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The all new Juniors/on-loan thread 2013/14

Moncur: 'It wasn't meant to be'

George Moncur refused to be too downhearted after the Dev Squad's 3-2 defeat at home to Tottenham

West Ham United youngster George Moncur insists the Development Squad should have been home and dry at half time against Tottenham Hotpsur, having passed up opportunities to put the game beyond the visitors' reach at the Boleyn Ground on Friday night.

As it was, the Hammers went into the interval two goals to the good, courtesy of Dan Potts and Sebastian Lletget, before Spurs mounted an improbable second-half revival, netting three times in 30 minutes to snaffle all three Barclays Under-21 Premier League points.

Reflecting on a first defeat of the new campaign, the 20-year-old reckoned it would have been very different had he and Paul McCallum taken their chances in front of goal.

He told West Ham TV: "I obviously thought that first half we played really well and did all the right things in the right areas. We got our reward by going 2-0 up, but we had more chances to maybe get a few more and then the game's dead and buried.

"Paul McCallum had a few chances, I had a couple down the line that I could have maybe done a bit better with. So had we put them away I think the game would have been over early doors."

That said, Moncur had not foreseen the second half that was to unfold, expecting the Hammers to continue where they had left off prior to the interval.

He continued: "I thought as we came out [for the second half] we could have even pressed on and got a couple more, because of the way we played in the first half. It just wasn't meant to be.

"They came out a bit brighter than us. I think our first pass was poor from a lot of us and that obviously sets a bad tone right away. They took advantage of that and scored the early goal, which was lucky off the deflection. But it gave them a boost and then, of course, they went on to get a second and third.

"To be fair, whenever we play Spurs, they always pass the ball well and move it well, they're a great footballing team. They show it every time they play us, so credit to Spurs for that."

In truth, the visitors owed much to the impressive Lewis Holtby, as the German international made his first start of the new campaign. The 22-year-old, who suffered a knee injury in this summer's European Under-21 Championship, was excellent on the night and Moncur certainly appreciated seeing him in such close quarters.

"It's great to play against players like that, especially when you see what he did here, bending that one in the top corner," he confirmed. "He's very comfortable on the ball, finds little gaps between the back four and the midfield.

"Everything was going through him. He scored one and he created chances. All credit to him."

http://www.whufc.com/articles/20130827/moncur-it-wasnt-meant-to-be_2236884_3437723
 
AdamB said:
very funny. I wouldn't say that I 'hate' Falque though - am sure he's a very nice guy! Its just that I see nothing in him that will make him a top level footballer. Most up and coming players have at least one skill or trait around which you can see a player emerging - Townsend has pace and can dribble, Carroll is a great passer and retains possession well,...even someone like Aaron Lennon, who wasn't the great in terms of raw footballing skills when he arrived at Spurs, had electric pace. When I look at Falque, he seems small, slow, not particularly creative of skilful, he's a CF poacher type and not a small playmaker type like Modric. Maybe I'm missing something and I'm wrong but I don't see anything in him that can form the basis of a top flight player or where he'd play. Will happily admit I'm wrong if so!
Click to expand...

Agreed. Sean Davis had more useful attributes than Yago Falque. He would score 6/10 on every attribute in a PC game thingy.
 
Ugo Ehiogu on Spurs Academy:

A5029_zpsffbe384e.jpg


In my role as assistant U16 coach at Tottenham, there is a clear DNA outlined at the club through out the academy ages.

That DNA is laid out and passed down from Tim Sherwood, Head of Football Development, John McDermott, Head of Academy, and the wonderfully experienced Chris Ramsey, who is Senior Professional Phase Coach.

The way that Tottenham teams play is clear and all the coaches know what is expected of them. The emphasis is on technique at a very early age and the idea is to try and produce players who can progress into the first team, or go on and make a living in the game.
 
THFC6061 said:
Ugo Ehiogu on Spurs Academy:

A5029_zpsffbe384e.jpg


In my role as assistant U16 coach at Tottenham, there is a clear DNA outlined at the club through out the academy ages.

That DNA is laid out and passed down from Tim Sherwood, Head of Football Development, John McDermott, Head of Academy, and the wonderfully experienced Chris Ramsey, who is Senior Professional Phase Coach.

The way that Tottenham teams play is clear and all the coaches know what is expected of them. The emphasis is on technique at a very early age and the idea is to try and produce players who can progress into the first team, or go on and make a living in the game.
Click to expand...

Nice read, thanks for sharing!
Looks like we try to do the "Ajax way" of bringing up players. Could be some interesting years coming up.
 
Amazing that the likes of Townsend, Carroll and Kane are managing to break through despite the £120m worth of talent arriving from overseas this window.
 
Troy Archibald-Henville, our splendidly named former youth center-half, moves from Swindon Town to Carlisle United on a season's loan.
 
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