George Hirst

[Sly]

What was he for OHL - 22 games - 3 goals?

 

Look at other great players who are young:

 

Harry Kane:

2011	→ Leyton Orient (loan)	18	(5)
2012	→ Millwall(loan)	22	(7)
2012–2013	→ Norwich City (loan)	3	(0)
2013	→ Leicester City (loan)	13	(2)

 

Thierry Henry:

1994–1999	Monaco	105	(20)
1999	Juventus	16	(3)

 

Lionel Messi

2003–2004	Barcelona C	10	(5)
2004–2005	Barcelona B	22	(6)

 

Christians Ronaldo

2002–2003	Sporting CP B	2	(0)
2002–2003	Sporting CP	25	(3)

 

Kyliaan Mbappé

2015–2016	Monaco B	12	(4)
2015–2018	Monaco	41	(16)
2017–2018	→ PSG (Loan)	27	(13)

 

Wayne Rooney

2002–2004	Everton	67	(15)

 

Robin Van Persie

2001–2004	Feyenoord	61	(15)

 

Ruud van Nistelrooy

1993–1997	Den Bosch	69	(17)
1997–1998	Heerenveen	31	(13)

 

He just needs time .......

[Sly]

Obviously some defy that logic. People mature at different ages. If you look at Ronaldo Lima, Zlatan, Huntelaar, Neymar etc, 

[KingsX]

8 minutes ago, Sly said:

Obviously some defy that logic. People mature at different ages.

 

If your FA and Southgate had appreciation for that obvious fact, they wouldn't choose only the ones who looked good enough to join the national side by their mid-teens, and might accept that some later bloomers are better players today with equal professional experience.

[Lizhang]

On 09/11/2019 at 05:24, Sly said:

What was he for OHL - 22 games - 3 goals?

 

Look at other great players who are young:

...

He just needs time .......

But Belgian second league isn't French Ligue Un. And OHL isn't Everton. I'm also not just talking about stats. I SAW the games he played with my own eyes. Also, don't forget that out of those 23 games, he was a starter for about 18 or so. Most loanees that age get to play 15 minutes per game, not 90. So you can't just compare the stats of one player to another without taking into account in which team, which league and the amount of minutes he played. A year earlier i think, we also had a young striker, who came out of our own youth teams. And while his stats weren't exactly better (though he didn't get nearly as much time on the pitch), he made a much bigger impression on the pitch. Much more agile, proactive, better ballhandler. Unfortunately, OHL didn't keep him (they just let him go), and now he's playing in the first division, and offered an assist yesterday.

 

On 09/11/2019 at 02:10, urban.spaceman said:

Hirst is still only young so perhaps he just wasn’t ready for the Belgian league? It seems like not much else was going well for you last season so maybe that played a part. 

That's certainly true, but again... not a lot of believers in Leuven after seeing him with our own eyes. I genuinely don't begrudge the guy (it wasn't his fault he was playing when it clearly wasn't working out), but i will be very surprised if he turns out to have stepped up that much, in such a short timeframe. Like i said above, not because of his stats, but because of how he performed on the pitch. I'll gladly admit i was wrong if he turns out to be as good as some people in here make him out to be. In that case, all my respect to him. I guess good on him and good for you (Leicester). But i'll need to see it with my own eyes first.

[sacreblueits442]

3 hours ago, Lizhang said:

But Belgian second league isn't French Ligue Un. And OHL isn't Everton. I'm also not just talking about stats. I SAW the games he played with my own eyes. Also, don't forget that out of those 23 games, he was a starter for about 18 or so. Most loanees that age get to play 15 minutes per game, not 90. So you can't just compare the stats of one player to another without taking into account in which team, which league and the amount of minutes he played. A year earlier i think, we also had a young striker, who came out of our own youth teams. And while his stats weren't exactly better (though he didn't get nearly as much time on the pitch), he made a much bigger impression on the pitch. Much more agile, proactive, better ballhandler. Unfortunately, OHL didn't keep him (they just let him go), and now he's playing in the first division, and offered an assist yesterday.

 

That's certainly true, but again... not a lot of believers in Leuven after seeing him with our own eyes. I genuinely don't begrudge the guy (it wasn't his fault he was playing when it clearly wasn't working out), but i will be very surprised if he turns out to have stepped up that much, in such a short timeframe. Like i said above, not because of his stats, but because of how he performed on the pitch. I'll gladly admit i was wrong if he turns out to be as good as some people in here make him out to be. In that case, all my respect to him. I guess good on him and good for you (Leicester). But i'll need to see it with my own eyes first.

... definitely worth another look!!! 

Have you considered the style of play and being in an unfamiliar surrounding could have contributed to what you had witnessed when he was with your club. 

  I love his attitude and he has the attributes to become a top player and in my opinion, with time, could turn out to be Vardys' replacement. 

[themightyfin]

Hirst is a long way off first team football here. Potential to be Vardys replacement? That's a bold statement and Highley unlikely in my opinion. 

[reynard]

9 hours ago, Lizhang said:

But Belgian second league isn't French Ligue Un. And OHL isn't Everton. I'm also not just talking about stats. I SAW the games he played with my own eyes. Also, don't forget that out of those 23 games, he was a starter for about 18 or so. Most loanees that age get to play 15 minutes per game, not 90. So you can't just compare the stats of one player to another without taking into account in which team, which league and the amount of minutes he played. A year earlier i think, we also had a young striker, who came out of our own youth teams. And while his stats weren't exactly better (though he didn't get nearly as much time on the pitch), he made a much bigger impression on the pitch. Much more agile, proactive, better ballhandler. Unfortunately, OHL didn't keep him (they just let him go), and now he's playing in the first division, and offered an assist yesterday.

 

That's certainly true, but again... not a lot of believers in Leuven after seeing him with our own eyes. I genuinely don't begrudge the guy (it wasn't his fault he was playing when it clearly wasn't working out), but i will be very surprised if he turns out to have stepped up that much, in such a short timeframe. Like i said above, not because of his stats, but because of how he performed on the pitch. I'll gladly admit i was wrong if he turns out to be as good as some people in here make him out to be. In that case, all my respect to him. I guess good on him and good for you (Leicester). But i'll need to see it with my own eyes first.

I agree with much of what you are saying. Sometimes though this sort of experience can help to kick start a career.

As someone far more worthy than me once said,

"Adversity is the mother of progress".

[Toddybad]

Haven't his six goals involved one item goal tap in and at least two penalties? 

I haven't seen him play.

He seems a confident lad but only the Leicester coaching staff know how close he is, if at all, to getting a first team look in. I don't expect to see him this season.

 

[Guest foxestalkisfullofidiots]

11 hours ago, Lizhang said:

But Belgian second league isn't French Ligue Un. And OHL isn't Everton. I'm also not just talking about stats. I SAW the games he played with my own eyes. Also, don't forget that out of those 23 games, he was a starter for about 18 or so. Most loanees that age get to play 15 minutes per game, not 90. So you can't just compare the stats of one player to another without taking into account in which team, which league and the amount of minutes he played. A year earlier i think, we also had a young striker, who came out of our own youth teams. And while his stats weren't exactly better (though he didn't get nearly as much time on the pitch), he made a much bigger impression on the pitch. Much more agile, proactive, better ballhandler. Unfortunately, OHL didn't keep him (they just let him go), and now he's playing in the first division, and offered an assist yesterday.

 

That's certainly true, but again... not a lot of believers in Leuven after seeing him with our own eyes. I genuinely don't begrudge the guy (it wasn't his fault he was playing when it clearly wasn't working out), but i will be very surprised if he turns out to have stepped up that much, in such a short timeframe. Like i said above, not because of his stats, but because of how he performed on the pitch. I'll gladly admit i was wrong if he turns out to be as good as some people in here make him out to be. In that case, all my respect to him. I guess good on him and good for you (Leicester). But i'll need to see it with my own eyes first.

We all thought Harry Kane was rubbish when he come on loan here, and Jessie Lingard was terrible on loan here too....although I'm not sure if Lingard has proved us wrong yet.

[Aus Fox]

56 minutes ago, foxestalkisfullofidiots said:

We all thought Harry Kane was rubbish when he come on loan here, and Jessie Lingard was terrible on loan here too....although I'm not sure if Lingard has proved us wrong yet.

I don’t think other than a few glimpses here and the Lingard has done anything to prove my initial thoughts on him wrong.

The fact he’s played so many games for United says more about where they are at now, than where he is at.

When he left us, I said he’d be playing but pet for Everton in no time and wouldn’t get a look in at united.

They have now fallen to Evertons level.

I do get your point though, many players for what ever reason just don’t work out at  certain clubs, be it the manager, their team mates, the life style, the culture, the playing style. They then go on to be hugely successful else where. 

Torres at Liverpool vs Torres at Chelsea

 

[Foxxed]

This thread is ridiculous. He's doing well in the u23s. But Eppiah with less game time looks as promising.

Edited 11 November 2019 by Foxxed

[Guest An Sionnach]

At the start of this thread I said its important to encourage your young players . They need to be ambitious . Hirst is a Leicester City footballer , he is one of us. He will never be Jamie Vardy , no one can , but we need to be looking two or three years down the line.We must keep this club at the top level for the foreseeable future , this cannot be allowed to be just a temporary high. Top class and consistent strikers are very rare and apart from Kane, Salah and Mbappe most are thirty plus . Any young player who scores goals on a regular basis at whatever level needs to pushed and given a chance. On the bench for an early F.A. cup match and twenty minutes on the pitch would be a good start.

Edited 11 November 2019 by An Sionnach

[Shane]

On 08/11/2019 at 23:30, Wolfox said:

Genuine question, as I don’t follow the U23, how well is George H doing at the moment?

Personally I prefer Eppiah and Reghba . Reghba has some nice attributes. Lots of pace, presses aggressively and works hard. Not been in the squad the last few games so must be injured. 

 

Eppiah.. Well I don’t see many weaknesses in his game apart from injuries. Strength, power, good finisher, comfortable on the ball, can play on the wing if needed.. Just needs to stay fit.

[Lizhang]

9 hours ago, sacreblueits442 said:

... definitely worth another look!!! 

Have you considered the style of play and being in an unfamiliar surrounding could have contributed to what you had witnessed when he was with your club. 

  I love his attitude and he has the attributes to become a top player and in my opinion, with time, could turn out to be Vardys' replacement. 

Obviously, i and many others here, considered something had to be "off" because we were looking at a guy with two left feet, clumsy, easily outmanouvred and outpowered by bigger defenders and especially not a killer in front of goal. But even considering homesickness, style of play, mental issues... it was hard to imagine him being anything close to EPL standards in different conditions. But i'm also sure, Pearson did a number on him. Probably Pearson thought that giving the boy lots of chances was a good idea, while in reality, many of the fans thought this would have an adverse effect. Sending him out every game as the main striker, while it clearly wasn't working. Also, something to consider, if the style of play didn't suit him and he couldn't deal with that in our league, it will not take long (if he ever reaches a certain status as a striker) before other teams will change their tactics in order to keep him out of the game.

 

2 hours ago, foxestalkisfullofidiots said:

We all thought Harry Kane was rubbish when he come on loan here, and Jessie Lingard was terrible on loan here too....although I'm not sure if Lingard has proved us wrong yet.

I'm sure the Championship and Leicester at that time should have been quite a few levels above OHL in the 2nd Belgian division. That's why he was never considered by OHL fans as possibly being a EPL striker down the line. Already being 20 when he left us. Because he was failing at our level.

 

I don't want to hijack this thread, so i'm going to bud out. But i'm quite interested to see how he turns out. In conclusion, "Go Hirst!", best of luck. Though i'm also quite happy he isn't playing for us anymore, i'm happy for him that he's playing well now. A win for all parties involved i guess.

Edited 11 November 2019 by Lizhang

[coolhandfox]

I'n not sure the club just saw a opportunity to get a highly rate youth player on a free, which is win win. 

 

Everyone thinks having a academy is about bring players though to the first 11, sometimes it can be seen as a way to turn  a profit, making the club more self-sustainable.

 

Chelsea have being doing that for years.  

[Guest foxestalkisfullofidiots]

4 hours ago, Aus Fox said:

I don’t think other than a few glimpses here and the Lingard has done anything to prove my initial thoughts on him wrong.

The fact he’s played so many games for United says more about where they are at now, than where he is at.

When he left us, I said he’d be playing but pet for Everton in no time and wouldn’t get a look in at united.

They have now fallen to Evertons level.

I do get your point though, many players for what ever reason just don’t work out at  certain clubs, be it the manager, their team mates, the life style, the culture, the playing style. They then go on to be hugely successful else where. 

Torres at Liverpool vs Torres at Chelsea

 

24 caps for England too, which is just bonkers

[Gerard]

17 hours ago, Lizhang said:

But Belgian second league isn't French Ligue Un. And OHL isn't Everton. I'm also not just talking about stats. I SAW the games he played with my own eyes. Also, don't forget that out of those 23 games, he was a starter for about 18 or so. Most loanees that age get to play 15 minutes per game, not 90. So you can't just compare the stats of one player to another without taking into account in which team, which league and the amount of minutes he played. A year earlier i think, we also had a young striker, who came out of our own youth teams. And while his stats weren't exactly better (though he didn't get nearly as much time on the pitch), he made a much bigger impression on the pitch. Much more agile, proactive, better ballhandler. Unfortunately, OHL didn't keep him (they just let him go), and now he's playing in the first division, and offered an assist yesterday.

 

That's certainly true, but again... not a lot of believers in Leuven after seeing him with our own eyes. I genuinely don't begrudge the guy (it wasn't his fault he was playing when it clearly wasn't working out), but i will be very surprised if he turns out to have stepped up that much, in such a short timeframe. Like i said above, not because of his stats, but because of how he performed on the pitch. I'll gladly admit i was wrong if he turns out to be as good as some people in here make him out to be. In that case, all my respect to him. I guess good on him and good for you (Leicester). But i'll need to see it with my own eyes first.

 

Good players don't stay in the Belgian second division for long and in my experience good players may not hit the ground running but you can see something very early on even if it doesn't equate to something tangible on the pitch. 

 

Hirst is 21 in three months, he's not that young. I would be surprised if he ever made it to PL level after getting 3 goals in 22 games as a 19/20 year old in the Belgium second division. 

[Guest An Sionnach]

I don't think loaning Hirst out has any point whatsoever, if Rodgers thinks he can score goals at premiership level he should bring him into the squad. If he doesn't then at 21 he probably never will. He has proven he can score against lower level teams this season so he should let the lad sign for a team at that level.

[urban.spaceman]

2 hours ago, An Sionnach said:

I don't think loaning Hirst out has any point whatsoever, if Rodgers thinks he can score goals at premiership level he should bring him into the squad. If he doesn't then at 21 he probably never will. He has proven he can score against lower level teams this season so he should let the lad sign for a team at that level.

Personally I think we should loan him out to Sheffield United.

[Guest An Sionnach]

There are cup games coming up and the opportunity to blood Hirst or Muskwe I think must be taken. I have not given up on Perez ,Barnes and Gray at all but every game that goes by with them not scoring highlights the problem. Our midfield and defence is as good as anybody but the striking support for Vardy has to improve quickly if we are going to stay in the top four.

[Jimmy]

6 hours ago, An Sionnach said:

There are cup games coming up and the opportunity to blood Hirst or Muskwe I think must be taken. I have not given up on Perez ,Barnes and Gray at all but every game that goes by with them not scoring highlights the problem. Our midfield and defence is as good as anybody but the striking support for Vardy has to improve quickly if we are going to stay in the top four.

Hirst is a central striker so why are you comparing him with players we use on the wing? He would be wasted there

[Guest An Sionnach]

9 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

Hirst is a central striker so why are you comparing him with players we use on the wing? He would be wasted there

Winger is another name for a wide striker ,Barnes and co. are employed to score goals and to assist like Vardy. Hirst is actually very quick for a big lad and is not just a target man.

[Jimmy]

Just now, An Sionnach said:

Winger is another name for a wide striker ,Barnes and co. are employed to score goals and to assist like Vardy. Hirst is actually very quick for a big lad and is not just a target man.

no it isn't its a completely different role demanding a different skill set, you wouldn't play Vardy on the wing and Hirst would be about as effective there as Kane was playing on our left wing in the championship, playing Hirst there wouldn't help him progress or the team

[Guest An Sionnach]

1 minute ago, Jimmy said:

no it isn't its a completely different role demanding a different skill set, you wouldn't play Vardy on the wing and Hirst would be about as effective there as Kane was playing on our left wing in the championship, playing Hirst there wouldn't help him progress or the team

The thing is staying wide like Albrighton is not an option in our set up now and Vardy often goes wide dragging defenders with him. Hirst often goes wide for the U23s as well you cannot operate in a fixed channel anymore.

[Plastik Man]

11 minutes ago, An Sionnach said:

The thing is staying wide like Albrighton is not an option in our set up now and Vardy often goes wide dragging defenders with him. Hirst often goes wide for the U23s as well you cannot operate in a fixed channel anymore.

He may run the channels from a central position but I can't see him being particularly effective cutting in from outside.