EDS/Academy Games

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Daily Mail saying Sagna getting pissed off with a bit part role and that Roma may make a move in the Summer. This would be a great opportunity to stick Maffeo into the first team squad. It would be a real slap in the face if we buy a new young full back over the next year or two. Both Angelino and Maffeo deserve their chance. Separately the Celtic general manager is resigned to losing Denayer. Says he's likely to want to go back to City. Surely he will be into the first team squad. If none of the youngsters make it into the squad next Summer Vieira might as well pack up and go.

Surprised if Sagna has really said that as he must have known he would be number 2 to Zaba. And he isn't a spring chicken either. The question is whether Maffeo is ready for next season as he is still very young even though he seems almost like an experienced player with his reading of the game and quality defensive skills.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Good win today for the under 21's against a decent Fulham side with lots of strength and ability. And with 10 men for 2 thirds of the game after Byrne was very surprisingly sent off. Didn't look like a red from 100 yards where I was and it seemed to amaze players and both sides and certainly Vieira.

[blues2win]

Doug you see these guys more than just about anyone on the site. My impression is that both Angelino and Maffeo could do with a year on loan next season but if a vacancy arises in either position ( Sagna wanting a move or Kolarov being sold) it would be a crying shame if we blocked the progress of either of these two by buying a young full back. We can go on saying that x or y might not be ready but at some point we have to give our youngsters a chance starting with the domestic cups don't we?

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Doug you see these guys more than just about anyone on the site. My impression is that both Angelino and Maffeo could do with a year on loan next season but if a vacancy arises in either position ( Sagna wanting a move or Kolarov being sold) it would be a crying shame if we blocked the progress of either of these two by buying a young full back. We can go on saying that x or y might not be ready but at some point we have to give our youngsters a chance starting with the domestic cups don't we?

I thought that the Sagna buy was a good one as 2 years from him alongside Zaba would be just about right for Maffeo to develop that bit more and be ready.No doubt at all that we should at least give them game time in the cups and I am sure we will see them involved in the pre season stuff..

Angelino for Kolarov and I would say we are not losing out on much. Aleks obviously has tons of experience and maybe just maybe is a better defender but Angelino would make up for most or all of that with his fantastic energy and in some ways better attacking ability than Aleks.

Maffeo I think plays well beyond his years and is the better defender of the 2 by a distance for me. I think we could manage with him as a number two and getting some game time and yes I do strongly agree we should not be spending any real money on a ready made full back.

I am never 100% sure about the loan idea.Just not sure how much good it would do them.

[Ted Hughes]

Doug you see these guys more than just about anyone on the site. My impression is that both Angelino and Maffeo could do with a year on loan next season but if a vacancy arises in either position ( Sagna wanting a move or Kolarov being sold) it would be a crying shame if we blocked the progress of either of these two by buying a young full back. We can go on saying that x or y might not be ready but at some point we have to give our youngsters a chance starting with the domestic cups don't we?

I thought that the Sagna buy was a good one as 2 years from him alongside Zaba would be just about right for Maffeo to develop that bit more and be ready.No doubt at all that we should at least give them game time in the cups and I am sure we will see them involved in the pre season stuff..

Angelino for Kolarov and I would say we are not losing out on much. Aleks obviously has tons of experience and maybe just maybe is a better defender but Angelino would make up for most or all of that with his fantastic energy and in some ways better attacking ability than Aleks.

Maffeo I think plays well beyond his years and is the better defender of the 2 by a distance for me. I think we could manage with him as a number two and getting some game time and yes I do strongly agree we should not be spending any real money on a ready made full back.

I am never 100% sure about the loan idea.Just not sure how much good it would do them.

Pleasure to finally meet you today Doug. As nice a chap & as insightful, in real life, as I would have expected from your posts on here.

I have swapped Friday for Saturday & am rather shiters, & have come home to avoid making it worse tomorrow, so a bit fuzzy, but I think I agree with most of that, apart from the sheer physical build of Kolarov compared to Angelino imo is a potential factor.

As an opponent, you don't look at Kolarov as a particular weak spot to be exploited aerially, at set pieces etc, even though if you did, he would be very exploitable. Little Angelino, would be someone you would 'weigh on' as the phrase used to be. Pearce took Evra to the cleaners using Trevor Sinclair vs him in aerial battles & that kind of thing would be my main worry early days for Angelino.

Other than that, I don't see any area where Kolarov is better than Angelino other than experience & free kicks. Angelino's crosses are less obvious & he's a much better footballer, works harder, & just generally someone you would rather have. Eventually.

But personally I would like all of these lads to be gradually introduced next season, rather than quickly becoming players who we rely upon.

[twosips]

I think I saw you two chatting away near the end as I was leaving. I shall defo say hello one day - i couldn't be sure today so i didnt say owt, but i guess i was right .....smiled at the introduction of intima after last monday's comments!

On to the game. A good, solid performance that given we were down to ten men for most of it - we were on utter cruise control before the dismissal. I thought Barker was our biggest threat really and it seems he's getting some of his form back - he looked half a yard sharper than a couple of weeks back. Pozo still struggles up top i reckon and even though he was better than recent weeks at number 9 he still gets pushed off the ball so, so easily. You can tell Byrne's a Scholes fan by the way, as he tackles a bit like him too ha.

Defence was fine. Maffeo is defo a little wasted at CB, but him and Plummer did a decent job against Fulham forwards much bigger than them. As ever I enjoyed Angelino's performance. I really love his enthusiasm and energy for the game. He works so fucking hard and its refreshing to see someone with so much natural talent be so disciplined. He's raw still, but he's great and someone you'd want on your side. Ntcham and Glendon had decent games. Ntcham got forward quite well and was unlucky not to score.

As an aside, i actually think the team that we played versus Crewe for the u18s on Monday is actually more balanced/talented than the one that started today. I genuinely think they'd beat them. I know they share a lot of the same players but i think its just a better line-up with more natural chemistry. That's only a very good thing though as it shows just how young some of our players are. These were the teams from both games.

EDS Today -

................................. Gunn.............................

Smith-Brown..... Maffeo...Plummer... Angelino

.......................... Glendon ...............................

................. Byrne .............. Ntcham .................

Ambrose ........................................... Barker ...
.............................. Pozo ..................................


u18s Today -

......................... Haug ............................

Maffeo - C-humphries - Tosin - Angelino

........................ Bryan .............................

............. Celina .............. Boadu .............

Nemane .................................. Barker ....
..................... Ambrose ............................

I think I prefer Celina to Byrne and Boadu to Ntcham. You get better balance with Nemane on the right and Ambrose up top, as opposed to Ambrose on the right and Pozo in the centre. The defence looks more balanced too for the u18s. I think i prefer Bryan to Glendon too. This is no slight on Glendon, Pozo, Byrne and Ntcham etc... they're all very talented players. I just think the u18s are an exceptional 'team'.

[Ted Hughes]

I think I saw you two chatting away near the end as I was leaving. I shall defo say hello one day - i couldn't be sure today so i didnt say owt, but i guess i was right .....smiled at the introduction of intima after last monday's comments!

On to the game. A good, solid performance that given we were down to ten men for most of it - we were on utter cruise control before the dismissal. I thought Barker was our biggest threat really and it seems he's getting some of his form back - he looked half a yard sharper than a couple of weeks back. Pozo still struggles up top i reckon and even though he was better than recent weeks at number 9 he still gets pushed off the ball so, so easily. You can tell Byrne's a Scholes fan by the way, as he tackles a bit like him too ha.

Defence was fine. Maffeo is defo a little wasted at CB, but him and Plummer did a decent job against Fulham forwards much bigger than them. As ever I enjoyed Angelino's performance. I really love his enthusiasm and energy for the game. He works so fucking hard and its refreshing to see someone with so much natural talent be so disciplined. He's raw still, but he's great and someone you'd want on your side. Ntcham and Glendon had decent games. Ntcham got forward quite well and was unlucky not to score.

As an aside, i actually think the team that we played versus Crewe for the u18s on Monday is actually more balanced/talented than the one that started today. I genuinely think they'd beat them. I know they share a lot of the same players but i think its just a better line-up with more natural chemistry. That's only a very good thing though as it shows just how young some of our players are. These were the teams from both games.

EDS Today -

................................. Gunn.............................

Smith-Brown..... Maffeo...Plummer... Angelino

.......................... Glendon ...............................

................. Byrne .............. Ntcham .................

Ambrose ........................................... Barker ...
.............................. Pozo ..................................


u18s Today -

......................... Haug ............................

Maffeo - C-humphries - Tosin - Angelino

........................ Bryan .............................

............. Celina .............. Boadu .............

Nemane .................................. Barker ....
..................... Ambrose ............................

I think I prefer Celina to Byrne and Boadu to Ntcham. You get better balance with Nemane on the right and Ambrose up top, as opposed to Ambrose on the right and Pozo in the centre. The defence looks more balanced too for the u18s. I think i prefer Bryan to Glendon too. This is no slight on Glendon, Pozo, Byrne and Ntcham etc... they're all very talented players. I just think the u18s are an exceptional 'team'.

Doug went off & accosted someone he thought may be your father at half time, but was apparently given short shrift by a complete stranger.

I felt the same re your obseravtions comparing this team to the U18s, but then it's hard to say for sure because Fulham were much bigger, stronger & perhaps better than Crewe. But as someone who has been impressed on numerous occsions by Ntcham for instance, I don't think he would even get in the U18s squad if he was 5 ft 7 & a stone lighter. Interesting to see how it all develops as they grow up.

[twosips]

Ha! Sorry, Doug. That amused me. Bet the bloke was baffled! I was actually on my tod this time just enjoying the sun to be honest. Was a little late again so just took a seat in the part of the stand that we were attacking that half. We're both going on Wednesday though and we'll be sat in a similar place to Monday so look forward to saying hello.

Yeah - definitely feel that way about Ntcham, even though he's clearly a talented player. He could be the kind though that just consistently grows - i hate the comparison im about to make but bear with me. He could become a reliable squad player in the way Fletcher was for United (before he developed the chronic shits) - not every player has to be a star, and Fletcher put in some hard yards for them over the years doing some pretty mucky work, but he was effective. He was a squad player for a long time until his early to mid twenties when he developed into a proper first teamer through sheer persistence really. Ntcham's much more talented going forward, but he's not afraid to work either. He won't struggle physically too. He could just become a very solid competent midfielder performer for us over the course of a few years IF we give him a chance to slowly integrate.

[iwasthere2012]

Do any of you guys ever see any of the younger age groups play, like the 16's or lower. Do we have similar quality coming through. Is there any kids creating a stir, or how are the younger ages comparing to other clubs standards. I know it shouldn't be the emhasis of winning at the lower ages, but just wondering what's coming after the present kids we know of.

[twosips]

Never have personally. It's not listed anywhere so i dont even know where those games happen. Wonder what happened to the 14 year old 'new messi' we snatched up? Brahim Abdelkader.

[iwasthere2012]

Never have personally. It's not listed anywhere so i dont even know where those games happen. Wonder what happened to the 14 year old 'new messi' we snatched up? Brahim Abdelkader.

No doubt you can see talent, but at that age it's very hard to know who will make it.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Never have personally. It's not listed anywhere so i dont even know where those games happen. Wonder what happened to the 14 year old 'new messi' we snatched up? Brahim Abdelkader.

No doubt you can see talent, but at that age it's very hard to know who will make it.

How about Will Patching? I think that's his name and although I haven't seen him play I hear good reports and I know he gets in the appropriate England squad.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Doug you see these guys more than just about anyone on the site. My impression is that both Angelino and Maffeo could do with a year on loan next season but if a vacancy arises in either position ( Sagna wanting a move or Kolarov being sold) it would be a crying shame if we blocked the progress of either of these two by buying a young full back. We can go on saying that x or y might not be ready but at some point we have to give our youngsters a chance starting with the domestic cups don't we?

I thought that the Sagna buy was a good one as 2 years from him alongside Zaba would be just about right for Maffeo to develop that bit more and be ready.No doubt at all that we should at least give them game time in the cups and I am sure we will see them involved in the pre season stuff..

Angelino for Kolarov and I would say we are not losing out on much. Aleks obviously has tons of experience and maybe just maybe is a better defender but Angelino would make up for most or all of that with his fantastic energy and in some ways better attacking ability than Aleks.

Maffeo I think plays well beyond his years and is the better defender of the 2 by a distance for me. I think we could manage with him as a number two and getting some game time and yes I do strongly agree we should not be spending any real money on a ready made full back.

I am never 100% sure about the loan idea.Just not sure how much good it would do them.

Pleasure to finally meet you today Doug. As nice a chap & as insightful, in real life, as I would have expected from your posts on here.

I have swapped Friday for Saturday & am rather shiters, & have come home to avoid making it worse tomorrow, so a bit fuzzy, but I think I agree with most of that, apart from the sheer physical build of Kolarov compared to Angelino imo is a potential factor.

As an opponent, you don't look at Kolarov as a particular weak spot to be exploited aerially, at set pieces etc, even though if you did, he would be very exploitable. Little Angelino, would be someone you would 'weigh on' as the phrase used to be. Pearce took Evra to the cleaners using Trevor Sinclair vs him in aerial battles & that kind of thing would be my main worry early days for Angelino.

Other than that, I don't see any area where Kolarov is better than Angelino other than experience & free kicks. Angelino's crosses are less obvious & he's a much better footballer, works harder, & just generally someone you would rather have. Eventually.

But personally I would like all of these lads to be gradually introduced next season, rather than quickly becoming players who we rely upon.

Good to meet you too finally Ted and I do agree wit the height thing re Angelino.Not that he wouldn't compete as hard as he can in the air but he is 4 foot 6!!. Gradually introduced for sure but we may get a surprise and one of the them stands up and fits in immediately but as long as it's only the odd one thrown in amongst the superstars I think we would cope.

It was my day for having word with people I don't know.I actually tried 2 or 3 for Twosips and failed miserably. I had a word with Bryan Gunn who told me Angus is really enjoying himself at City which is good to hear as I think he is destined to be a seriously good keeper.

I also spoke with Nick Cushing who is the women's team manager. He tells me they are thinking about a pre season game against the under 18's lads.That's a game I would love to see but my guess is it would be behind closed doors which would be a shame.

On the idea that the 18's team would beat the 21's I can understand that as I agree its a slightly better balanced side.One of the major plusses would be at central defence I would say as the 21's have to use Maffeo there ( even though he is very good) alongside an average player at best. Bossaerts was injured yesterday but I don't rate him anyway. The 18's have 2 extremely promising lads for that role in Tosin and Humphreys which allows Maffeo to play his natural and best role as right back.

Right it's off to watch the 18's play in a mo.

[mr_nool]

Can I just say that I love this thread?
Keep the updates and info coming!

If I lived in Manchester I would've loved to join your little club.

[Nick]

Sagna can do one if he has said that.

He was quality at Arsenal and I thought he would play much more games. but he hasn't cos hes been garbage. Its not like Zaba is in the form of his life.

[Cocacolajojo1]

Can I just say that I love this thread?
Keep the updates and info coming!

Ditto. Keep it up.

[Tokyo Blue]

Sagna can do one if he has said that.

He was quality at Arsenal and I thought he would play much more games. but he hasn't cos hes been garbage. Its not like Zaba is in the form of his life.

If he has said that, I'd get 5-6 million in for him and promote the reserve right back, especially as the same article says Roma are snffing round.

Or keep Richards. I know, I know.

Nooly is right. This thread is one of the best on here. Thank you, gents.

[iwasthere2012]

Can I just say that I love this thread?
Keep the updates and info coming!

Ditto. Keep it up.

+1. Far more encouraging thread than any other on the board.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Under 18's won against derby today which I think guarantees or all but that we have a place in some end of season finals. ( I don't fully know how it works) The game was a physical one today and quite niggly and a fair part of that must go down the the ref being absolutely clueless.

I was told before the game that in the game at Derby it got a little out of hand and I think I quickly saw why as derby were a bit over physical in their approach.The ref didn't get hold of it so it seemed a matter of time for me before it kicked off in some way.We were not entirely blameless but more in a retaliatory sense I thought.

From the under 18's who started the youth cup game v Crewe we had just two starters in today's side which says so much for the quality and depth we have at this age. The 2 were Cameron Humphreys at center back and Nemane on the right wing. Cameron was taken off half way through the 2nd half and it might just have been so he didn't get injured as I saw nothing wrong with him.

After about half an hour we had been clearly the better side but Derby were defending ok and relying on a quick big guy up front on the break.Then a flash of quality as Garcia found a great clever Silvaesque pass to slide Buckley in for a good finish.Well deserved and maybe 2 up at half time would have been fair. Plenty was still going on into the 2nd half when Garcia was brought down and the defender thought he would be clever and kick him in the head while he was down. Not a full blooded kick but a snide flick but he did catch him. Al hell broke loose for a minute with the ref in no control whatsoever. First to be booked of course was Garcia for heading the guys foot!

As I said the ref was a joke and seemed to be guessing on decsisions or going for the first team to appeal for something.One one occasion he gave a throw to Derby when their player headed the ball out unchallenged!! The free kick we got for the foul on Garcia was properly punished when Fernandez hit a sweet shot over the wall and into the bottom right corner. Plenty of pace swerve and dip and the keeper nowhere.

We could and should have had at least one more but the nearest was Faour hitting the post after Fernandez amazingly wriggled through. Straight down the other end and derby scored.It was more the long ball that was troubling us and their fast ,strong centre forward raced past our back line and scored well. But the lads held on well and deserved the win.

[nottsblue]

Can I just say that I love this thread?
Keep the updates and info coming!

Ditto. Keep it up.

+1. Far more encouraging thread than any other on the board.

Would love to be a part of this. Lovin the updates and reports though