinct is to defend and, by nature, they are not necessarily the most naturally creative players.

Without any creativity, it is difficult to play attractive/attacking football....which is pretty much what happened in the last 30 mins

 

(PS  I seem to recall that Darnells "promising run" involved him striding 30 yards forwards past one man....and then blindly passing the ball 20 yds backwards into a large space when he ran into trouble. And that was the end of the "promising run"...) 

[Foxxed]

40 minutes ago, Foxy-Lady said:

Agreed on all points.

I wasn't implying we were actually playing with 6 at the back, merely that we had 8 defensive orientated players on the pitch against a  very average Swansea side which is unlikely to produce free-flowing attacking football as defensive minded players natural instinct is to defend and, by nature, they are not necessarily the most naturally creative players.

Without any creativity, it is difficult to play attractive/attacking football....which is pretty much what happened in the last 30 mins

 

(PS  I seem to recall that Darnells "promising run" involved him striding 30 yards forwards past one man....and then blindly passing the ball 20 yds backwards into a large space when he ran into trouble. And that was the end of the "promising run"...) 

Ha, fair enough. I'm just glad the lad was trying to take it upfield to be honest.

[davieG]

1 hour ago, Foxy-Lady said:

Is it just me, or did anyone else notice the following last night....

 

1/. we finished the game with 6 Defenders on the field last night (Johnson, Knight, Benkovic, Elder, Umbelega, Pascanu) + 2 defensive minded CDMs (Choudhury, Sherriff). 

2/. After scoring in first 5 mins due to a defensive error on their part, their keeper had only one save to make in the entire match.

3/. we NEVER once made any attempt to play out from the back (long goal kicks every time which invariably resulted in a bun-fight for 2nd phase possession).   "kick it long and hope for a bit of luck" is the way they play football on local parks isn't it?

 

Not exactly the most entertaining football ive ever watched and im pretty sure that regardless of the result, none of us would be too happy if we had to pay and watch that every game with the 1st team.......just ask Man Utd fans after last Fridays game!! 

 

(PS  I thought Dewsbury-Hall looked our best player last night until he went off injured)

 

.....and on cue

 

 

Beaglehole: Clean Sheets Win Games
DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
Published 51 mins ago
3 MinutesReading time
Senior Professional Development Phase Coach Steve Beaglehole praised Leicester City’s Under-23s for their defensive efforts in a 1-0 victory over Swansea City on Monday.
More on this story...
Foxes Yield Three Points From PL2 Opener
Leicester City U23s 1 Swansea City U23s 0
- Steve Beaglehole assesses the Development Squad's 1-0 win over Swansea City
- Layton Ndukwu struck in the fifth minute in City's Premier League 2 Division 1 opener
- Beaglehole was happy with the performances of the new faces in the Club's Under-23s group
- Goalkeeper Viktor Johansson impressed with a sterling display in the net for the Foxes

The youthful Foxes opened their account in Premier League 2 Division 1 with three points, courtesy of Layton Ndukwu’s tidy fifth-minute finish at King Power Stadium.

However, a strong defence, which included Josh Knight, new signing Filip Benković, captain Darnell Johnson and Callum Elder also impressed, alongside goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.

“I think it was great to win the first game,” Beaglehole reflected on LCFC TV. “We said last year that we didn’t deserve to lose against Manchester United in the first game, which was disappointing. 

 
DEVELOPMENT SQUAD Video published 15 hrs 1 min ago Video duration 03:16
Leicester City U23s 1 Swansea City U23s 0
Watch the key moments from the Development Squad's Premier League 2 opener against Swansea.

 “I think overall we deserved to win the game tonight. We’ve played better in pre-season and we know we can play better, but I think it’s a good platform for us to build on this season.

“We started the game well, we had plenty of opportunities to increase the lead, Ryan Loft got through and hit the target but probably should have done better.

“We looked solid all the way through the game, we didn’t look under threat, but when we did need a save, Viktor made a magnificent save towards the end of the game.

Viktor was a free transfer and, from what we’ve seen, he’s a really competent young man. We’re very pleased with him, not just tonight, but his whole demeanour, his attitude, everything.

Steve Beaglehole LCFC TV
“I thought his overall game, despite not having a great amount to do, other than that brilliant save, I thought he gave a calmness to the back four and his distribution was good.

“All in all, it’s a great start with a clean sheet. I say clean sheets win games and it’s another example tonight where we only scored one goal, but we didn’t concede.”

Beaglehole confirmed that Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s fitness will be assessed this week, while Sam Hughes will definitely miss Friday’s visit of Reading in the Premier League International Cup.

 
DEVELOPMENT SQUAD Video published 17 hrs 4 mins ago Video duration 04:15
Johnson's New Season Optimism
Young defender Darnell Johnson caught up with LCFC TV this week after agreeing a new contract at the Club.

Elsewhere, he was also enthused by the performances of the new faces within his squad with Benković, Loft and Johansson all being handed their first appearances in a Foxes shirt.

“Viktor was a free transfer and, from what we’ve seen, he’s a really competent young man. We’re very pleased with him, not just tonight, but his whole demeanour, his attitude, everything.

“You’ll see Ryan get better and better. We want him to play a different way to the way he played at Tottenham and he’s showed at times that he can be a real threat.

 

https://www.lcfc.com/news/809110/beaglehole-clean-sheets-win-games

 

[Stadt]

We need a restructure of the academy, Beaglehole isn't priming players for how football is going to be played in 5 years time. Academy football isn't necessarily about winning so that quote is alarming.

[Foxy-Lady]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

.....and on cue

 

 

Beaglehole: Clean Sheets Win Games
DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
Published 51 mins ago
3 MinutesReading time
Senior Professional Development Phase Coach Steve Beaglehole praised Leicester City’s Under-23s for their defensive efforts in a 1-0 victory over Swansea City on Monday.
More on this story...
Foxes Yield Three Points From PL2 Opener
Leicester City U23s 1 Swansea City U23s 0
- Steve Beaglehole assesses the Development Squad's 1-0 win over Swansea City
- Layton Ndukwu struck in the fifth minute in City's Premier League 2 Division 1 opener
- Beaglehole was happy with the performances of the new faces in the Club's Under-23s group
- Goalkeeper Viktor Johansson impressed with a sterling display in the net for the Foxes

The youthful Foxes opened their account in Premier League 2 Division 1 with three points, courtesy of Layton Ndukwu’s tidy fifth-minute finish at King Power Stadium.

However, a strong defence, which included Josh Knight, new signing Filip Benković, captain Darnell Johnson and Callum Elder also impressed, alongside goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.

“I think it was great to win the first game,” Beaglehole reflected on LCFC TV. “We said last year that we didn’t deserve to lose against Manchester United in the first game, which was disappointing. 

 
DEVELOPMENT SQUAD Video published 15 hrs 1 min ago Video duration 03:16
Leicester City U23s 1 Swansea City U23s 0

 “I think overall we deserved to win the game tonight. We’ve played better in pre-season and we know we can play better, but I think it’s a good platform for us to build on this season.

“We started the game well, we had plenty of opportunities to increase the lead, Ryan Loft got through and hit the target but probably should have done better.

“We looked solid all the way through the game, we didn’t look under threat, but when we did need a save, Viktor made a magnificent save towards the end of the game.

Viktor was a free transfer and, from what we’ve seen, he’s a really competent young man. We’re very pleased with him, not just tonight, but his whole demeanour, his attitude, everything.

Steve Beaglehole LCFC TV
“I thought his overall game, despite not having a great amount to do, other than that brilliant save, I thought he gave a calmness to the back four and his distribution was good.

“All in all, it’s a great start with a clean sheet. I say clean sheets win games and it’s another example tonight where we only scored one goal, but we didn’t concede.”

Beaglehole confirmed that Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s fitness will be assessed this week, while Sam Hughes will definitely miss Friday’s visit of Reading in the Premier League International Cup.

 

 

https://www.lcfc.com/news/809110/beaglehole-clean-sheets-win-games

 

"his distribution was good...!"

 

I didn't see a single occasion when he didn't just "hoof" it up into their half for us to try and fight for the inevitable loose ball that resulted.  This is not distribution... at best, it is simply just long-kicking and, at worst, it is surrendering possession higher up the pitch.

 

We never once tried to play out from the back (despite having 4 defenders who all have experience of playing at a much higher level!) and the only occasion he took a quick throw-out to try and start a counter-attack, he threw it straight to one of their players!!

 

I sometimes wonder whether Beaglehole is just saying these things for Foxes TV media/propaganda machine or whether he genuinely believes hoofing the ball as far as you can EVERY time actually constitutes "good distribution" as that would be worrying for someone with responsibility for player development....!

[Babylon]

4 hours ago, Shane said:

Ndukwu looks a different player after doing pre-season with the first team.

 

Last season he looked talented but lazy in my opinion. 

 

However last night his work rate was fantastic, chasing back and pressing the opposition from the front. Also on the ball he made all the right choices, he knew when to pass and when to be selfish. 

 

You can see he has a footballing brain. I don’t think we have a winger like him with his skill set, so he could be useful in the first team squad imo. 

 

For the first time in a long time i'd imagine the youth team feel like there is a pathway open for them to get into the first team with Puel in charge. We've had a few get in, but it's never felt like a priority to help progress them.

 

It probably helps concentrate them on a goal.

Edited 14 August 2018 by Babylon

[Dan LCFC]

1 hour ago, Stadt said:

We need a restructure of the academy, Beaglehole isn't priming players for how football is going to be played in 5 years time. Academy football isn't necessarily about winning so that quote is alarming.

Yeah agreed. This is part of the problem in this country. Win at all costs football in ultimately meaningless competitions. Youth football is there to supplement first team football.

[davieG]

20 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

Yeah agreed. This is part of the problem in this country. Win at all costs football in ultimately meaningless competitions. Youth football is there to supplement first team football.

There's nothing wrong with youth players having a winning attitude but it's up to the coaches to ensure that it is not at the expense of a rounded + specialist development.

[MC Prussian]

I wonder whether the club plan with Barnes, Maddison, Chilwell, Choudhury, Gray and others (Diabaté, Johnson, Knight, even Moore and potentially Hirst, too) in the long run.

 

We've got a spine of youngsters that could potentially perform very well together in the near future:

 

 

                             Ward (or any other "young" goalkeeper)

 

Johnson (RB or CB) - Moore - Knight - Chilwell

 

                          Choudhury

 

Gray (can play RM) - Maddison - Barnes (LM)

 

                        Hirst - Ndukwu

 

I know, it's all a bit of a fantasy, but the potential is there.

Edited 14 August 2018 by MC Prussian

[Jobyfox]

9 minutes ago, MC Prussian said:

I wonder whether the club plan with Barnes, Maddison, Chilwell, Choudhury, Gray and others (Diabaté, Johnson, Knight, even Moore and potentially Hirst, too) in the long run.

 

We've got a spine of youngsters that could potentially perform very well together in the near future:

 

 

                             Ward (or any other "young" goalkeeper)

 

Johnson (RB or CB) - Moore - Knight - Chilwell

 

                          Choudhury

 

Gray (can play RM) - Maddison - Barnes (LM)

 

               Hirst - Ndukwu/Gordon

 

I know, it's all a bit of a fantasy, but the potential is there.

 

I believe Gordon has gone to Walsall on a permanent deal 

[Ric Flair]

13 minutes ago, MC Prussian said:

I wonder whether the club plan with Barnes, Maddison, Chilwell, Choudhury, Gray and others (Diabaté, Johnson, Knight, even Moore and potentially Hirst, too) in the long run.

 

We've got a spine of youngsters that could potentially perform very well together in the near future:

 

 

                             Ward (or any other "young" goalkeeper)

 

Johnson (RB or CB) - Moore - Knight - Chilwell

 

                          Choudhury

 

Gray (can play RM) - Maddison - Barnes (LM)

 

               Hirst - Ndukwu/Gordon

 

I know, it's all a bit of a fantasy, but the potential is there.

 

That team would be in League One very quickly

[MC Prussian]

2 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

That team would be in League One very quickly

Not saying they all will or should be playing at once, just that we seem to have a decent amount of talented youth teamers for pretty much all positions - also with Johansson at GK.

[MC Prussian]

7 minutes ago, Jobyfox said:

I believe Gordon has gone to Walsall on a permanent deal 

Missed that one.

[TMELcfc]

18 minutes ago, MC Prussian said:

I wonder whether the club plan with Barnes, Maddison, Chilwell, Choudhury, Gray and others (Diabaté, Johnson, Knight, even Moore and potentially Hirst, too) in the long run.

 

We've got a spine of youngsters that could potentially perform very well together in the near future:

 

 

                             Ward (or any other "young" goalkeeper)

 

Johnson (RB or CB) - Moore - Knight - Chilwell

 

                          Choudhury

 

Gray (can play RM) - Maddison - Barnes (LM)

 

                        Hirst - Ndukwu

 

I know, it's all a bit of a fantasy, but the potential is there.

 

You've also got Sam Hughes @ Centre Back, not sure where he was last night, but I know they want to give Benkovic game time

Thought Ndukwu was fantastic last night, but also Dewbury-Hall before he had to go off. For the first time in a long time (actually since I have been alive!) I see a really good group of young players. The investment they said they were putting in 3-4 years ago, i was sceptical, but it seems to be paying off... well if they get game time in the first team then it has paid off I suppose