2020/21 Under 23's, U19's, Development ... thread

[Ric Flair]

9 minutes ago, UHDrive said:

@Ric Flair Do you think Wakeling could be/is ready to be utilised in the first team to take Praets position while hes injured? I haven't watched enough U23 footy this year so I'm curious from what's been said.

Wakeling is a striker, so he wouldn't be troubling the central midfield any time soon. He has hit the ground running though at U23 level and West Brom seem to have had a bit of a howler. They have/had a great academy in recent years and he comes from very good stock.

 

There seems to be something about him and I could well imagine him sneaking a place on the 9 man bench come the end of the season and who knows?

 

Out of the academy if we need a central midfielder then my obvious choice is Tavares but his fitness is a concern as much as the off the field question marks over his future. Leshabela and Wright seem to have never troubled a professional team for a loan move which is odd as both as too good for U23 level and the French/Thai lad has done very well and it would be a great story if we were to bring through a player of Thai origin.

[Webbo]

I remember the excitement about Regba when he was first on trial and then signed. He did look good for a while but he doesn't get many mentions now. Wakeling has scored a good goal against a bunch of teenagers, let's see how he progresses before we put him in the first team. 

[Ric Flair]

Just now, Webbo said:

I remember the excitement about Regba when he was first on trial and then signed. He did look good for a while but he doesn't get many mentions now. Wakeling has scored a good goal against a bunch of teenagers, let's see how he progresses before we put him in the first team. 

You are right, Regbha has flopped massively since we signed him. To be fair to Wakeling he scores pretty much every time he plays for us, both before he signed permanently and then now. Scored last week in the Papa John's too. Long may that continue as he's still young and a loan move next season could be the ideal time rather than keep him playing U23 football here.

[Webbo]

2 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

You are right, Regbha has flopped massively since we signed him. To be fair to Wakeling he scores pretty much every time he plays for us, both before he signed permanently and then now. Scored last week in the Papa John's too. Long may that continue as he's still young and a loan move next season could be the ideal time rather than keep him playing U23 football here.

Iirc didn't we sign him after the season started? He hasn't even had a preseason here yet. I thought last night he wouldn't have looked out of place in a lower league team on loan. Whether they'd let him go out this season when he's only been here a short while I don't know. 

[Ric Flair]

14 minutes ago, Webbo said:

Iirc didn't we sign him after the season started? He hasn't even had a preseason here yet. I thought last night he wouldn't have looked out of place in a lower league team on loan. Whether they'd let him go out this season when he's only been here a short while I don't know. 

Yeah he came on trial in the autumn I think and then signed permanently before Christmas.

[Foxy-Lady]

11 hours ago, matty98 said:

Just watched the highlights, really like the look of Wakeling, seems like he has a bit more grit and determination to him than your typical academy player does.

Don't worry....our man Beaglehole will manage to ruin him!

[rachhere]

47 minutes ago, Webbo said:

I remember the excitement about Regba when he was first on trial and then signed. He did look good for a while but he doesn't get many mentions now. Wakeling has scored a good goal against a bunch of teenagers, let's see how he progresses before we put him in the first team. 

It's frustrating with him. His first half season he did great, then it all went a bit wrong. Hirst's development was prioritised over his and then he got injured and struggled to get back into the starting XI as a 9. Since then he seems to have had a massive dip in confidence. He still shows some great attributes though - he's really strong and physical for his age, has good hold up play, really good at pressing. He just needs to some how rediscover his shooting boots and get back that slight arrogance he had, which actually helped him I think. I think he could become quite a fan favourite if he were able to press on - he's one of those players who will really get in the face of defenders, which obviously can go too far sometimes, but we often complain our players can be too nice! 

[UHDrive]

2 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

Wakeling is a striker, so he wouldn't be troubling the central midfield any time soon. He has hit the ground running though at U23 level and West Brom seem to have had a bit of a howler. They have/had a great academy in recent years and he comes from very good stock.

 

There seems to be something about him and I could well imagine him sneaking a place on the 9 man bench come the end of the season and who knows?

 

Out of the academy if we need a central midfielder then my obvious choice is Tavares but his fitness is a concern as much as the off the field question marks over his future. Leshabela and Wright seem to have never troubled a professional team for a loan move which is odd as both as too good for U23 level and the French/Thai lad has done very well and it would be a great story if we were to bring through a player of Thai origin.

Thanks for the reply. Last night's was the first first I've watched this season. Many old faces and some new. As per last year I couldn't find any players that can sit comfortably or do the job that madders/praet can do. At times Wakeling dropped back from a forwards role much like harry Kane does. 

 

It sums up that we have nothing in our academy arsenal that you could put a player in that role if it was an emergency due to injurys for example. 

 

Either way i loved Wakeling and he seems comfortably natural like nothing phases him. I agree with you there and I'd love for him to have a shot. It's a beaut of a thing when you watch so much U23's that you can pick out players who you think will/wont make it. Thai player agreed, should stay and see what 12 months could earn him. Tavares I'd bin, not exactly in the lcfc mould. Callum Wright is another I've watched for a couple of years and despite his goal hes another that doesn't have what it takes. 

[lcfcsnow]

1 hour ago, Foxy-Lady said:

Don't worry....our man Beaglehole will manage to ruin him!

Needs a loan move this month, or at least take him to Brentford. Don't want him turning into the next Reghba/Muskwe/Ndukwu etc stuck in a rut (the u23s)

[rachhere]

10 minutes ago, lcfcsnow said:

Needs a loan move this month, or at least take him to Brentford. Don't want him turning into the next Reghba/Muskwe/Ndukwu etc stuck in a rut (the u23s)

To be fair he's only really recently signed for us as earlier on in the season when he played he was here on a trial basis from Alvechurch. I have even had a Man U supporting friend asking about him a few weeks back as he had read about him in his local paper (in Birmingham) talking about what a promising future he has. Positively for us I do think this could be a decision that West Brom will regret in the future. 

[lcfcsnow]

19 minutes ago, rachhere said:

To be fair he's only really recently signed for us as earlier on in the season when he played he was here on a trial basis from Alvechurch. I have even had a Man U supporting friend asking about him a few weeks back as he had read about him in his local paper (in Birmingham) talking about what a promising future he has. Positively for us I do think this could be a decision that West Brom will regret in the future. 

We regularly mess up when we bring forwards in, Regbha and Hirst both had promising starts but stagnated after spending a year in this team. I never rated Muskwe but he must have spent four years with Beaglehole and has only just got a loan at 22, Loft was useless to start with. I just hope we give this one a chance.

[davieG]

If Wakeling is ready for the Football league get him a loan. Chelsea, Man City et al often send new development signings straight out on loan. 

[OntarioFox]

We really ought to get Sungchitthawon a loan in the Championship / L1 somewhere. Looks a tidy AMF prospect, but didn't realise he's already 21. Needs minutes in "proper" games, and let's be real, it would be pretty cool for someone with Thai heritage to break through into the first team. 

The way he cuts in from the flank is Barnes-esque. I think with a few professional minutes under his belt he could slot into our first team squad with the way he plays.

Edited 19 January 2021 by OntarioFox

[Foxxed]

18 hours ago, lcfcsnow said:

We're still sending out Johnson and players like Wright and Leshabela who never seem likely to go out on loan. No sign of Tavares, assume he's having another few months off again. Regbha may as well have stayed in Ireland, would probably have learnt more than the three years I expect he's going to have in this team.

 

Man Utd have an average age of 18, half the players are 16-17 whereas we have three 19 year olds and everyone else is 20 or above.

 

How long are we going to continue delaying prospects such as Nelson and Fitzhugh in preference to 21/22 year olds in their 3rd or even 4th season in the u23s going nowhere?

 

17 hours ago, sacreblueits442 said:

...it  looked at one time for a while that they were adopting the first teams style but they reverted back to type!!!

 

Only one 22 year old: Johnson, with first game back from loan. Regba, Leshabela, Suengchitthawon were 21. At half time Regba was subbed for a 19 year old Kasey McAteer.

 

Eight players 20 or below. Leshabela recycled the ball and allowed players like Waklilng to shine. Suengchitthawon only just arrived and should get a Championship loan soon.

 

KDH was 21 last season. And he spent three seasons in the u23s. He only looked good enough for a loan last season.

 

I have no problem with a squad of 20 year olds and the odd 21 year old.

[Shobbers]

21 hours ago, lcfcsnow said:

How long are we going to continue delaying prospects such as Nelson and Fitzhugh in preference to 21/22 year olds in their 3rd or even 4th season in the u23s going nowhere?

Think Nelson could be injured, not sure about Fitzhugh. But yeah, we need to accelerate the best of the younger players like them.

[sacreblueits442]

4 hours ago, rachhere said:

It's frustrating with him. His first half season he did great, then it all went a bit wrong. Hirst's development was prioritised over his and then he got injured and struggled to get back into the starting XI as a 9. Since then he seems to have had a massive dip in confidence. He still shows some great attributes though - he's really strong and physical for his age, has good hold up play, really good at pressing. He just needs to some how rediscover his shooting boots and get back that slight arrogance he had, which actually helped him I think. I think he could become quite a fan favourite if he were able to press on - he's one of those players who will really get in the face of defenders, which obviously can go too far sometimes, but we often complain our players can be too nice! 

....it is a bit frustrating watching him struggle to regain his initial success!!!

He had the knack of closing a defender down and winning the ball and was positive in his performances. He seems uncertain regarding closing down and never seem to make the press at the right time allowing the backline to play out.

  He looked the real deal when he arrived but it seems we are asking him to play in a way contrary to to how he initially played, he is just out of tune with himself and the injuries do not help.

[Foxy-Lady]

2 hours ago, Foxxed said:

 

 

Only one 22 year old: Johnson, with first game back from loan. Regba, Leshabela, Suengchitthawon were 21. At half time Regba was subbed for a 19 year old Kasey McAteer.

 

Eight players 20 or below. Leshabela recycled the ball and allowed players like Waklilng to shine. Suengchitthawon only just arrived and should get a Championship loan soon.

 

KDH was 21 last season. And he spent three seasons in the u23s. He only looked good enough for a loan last season.

 

I have no problem with a squad of 20 year olds and the odd 21 year old.

I would agree with that. 

 

19-21 year olds should be about right for U23s development football as any of the  21 year olds should be sufficiently good enough to support the inexperienced 19 year olds stepping up....plus any 16-18 year olds who might already be physically and technically capable of making the step up....or at the very least being tested.

 

Ideally, it should just be a conveyor belt of younger players stepping up to gain experience and be challenged and replacing 20/21 year olds who are ready to further their development with loan spells in senior football.

Keeping 21/22 year olds in the U23s for too long potentially slows their development and restricts opportunities for younger players coming through. 

[rachhere]

23 minutes ago, sacreblueits442 said:

....it is a bit frustrating watching him struggle to regain his initial success!!!

He had the knack of closing a defender down and winning the ball and was positive in his performances. He seems uncertain regarding closing down and never seem to make the press at the right time allowing the backline to play out.

  He looked the real deal when he arrived but it seems we are asking him to play in a way contrary to to how he initially played, he is just out of tune with himself and the injuries do not help.

They seem to play an alternating front three quite a lot and quite compact, whereas he seems to fit better in a lone striker type role where he can use his strength and speed to take on defenders. It's frustrating as I really think he has a lot of the qualities that Vardy has, and he was so promising when he arrived that I hoped we might be able to develop him up as an understudy. 

 

I haven't watched all of this video as I am finishing off work, but this is a reminder of how we used him before (persevere with the quality of editing!): 

 

Edited 19 January 2021 by rachhere

[sacreblueits442]

15 minutes ago, rachhere said:

They seem to play an alternating front three quite a lot and quite compact, whereas he seems to fit better in a lone striker type role where he can use his strength and speed to take on defenders. It's frustrating as I really think he has a lot of the qualities that Vardy has, and he was so promising when he arrived that I hoped we might be able to develop him up as an understudy. 

 

I haven't watched all of this video as I am finishing off work, but this is a reminder of how we used him before (persevere with the quality of editing!): 

 

....yeah, as a lone striker he is much better as the team can play off him!!!

At the moment it looks like we are trying to get him to link with the way the team plays, as opposed to him leading and the team plays around him.

  He is a good player and continuing to play the way we are asking him to play is not helping.

[Ryy]

Seems we’ve signed some lad from Celtic called Azeem Abdulai 

[Lambert09]

2 minutes ago, Nannypig7 said:

Seems we’ve signed some lad from Celtic called Azeem Abdulai 

If Celtic reserves are bigger than us, how can we poach their talent?!?!? 

[Ric Flair]

21 minutes ago, Nannypig7 said:

Seems we’ve signed some lad from Celtic called Azeem Abdulai 

@Muzzy_Larsson ever heard of him? Wonder if Dembele joins in the summer too?

[Muzzy_Larsson]

13 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

@Muzzy_Larsson ever heard of him? Wonder if Dembele joins in the summer too?

Heard of him @Ric Flair but can't claim to have any knowledge of him beyond that, must be half decent though. Add in Dembele who I think will end up at Leicester in the summer then that's four promising youngsters we've lost in the space of a year. The other two went to Bayern Munich.

 

Can't say I blame them however, everything has gone to shit under Lennon not just on the park but behind the scenes also, which is what pretty much every Celtic fan predicted when he was appointed. Rant over.

[UniFox21]

31 minutes ago, Muzzy_Larsson said:

Heard of him @Ric Flair but can't claim to have any knowledge of him beyond that, must be half decent though. Add in Dembele who I think will end up at Leicester in the summer then that's four promising youngsters we've lost in the space of a year. The other two went to Bayern Munich.

 

Can't say I blame them however, everything has gone to shit under Lennon not just on the park but behind the scenes also, which is what pretty much every Celtic fan predicted when he was appointed. Rant over.

Dembele as in the wonderkind dembele?

 

Slightly off topic, but was has happening to Celtic? What's kicking off on and off the pitch? 

[Muzzy_Larsson]

7 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

Dembele as in the wonderkind dembele?

 

Slightly off topic, but was has happening to Celtic? What's kicking off on and off the pitch? 

Yeah he's stalled a bit the last couple of years in all honesty, still a fair deal of potential to work with there though and he's only just about to turn 18.

 

Aah no offence mate but don't know where to start nor do I have the energy, an absolute shambles on and off the park.