The College Dropout

Loans are better than crappy games in the league cup that nobody cares about. How many youngsters have a realistic chance of breaking into the first team? This is not a good example at all: The Irish GK will leave. Gomez has fallen to the bottom of the CB list. Bajcetic & Jones only got PL experience due to a lack of investment in midfield N. Williams played 13 PL games for Liverpool before being sold Carvalho transfer has been a nightmare, and there are rumours he'll be sold. The lad would've been better off this season for his development by staying at Fulham and getting regular PL game time. You need to give young players proper squad places. The way Martinelli and Saka impressed in the Europa, they became secondary options in key positions. Not options 3 and 4. Players improve by playing meaningful matches at high levels. Where performances are scrutinised and demand is high. That is the PL. Europe. Champo. Not league cup r3 and r4 at a big 4 club before losing to City all-stars back-up.

That's true. Someone will get it right. Man Utd under SAF didn't always have the most talented youngsters but they put them in to fight and run hard and many of them did a good job for some time. Your Welbeck's, Evans, O'Shea.. not world beaters but good players, hard working. That seems to have disappeared. Obviously, Wenger loved a youth product. He sold Sylvinho to create a pathway for Cole. That rarely happens these days. Thinking about it. Fergie and Wenger didn't miss a beat with youth products. If anything they would give youth products too many chances. Fergie even gave Tom Cleverley decent minutes man. Different era I guess, different culture. FFP encourages clubs to sell youth products as well which isn't good.

Disagree with that. Our biggest issue is our lads haven't been the most talented. Eventually, we'll have a Chelsea-like setup with a Vitesse which is ugly but good for player development. But we need quality players for that to work. League Cup is not an effective pathway to the first-team and is at max. 6 games. The second-string European competitions are better for player development due to a decent run being 8-10 games + 3 or 4 in the league cup. Krul got his chance that way iirc. Both are really good too. It's one of the worst aspects of following a "top club". Elite level youngsters are just products to be sold.

Under Ashley sure. But another mid-level / relegation scrapper. Why not? He would've become who he is now with Brighton for sure.

Only 1 of these is a first-team regular. And he's not in the first team right now. I've never even seen Charles play. Longstaff probably has more minutes than them all combined - including Foden. How's that worked for City in terms of getting youngsters meaningful minutes? It's more about the club culture than anything and investment. Arsenal only started playing youngsters in the league when the club fell out of the top 4 and they kept buying duds. They brought in Willian & Pepe for serious money to play in Martinelli and Saka's current positions. They will likely sell Balogun (scored the most goals of any player 21 & Under in a top 5 European league) & Nketiah this season to fund another striker purchase. That's just how it is at the top of the game. Liverpool have only given minutes to young midfielders due to a lack of investment according to their fans. It might end up paying off with Jones & the Spanish lad. But they didn't intend for there to be this pathway and it probably cost them a CL place. Clubs like Villa are perfectly placed to take advantage of a top academy and young signings. ATM at least. It is what it is.

Yeh it is. But it's not so much fun as a fan. Aye. If all goes to plan, we'll end up more Chelsea/City than Brighton. Young prospects just becoming an FFP vehicle. Loads of loans. It's just a new reality as a fan. I follow Real Madrid. A lot of youngsters have been given chances and kicked on in recent years. But you understand a good amount of wonderkid-type signings will barely play for Real. Even borderline or undoubtedly world-class players like Odegaard or Hakimi. Hakimi in particular I didn't understand, he's Madrid born and raised, joined Real at 8. As the club grows, it will lose that bit of personal connection. Probably suits our fanbase, our academy and young signings love to celebrate against us anyway and the fans are mean to them too.

One slight drawback of becoming a top side is... some really talented players might rightly never get a first-team opportunity. At the moment, if we have any eventual PL level footballer in our academy. It's total mismanagement if they never got any game time like a Toney.

The PL is way stronger now than when we were in it the last time.

I want an easier group. With a little bit of luck, you can get to a QF without facing more than 1 elite team.

I thought he lost control of the game but that was largely due to the players and officials being determined to be pricks. It was by no means a "screwjob" with decisions only going one-way. I think referees should take a harder line on abuse in-game. If anyone but the player involved in the dispute or the captain comes up and protests they get a yellow card.

How many 18-year-olds have good decision-making? Looks pacey and a technical dribbler with a nice touch. His weight and technique in his passing looks good too. Get him out on loan, where he'll get regular game time in a professional environment.

Geremi was a good player - his legs had just gone. Nothing to do with attitude or application just physical decline.

Eddie is in love with 433 these days.

Aye - no chance Joelinton LW is the last resort. Howe likes it. He likes it more than Gordon LW. He might like it more than ASM LW.

Pep likes a small squad and likes a couple Swiss Army knife type players. Bernardo over the years has played RW, AM, CM and even LB.

He had a £40m signing sitting on the bench. He likes Joe wide left. That combination with Willock is effective.

Must be doing good things behind the scenes.

Howe will have options. There's still Gordon in that mix, ASM, Murphy.

But Howe likes Joelinton at LW. I expect to 2 CMs but Joelinton to play loads.

Joelintin will definitely be an option at LW going forward. I hope Isak isn't an option there but the facts suggest otherwise. You do expect Wilson will have his minutes managed for his own fitness anyway so there will be less of him LW. I do think it's 1 in 1 out for LW and maybe wingers in general.

Nothing in his stats to suggest he's a grafter.

Interesting that Kovacic is linked to City. I said we should go for him but NO told me he was shit and finished.

The worst game i've seen all season

The new format still has the Europa league drop

Veiga stats suggest a Longstaff/Willock type that can actually finish. Not a passer though.