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Troy Parrott

I thought he played well for the first 10 minute last night and then he got deeper and deeper trying to help out his teammates that didn't have legs after 110 minutes. When the counter attacks then happened he was out of position. It's like he was trying too hard. Which is understandable.
 
I thought he played well for the first 10 minute last night and then he got deeper and deeper trying to help out his teammates that didn't have legs after 110 minutes. When the counter attacks then happened he was out of position. It's like he was trying too hard. Which is understandable.
Exactly
The lad looked to me to be exactly what he is
A very talented 18 year old being elevated beyond his current merits because of other players being out
It’s the reverse of not knowing what you have until it’s gone
 
I meant why would Krul feel the need to go public about his mind games on Troy.
Obviously I don’t know exactly what question he was answering but it just seemed unnecessary.

Because he's a no mark and is never interviewed by the national press unless it's after a police interview?
 
So why would Krul say such a thing?
I don’t get the need to rub it in to a young player (who is probably feeling terrible about it anyway) like that after the event.
You won. Have some class.

Yeah it's a bit tasteless, also doubt it put him off anyway.

I presumed it's because saving a teenagers penalty in a 5th round cup match is genuinely one of the high points of Krul's career.
 
bbc article: a very nice read, particularly the blue bit where we beat Cheatski City United etc to his signature





Troy Parrott had scored four goals in one game in an Everton shirt, was wanted by both Manchester United and Emirates Marketing Project and was set to visit Chelsea, only to decide at the age of 15 his future was with Tottenham Hotspur.

Now the 18-year-old has been thrust into the spotlight as a potential solution to Spurs' striker crisis as a result of injuries to Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Steven Bergwijn.

Parrott, who made his Republic of Ireland debut in November, has been restricted to six minutes of Premier League action across two short substitute appearances, but could find himself thrown into Champions League action on Tuesday when Spurs look to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit in the last 16 at RB Leipzig.

Lacking a serious goal threat, a vocal section of the Spurs fanbase has been calling for Parrott to get more minutes, and there was a huge cheer at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when he was brought on in extra time in Wednesday's FA Cup fifth-round tie against Norwich.

It did not end well though, with the Irishman showing the bravery to raise his hand and step up in the penalty shootout, only to have his spot-kick saved on the way to defeat.

"He was so confident, he wanted to take one, he wanted to take the responsibility, it's an experience in his career," said boss Jose Mourinho, who has yet to start Parrott.

"The problem is not his experience. The problem is the 30 minutes. Now people can see that he has to work a lot so don't think that Parrott is the second Harry Kane because he's just a young kid that needs to work.

"Let's forget the penalty because we all miss the penalties, it was not Troy."

Parrott's climb to the fringes of the Tottenham first team has been sharp - only five years ago he was barely on the radar back in Dublin, never mind for Premier League scouts.

So who is the "good kid" Spurs beat their Premier League rivals to sign?

'Every main club in Britain was interested in him'
Vincent Butler is the director of football affairs at Belvedere in Dublin, where Parrott played his youth football, and has known the striker for 10 years.

"He's a very good lad, easy to deal with," Butler tells BBC Sport. "He comes from a very tough area - north inner-city Dublin, a lot of social, drug and violent problems.

"But he's never been involved in anything like that. Football was the one thing that kept him going. He's mad on football, he'd play every day if he could.

"He is a very determined player and will never stop running. If he makes a mistake he'll make up for it very quickly. He puts a lot of effort in. He's an excellent character."

Butler says Parrott was always a good player but a growth spurt in his early teens "added a bit of strength, pace and size to him", and suddenly made him stand out.

Playing representative football in Dublin allowed him to shine on a wider scale and the chance to play for Everton at a tournament in Northern Ireland gave the then 14-year-old his break.

"They beat Glasgow Rangers 5-1 and he scored four of the goals," Butler says. "Nobody knew about him at this stage. Troy turned out to be the star performer of the tournament."

Butler's phone soon lit up with Ireland-based Premier League scouts wanting a look.

"Word had spread around. They were on to their clubs to say 'this lad from Dublin has done exceptionally well and nobody has ever heard of him'," he adds.

"Every main club in Britain was interested. Chelsea, Manchester United, Emirates Marketing Project, Everton, you name them, there was a queue of clubs looking at him."

What made the youngster choose Tottenham?
Parrott and Wolves wing-back Matt Doherty both played for Belvedere in Dublin
"He came on the scene relatively suddenly," says Butler. "He was very good, but there wasn't the urgency to get him over because people felt they would get him in due course and they couldn't sign him until he was 16."

The following summer Ireland-based Spurs scout Marty McGuigan contacted Butler, wanting Parrott to join the under-18s on a pre-season trip to Bruges.

"I got a phone call from John McDermott (Spurs' academy manager) halfway through the week to say they were delighted with him and wanted to follow it up," says Butler.

"He had been in Emirates Marketing Project and was going to Chelsea, he was due to go to Manchester United and had been to places like Aston Villa and Everton.

"He had to pull out of the Chelsea one because Tottenham brought him over to sign an agreement."


What can Spurs expect from Parrott?
Parrott scored 19 goals in 27 youth team games for Spurs last season
Parrott impressed former boss Mauricio Pochettino, who called him up to train with the first team, played him in pre-season against Juventus and Manchester United, and gave the youngster his debut in a Carabao Cup defeat by Colchester in September.

He scored six goals in four Uefa Youth League outings before Mourinho's arrival in November but first-team duties, despite not featuring in matches, have limited the teenager's game time at all levels this season.

Butler says Parrott is enjoying life in London, living in digs with a family in Enfield, but would like to see him playing more competitive football.

"He settled in very well. He likes the family he is staying with and they think the world of him. He is very happy there," he says.

"The only thing he doesn't like is not playing matches. He would play three matches a day if he had the option of doing it."

Mourinho says Parrott must first prove to his colleagues why he has the "privilege" of training with the first-team squad, and show willing when featuring for Spurs' youth sides.

But a lack of games could also impact his international hopes.

Parrott was linked with a loan move in January but Tottenham needed to keep him at the club to meet eligibility rules about homegrown players.

Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy said he "wished he'd gone to Charlton" on loan and if Parrott is not playing he has "very little chance of being in the squad".

"If he is not playing it's going to damage his chances of getting a first-choice position," says Butler. "But he has plenty of time ahead of him."
 
The end of the season, when we have nothing to play for and the games are behind closed doors, will be the ideal environment to give him game time.
 
One other thought on the Parrott loan: if we really are signing this next week then either Jose things he's nowhere near ready for domestic cup or EL games yet, or we're confident of getting another CF in. I struggle a bit to see why we'd loan him out immediately without seeing how he gets on in pre-season if he had a chance of getting games with us
 
One other thought on the Parrott loan: if we really are signing this next week then either Jose things he's nowhere near ready for domestic cup or EL games yet, or we're confident of getting another CF in. I struggle a bit to see why we'd loan him out immediately without seeing how he gets on in pre-season if he had a chance of getting games with us

Remember he's a teenager still, At previous clubs Jose would have about 5 other players older than him already out on loan trying to show their worth. He has a long way to go before we see him in the first team regularly (If we ever do, plenty of time for injuries or Jose to decide he isn't for him etc.), I would've loved to see a youth striker get some game time but its near impossible when you play one main striker. I remember in the 90s when youngsters used to get thrown in towards the end of the season but rarely seems to happen now.
 
Remember he's a teenager still, At previous clubs Jose would have about 5 other players older than him already out on loan trying to show their worth. He has a long way to go before we see him in the first team regularly (If we ever do, plenty of time for injuries or Jose to decide he isn't for him etc.), I would've loved to see a youth striker get some game time but its near impossible when you play one main striker. I remember in the 90s when youngsters used to get thrown in towards the end of the season but rarely seems to happen now.

He needs to be playing every week too. He's barely played the season just gone and we can't afford to have another season like that. A couple of rounds of the league cup and Europa away games isn't enough.
 
A loan will do him good. The championship is a good league to learn your trade. There is nothing better than minutes under your belt imo.

Apart from Winks in the last 10 years most of those who have contributed to the first but ultimately then be sold have gone out on loan first. Caulker, Townsend, Carroll, Livermore, Mason. Not so much caulker but the other 4 must have played a fair few games for the first team combined saving us needing to buy a player for That squad role and also helping us bring in a few quid.

Obviously there is Kane as well.

The one big shame is when UEFA/FIFA stopped us being able to do short term loans for 1-3months. Really thought that helped players develop. If the loans wasn’t working they came back if it was it either got extended or they went to another club in a higher division etc...
Without B teams in senior football like some other countries the short term loans were really useful for player development.
 
One other thought on the Parrott loan: if we really are signing this next week then either Jose things he's nowhere near ready for domestic cup or EL games yet, or we're confident of getting another CF in. I struggle a bit to see why we'd loan him out immediately without seeing how he gets on in pre-season if he had a chance of getting games with us

There is no pre season though.
Mourinho is gonna go all out in the cups to try and win them like he did at United.
His starting eleven the last time he was in a Europa League group game didn't have a single player under 22!

There is a huge problem with loan players arriving at club 5 games into their season and missing out on their pre season.
It's usually after Christmas until they even get a chance.
Parrott will be able to integrate himself into the squad early and be on the same level as the rest.

Personally I have the feeling he was promised a loan this season when he signed the contract. He is desperate to get some minutes and to get into the Ireland team before the likes of Aaron Connolly, Adam Idah or Michael Obafemi make the spot their own under the new manager(who was his u21 manager).
 
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