More Players Going Out On Loan?

[Ric Flair]

We'll see. The problem is that imported players often have bigger wages, get promised some games and then find themselves competing against some quality youth players who are also part of a very tight knit group.

Sometimes I wonder if it's convenient for managers to get fringe youth players out of the way to take pressure of their own signings. Gradel was an example. There's no way, given fair chance, that he wouldn't have been our first choice right winger but we'd signed Newton, presumably on decent money. The idea was clearly to play him.

So it will be with the Hungarians for instance. Yet I still find it hard to imagine that a Hungarian Under 21 winger will represent a better bet than our resident Afro-French winger Gradel because I don't see many wingers at all that get the goals he does.

But we'll see.

Talk at the ground last night was not about Gradel anyway, it was about Andy King. Many are concerned for his place with the influx of signings because most believe he's been as good as anyone when he's played and that he's exactly the sort of pass and move footballer we need in the side.

As I say though, a problem for the home grown youngsters is that it's always politically easier to leave them out than to upset the imports.

Whether it is wise remains to be seen. But I beieve, so far, that sub-standard seniors have hindered the progress of these young players rather than the other way around.

Anyone watching Joe Mattock and Ashley Chambers last night would realise that.

Both tried far more things in that match than they ever do in the first team. They were leaders instead of followers. It really is time we had a first team that was allowed to express itself because some of the tactics so far have been a nightmare.

I know what you are saying, but teams will always sign players. They'll sign players that they believe will improve the team, but it doesn't always work out like that. You need to realise that managers sign players that have proven themselves at this level. The problem is, managers get it wrong, just like we get it wrong in what we think should happen. I am in agreement with you that Gradel would and should have been our right winger this season, but I don't blame Martin Allen trying to sign a proven right winger or two. The problem was, neither Newton or Kaebi proved that they were competent for us when they played in the first team. Something i'm sure Gradel would have been had he been given the chance.

These two Hungarians, i've got no idea on. Both are highly rated (where have we heard that before) and both have proved themselves in their home countries, Zsolt scored 12 league goals from the wing last season and that led to a move to a very big club in Olympiakos, so there's certainly promise there for good reason. Nobody knows whether they'll be any good for us or whether we'd be better off playing Gradel and Sheehan in their positions, but managers will always try to improve their teams if they can do. As i've said before, Holloway and Penrice like to do their homework on their signings and if you look at the unknown foreigners that they bought in at Plymouth (Seip, Timar, Halmosi) they didn't do too bad at all. Infact all 3 of those players would walk in to our team. Let's hope both the Hungarians do the same and we don't get left feeling like our best winger is still out on loan somewhere.

We've been dreadful for a number of months now and King hasn't had the most ideal of settings to prove himself. He's done ok and i've been fairly impressed with how he's handled things, but i'm not going to kid myself that by signing some more players and King perhaps stepping aside for a while is going to be detrimental to our season. King as a defensive midfielder doesn't do him justice either, i'm not sure what the solution for that is, I suppose playing him as an attacking midfielder would be the solution, but the way we play football, I imagine it's hard for an attacking midfielder to get forward when we have the ball, as we never have it for long before it's launched up to the oppositions defence.

[Thracian]

They were having a kick-about with a bunch of children.

I dare say the Elvis would have resembled Ronaldo in such company.

If I thought it was as simple as that I wouldn't have mentioned it.

[Simi]

Am I the only one that thinks it's a ridiculous comment by Holloway? How does he justify playing Stearman, Mattock, Wesolowski, Alnwick, King, A Chambers, and Zsolt then? And Fryatt at 21 is 'mature' enough?... Stupid of him to bring age into it!

Yeah, I think experience would have been a slightly better phrase, but then again lately we haven't really been in a posistion to choose whether we give them a chance or not.

I'm sure Holloway didn't want to play Mattock as much as he's had to, but that's how it goes.

I'm quite sure we'd get plenty of offers for our youngsters, coming from a successful academy and had short stints in our first team, in theory anyway.

[Bluemoon]

Now considering that I don't think he really has too much faith in our youngsters, I reckon that could be a sign that more will go out on loan. Anyone else agree?

Holloway will play Martin as soon as he's here, so he's old enough at 20/21. I think Holloway is being "economical with the actualite" with the lad. I don't think he's going to make it here.

[lcfc alex]

Good plan, Mattock should be next. We have Sheehan in that position so we should send Mattock to League One and get some experience.

[BoneHead.]

capaldi in and mattock out on loan for me

sheehan is ideal substitute because of his crossing and deadballl ability