toontownman

Anal is Palpatine to Taylors Anekin.

Allardyce had given Milner, Taylor and probably Krul an extra couple of weeks off anyways. Taylor shouldnt miss too much, he is young and fitness isnt a problem, so will get back on the horse pretty quickly.

Worst one was the dark blue speckled shirt, with the orange and green stripe. Looked like some charva had been drinking alcho pops and chundered everywhere.

I reckon the stripes will be light blue and dark blue (rather than white). Welcome to the Ricoh Arena! Dont know where people think the stripes are coming from, has it been mentioned there are stripes on it? Would be novel, but sure it will be plain like normal.

Yet the Dutch, I could see half of them playing for Holland or doing well at a higher level or rather adapting further on in their development. That's why foreign players succeed in different leagues because their minds are tuned to deal with all kinds of different situations and of course, having the technical ability, makes it all that more easier. What was I saying about making the ball do all the work?! BTW I can't see any of them having a very good career for England, not even our own Taylor, despite a few of them having the talent. Carson is probably the one who could get a regular game at that level in a few years time but the rest I'm not so sure, more is the pitty. The fact the press and public dont hype them up and then rip them apart a year later when they arent "European" and "World Player of the Year" helps too. We also have the tendacy of going OTT with they hyping to begin with. Its like at Newcastle we have been waiting so long we are just completey anxious and impatient, and its getting worse.

Nottingham.. not that far from derby is it? The teams wont be the season after next either!

Irvine is a top coach, major reason Moyes and Everton have done so well the past few years. I agree we arent recruiting bad guys, we are building a basis now, then we will build on that. Obviously good quality local coaches are an asset, but its like SJH's Geordie dream. To move on to the highest levels we should be looking to add the best variety of coaches to our system, regardless of where they are from. Of course they have to be talented/experienced enough to know and adapt to the English game, but I think Foreign coaches would add alot to us, different cultures, styles, contacts and would surely be a big pull for players abroad. Like with perspective managers, the club has gone a bit too xenophobic and maybe misses out a bit as a result. Id see this as the next step for the academy, along with any upgrades of facility. This could very well change with Ashley and Allardyce at the helm though, fingers crossed.

Good read, almost home page article worthy.

I thought he was more the overlord aswell, although he has talked about being out there working with the youngsters. I think we still have the tendancy of being loyal to local coaches at the club or people with links. Which isnt a bad things as local parents would want their kids in the hands of people they know and have a good local reputation. Arguably on the other hand that shouldnt matter, as ideally, when looking at where your son should go Newcastle should be the only club in the N.E. parents want their kids to go to. Local spirit is all well and good, but we need to make the step up from respected academy coaches to world class. Easier said than done of course but thats what we should be gradually aiming for. Joe Joyce and certainly Ashley and SA will still only just be settling in and working out where to go from here. God i can really talk shit. Too much coffee, and boredom at work.

certainly not lacking options in midfield and upfront. God only knows what kind of formation we will play to accomodate everyone. Although I guess you would hope we would be playing the best formation to win matches, with the players fitting into that. should probably keep this to another thread though.. oops.

Waxwork, they gave up waiting for a response at whether he would come to do the shoot amidst claims he was going to do one somewhere else.

I look forward to the new players eventually coming through, or being bought. Man City have brought through some good players aswel havent they, for example the defender that played for the U21's (sorry not even goin to try and spell his name) to be honest ive never heard of him, or seem him in the highlights when he played against italy, and abit of tonights game, but he went off.... City had a great academy scarily when Keegan was incharge, Asa Harford did alot of really sound work, that has seen the current crop of players come through aswell as SWP's (albeit Notts Forest can take most of the credit for him).

They are still a big name and rightly so. The two games against Leeds will be good watching next season. Like Leeds both produce a great amount of young and talented players. Its a good move for Lennon, he can be start of something special there, whilst winding down his career.

Well we have tried to overhaul the Academy in the past and just last year we shook it up and appointed Joe Joyce. Its obviously going to take time before we see it bear any fruit. Its not as easy as just going out and bringing the best talent here. There is great competition and we have been hindered by our scouting, that has been particularly poor across the board, but im sure this is something that is changing. Sam will have his say now he is here as well. Joe Joyce is very well qualified and experienced, we have a great basis to build upon and now hopefully we have the money to go out and push our academy to an even higher level. The academy is not something im worried about, its been and is being addressed and by the end of the summer should be more than moving in the right direction.

Got a soft spot for Forest, so good news as far as im concerned, love to see them back in the top flight.. ....give it say three years maybe they can resign Jenas! Although that would probably mean they are still in league one.

Wishful thinking about Taylor, he has a long long journey before breaking into the england squad. If he is advancing though it wouldnt suprise me to see him called up for a meaningless friendly within the next year, should one or two others be injured, his versatility certainly wont harm his chances. Hopefully King can shake his emerging Woodgate injury syndrome, as he is a quality player. Dawson looks solid and always looked like a talent at forest, its a shame we decided against bidding for him in the end, the move to spurs has been a good fit. Like Taylor, Dawson is still a way off, has the advantage of already being in the England squad though, but Spurs fans should be confident the coaching set up they have will see him advance to use and improve on what he has. Hopefully Allardyce will appoint staff that can do the same with our young-uns. As for the rest of the current full side Id say Wes Brown needs a change of club if he is interested in pushing for an England place, sitting on the bench at Manure will obviously make him a starter for McLaren but wont last forever. Upson has the world to prove and I dont think he can do it. Woodgate should be good, bar a relapse on the injury front. Campbell wont be around much longer. Carragher looks useless in the centre for England, despite being as good as most for Liverpool. Lescott should be given a go the next chance we have, especially if he continues his first season in the premiership. Terry and Ferdinand will be the staple for the forseeable future. hopefully the likes of Taylor, Dawson and certainly Lescott will be there in the future.

Thats almost like buying the club and turning it into a feeder club, which isnt allowed. By all means cherry pick their best staff, our facilities arent bad and we have an academy director that is more than qualified. I think we were already moving in the right direction last season as far as the academy is concerned. Big Sam now shaking things up on top of that will only be a plus. It would be a nice idea to link up with a lower league club and farm players out there, but its not strictly legal. I like the idea, but why not just set up academies around the globe, like many others clubs do.

Agree with that.

not good, mind you, thats only if we make it. No huddlestone either.

you been sucking lemons again? ...you have been told before.

you mean its now actually moving?

That is correct, but not what was actually said. Almost a direct quote tbh. might not have been his original beef mind. let's get back to the point then, when has Allardyce bought a top player in a contract at a decent club that doesn't particularly want to sell unless for a fair fee?

You charmer you.

I didnt think Babel was anything like Viduka with regards to hold up play and physicality, wasnt sure he was much of a target man either. That said i have seen very little of him, admittedly. It wouldnt suprise me to see Sammy boy bring in another striker regardless of the Owen situation, Carroll should be farmed out, Viduka will probably miss the start of the season and shola is shola. Not so sure on Rigters, but the likes of Babel, Giuly and Diouf we have been linked to are all capable of playing almost across the midfield and upfront, so will be good for covering the absence of Duff or slotting in elsewhere.

So basically you just want to hear that you are right, fair enough. Allardyce has never bought a top player in a contract at a decent club that doesn't particularly want to sell unless for a fair fee. Correct. Move on. It is true also he has never had the resources to do so a Bolton or anyone else. Mainly due to budget, more so the way he set up the club. The signings he had to make were low cost to budget the staff he had etc. I guess like other mid table sides he could have splurged a wad of money on a big player but that would have altered his budget plan.. Bolton got to the stage where they could afford to spend on a player, hence his interest in Johnson and getting Anelka, but this has taken Bolton a long time with they way they are set up. In relation to what he had signing the likes of Campo wasnt bad But this is not your point, obviously. It more the issue of getting the recognition that your statement is correct. which to my knowledge it is. So its natural to feel wary of Big Sam now he should have the resources to do get what he had at Bolton with the money to spend on players. But dont feel bad about it, Im sure the Big Man (whilst rubbing his hands excitedly) is still cautious about how he spends the money he has. It is a risk having a manager unproven in big buys as he is but he is astute with the type of signings he makes, every manager makes their mistakes, the time/success constraints might hamper this. Whilst he has not made huge buys, he has signed some high profile and hard to deal with players. Really the fact there are some extra zero's on the end of the price tag shouldnt effect the way he looks at the player in relation to how he has in the past, should the money be there that is.