Devante Cole

[Bridge'srightfoot]

Scored on his England under 19 debut last night. I don't get to see youth games but I look at reports he always seems to score and when I watch the highlights he looks very fast, confident and a good finisher.

Obviously highlights can be deceiving but does anyone who watched the lad think he might have what it takes to succeed? Even if it wasn't with us.

[nottsblue]

Play him up front with Aguero on Saturday for an hour. We'd have a strong bench if it went tits up. It's the only way to get them integrated and its not a Prem game. Wouldnt pair him with Dzeko or Beast though, especially with them not being fully fit.

[Bridge'srightfoot]

Play him up front with Aguero on Saturday for an hour. We'd have a strong bench if it went tits up. It's the only way to get them integrated and its not a Prem game. Wouldnt pair him with Dzeko or Beast though, especially with them not being fully fit.

I think by the sounds of it he's not at the same level as Lopes or Huws yet. I've never heard him being talked about for a place in the Match day squad.
Purely from highlights and match report he does seem to score a lot of goals and having Andy/Andrew Cole as a father can't do any harm!
Ideally I would have liked to have seen Lopes loaned out like Huws. Think it would have done him more good to have been up against older, stronger, tougher players.

[nottsblue]

Play him up front with Aguero on Saturday for an hour. We'd have a strong bench if it went tits up. It's the only way to get them integrated and its not a Prem game. Wouldnt pair him with Dzeko or Beast though, especially with them not being fully fit.

I think by the sounds of it he's not at the same level as Lopes or Huws yet. I've never heard him being talked about for a place in the Match day squad.
Purely from highlights and match report he does seem to score a lot of goals and having Andy/Andrew Cole as a father can't do any harm!
Ideally I would have liked to have seen Lopes loaned out like Huws. Think it would have done him more good to have been up against older, stronger, tougher players.

My point is he will do better playing with top players. If he has pace and an eye for goal that is all the start he needs. He'd learn more by playing with Aguero for one game than a month at say Birmingham or Derby.

Look at Owen, Fowler, Sturridge,Sterling, Janujazz, Giggs to name just a few. I know he isn't just going to jump to the first team squad for Prem games but a cup game at home v lower league is an ideal starting point. What is the point of spending literally hundreds of millions on the academy if we dont try the players. If he buggers it up then so be it. Give him a go imo

[Saul Goodman]

I speak from no position of knowledge but I can't imagine him playing with the first team this season. I hope he does though. Maybe if we beat Wigan and draw one of the "minnows" in the following round. But I feel like he won't feature until the earlier rounds of next season's league cup and FA cup.

Then again, what do I know..

[john@staustell]

Play him up front with Aguero on Saturday for an hour. We'd have a strong bench if it went tits up. It's the only way to get them integrated and its not a Prem game. Wouldnt pair him with Dzeko or Beast though, especially with them not being fully fit.

I think by the sounds of it he's not at the same level as Lopes or Huws yet. I've never heard him being talked about for a place in the Match day squad.
Purely from highlights and match report he does seem to score a lot of goals and having Andy/Andrew Cole as a father can't do any harm!
Ideally I would have liked to have seen Lopes loaned out like Huws. Think it would have done him more good to have been up against older, stronger, tougher players.

My point is he will do better playing with top players. If he has pace and an eye for goal that is all the start he needs. He'd learn more by playing with Aguero for one game than a month at say Birmingham or Derby.

Look at Owen, Fowler, Sturridge,Sterling, Janujazz, Giggs to name just a few. I know he isn't just going to jump to the first team squad for Prem games but a cup game at home v lower league is an ideal starting point. What is the point of spending literally hundreds of millions on the academy if we dont try the players. If he buggers it up then so be it. Give him a go imo

Notts - the purpose of our club as I see it is to win trophies, in this case the FA Cup. It isn't a charity to help young lads 'learn' and if we lose 'so be it'!.

If I remember rightly - and I was there - more experienced players like Richards, Rodders and Lopez were dreadful against Watford and we only repaired the day by going full out.

Wigan are in my opinion a better team than Watford and we need to be at the top of our game, with the best players available.

[Mikhail Chigorin]

I speak from no position of knowledge but I can't imagine him playing with the first team this season. I hope he does though. Maybe if we beat Wigan and draw one of the "minnows" in the following round. But I feel like he won't feature until the earlier rounds of next season's league cup and FA cup.

Then again, what do I know..

Probably a lot more than most.

I think you're spot on with regard to him having to wait until early next season.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

There will be plenty who have seen him more than I have but it has seemed to me that he is growing into a good young player that is starting to believe in himself. I stand to be corrected but I think he has been playing mostly as a wide left striker rather than a "target man" type striker which he probably has done most of his career.

Hiwula plays the front man role more often but it's in that position coming from the left where he has been having most of his recent success.He is very sharp and can skin defenders for pure pace.Bit like Kun he is fast over the first 5 yards so can find a yard or two quite quickly.He isn't great with his left foot but adequate enough so that when he gets past a full back he can get it across but his natural right foot,cutting in from the left , can be lethal.

Ready for the 1st team in a cup game.He probably isn't ready to start one but as a sub in a game where we would hope to be in front he might well do a decent job. Could be useful with Jovetic injured, Edin apparently injured and needing a rest and Negredo still struggling. Will he be selected,I think no as Lopes would be first pick for a squad role and we can fill the team with plenty of attacking midfield players.

[Ted Hughes]

There will be plenty who have seen him more than I have but it has seemed to me that he is growing into a good young player that is starting to believe in himself. I stand to be corrected but I think he has been playing mostly as a wide left striker rather than a "target man" type striker which he probably has done most of his career.

Hiwula plays the front man role more often but it's in that position coming from the left where he has been having most of his recent success.He is very sharp and can skin defenders for pure pace.Bit like Kun he is fast over the first 5 yards so can find a yard or two quite quickly.He isn't great with his left foot but adequate enough so that when he gets past a full back he can get it across but his natural right foot,cutting in from the left , can be lethal.

Ready for the 1st team in a cup game.He probably isn't ready to start one but as a sub in a game where we would hope to be in front he might well do a decent job. Could be useful with Jovetic injured, Edin apparently injured and needing a rest and Negredo still struggling. Will he be selected,I think no as Lopes would be first pick for a squad role and we can fill the team with plenty of attacking midfield players.

I only see him on screen, but it does seem to me that he was an 'ok' prospect as a central striker, have a career but not at City, but recently looks a genuine prospect as a wideish player in a 4-3-3.

He seemed to stagnate a bit, along with several others such as Sinan Bytyqi, but all of a sudden they look as if they may have a chance.

If any of those lads start though, imo it should be just one at present, in a team next to ten first choices, not stuck next to Rodwell etc as Lopes was in the Watford game. We were relying on him to get us playing rather than helping him become accustomed to first team football.

That's wrong.

Could imagine Cole coming off the bench with us 3-0 up though, & causing some real problems for the oppo. That goes for several of the other youngsters too.

[john@staustell]

I'm all in favour of playing him once we are 3 or 4 up.

[nottsblue]

Notts - the purpose of our club as I see it is to win trophies, in this case the FA Cup. It isn't a charity to help young lads 'learn' and if we lose 'so be it'!.

If I remember rightly - and I was there - more experienced players like Richards, Rodders and Lopez were dreadful against Watford and we only repaired the day by going full out.

Wigan are in my opinion a better team than Watford and we need to be at the top of our game, with the best players available.

Which is why I'd play him with Aguero only. Its also a chance to give Dzeko/Negredo a rest before Barca as they aren't 100% fit. Was not suggesting we are a charity or if we lose so be it. Just that if the lad has a poor game it wouldn't be end if the world as we would have enough quality in the team to see us through and to be quite frank, there have been a few games recently where Dzeko/Negredo have stank

[Slim]

I'm all in favour of playing him once we are 3 or 4 up.

I am in favour of playing as many kids as possible when we're 4-0 up. Love those days when they have freedom to express themselves and no pressure. It was the reason Johnson took months to get back into the first team when Pearce decided to start him in the thrashing by Wigan, how to blood a youngster in completely the wrong fashion there Stuart. I know, let's give him the England u21's to manage.

[nottsblue]

Which is why I'd play him with Aguero only. Its also a chance to give Dzeko/Negredo a rest before Barca as they aren't 100% fit. Was not suggesting we are a charity or if we lose so be it. Just that if the lad has a poor game it wouldn't be end if the world as we would have enough quality in the team to see us through and to be quite frank, there have been a few games recently where Dzeko/Negredo have stank

Would the lad have done any worse than Beast?

[mr_nool]

Would the lad have done any worse than Beast?

I'm almost 36, ten kilos too heavy, and usually play left back. And I certainly wouldn't have.

[Bridge'srightfoot]

Starting to think with all our strikers being shit at the moment, it wouldn't be the worst idea to try this lad out. Sure he may flop or may not be ready but does anyone really think that he would have done any worse than Dzeko and Negredo in recent weeks?
Nothing to lose.