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The Academy, NextGen, U18 & U21 Premier League and On-Loan Thread

From the OS:

Young professionals John Bostock, Jack Munns, Jack Barthram, Jake Nicholson and Dean Parrett have all been released at the end of their contracts. Academy players Tom Gardiner, Mason Bush, William Ekong, Billy Grainger, Sam Smith and Victor Zapata-Caicedo have also been released.

We wish them all every success for the future.

Striker Shaq Coulthirst and goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux have been rewarded for their progress with first professional contracts, while we welcome into the Academy Luke Amos, Channing Campbell-Young, Anthony Georgou, Cy Goddard, Shayon Harrison, Joshua Onomah, Joe Pritchard, Lloyd Ross, Harry Voss, Kyle Walker-Peters and Anton Walkes as First Year Scholars.


Bolded Players:

Joshua Onomah has been around for a little while: he came on as a sub for us against Barca in the NextGen at WHL this season and has pace to burn. As far as I know we have high hopes for him.

Joe Pritchard, I've been trying to find out if he's any relation to Alex Pritchard. Would be interesting to have brothers in the academy, especially if he's blessed with Alex's technique on the ball.

Kyle Walker-Peters.. He's a right back. 'Nuff said.

No relation.
 
What an incredible disappointment Bostock and Parrett have been.

Yeah I remember watching them for England in a tournament in Sweden or somewhere... must have been U19 or U20 and thinking that surely they would make a career at a decent level but...
 
Yeah I remember watching them for England in a tournament in Sweden or somewhere... must have been U19 or U20 and thinking that surely they would make a career at a decent level but...

Is this down to our coaching or down to their attitude?
 
Most likely attitude.


Players with far worse coaching than ours (not saying ours is bad) have made their careers in the PL, as long as they put in the hard work.

I think it's very difficult to blame our coaching, at least from the outside, considering that we've brought through both Townsend and Caulker that have both already proven themselves at a PL level and Tom Carroll who has shown quite a bit of promise playing for the first team already. All at a similar age group to Bostock and Parrett.

Quite a few clubs are finding it difficult to bring those highly rated and often expensive young prospects through the ranks and up to the first team these days it seems to me. If it's an inherent problem with the wages these players command that makes them feel that "they've made it" much too early, a problem with identifying the players with the right attitudes or what it is I don't know. Hopefully something the club is working hard on identifying and sorting out.
 
I just wonder if the whole "billy big bollox" came in to play with Bostock and Parrett.

Townsend, Caulker, Livermore and Carroll all came through our ranks. Bostock was signed for half a million and Parrett was signed for 2 million. I don't think it would have been hard for either to think they were better than everyone else because of their price tag. Personally I never got the Parrett hype, I've never seen him have a decent game, then again I haven't seen him more than about 10 times. Bostock though there was something there, he was tall, athletic, decent passer of the ball, good eye for goal, but he just didn't want it as much.
 
I just wonder if the whole "billy big bollox" came in to play with Bostock and Parrett.

Townsend, Caulker, Livermore and Carroll all came through our ranks. Bostock was signed for half a million and Parrett was signed for 2 million. I don't think it would have been hard for either to think they were better than everyone else because of their price tag. Personally I never got the Parrett hype, I've never seen him have a decent game, then again I haven't seen him more than about 10 times. Bostock though there was something there, he was tall, athletic, decent passer of the ball, good eye for goal, but he just didn't want it as much.

I would say it is quite likely an element of that came out within their personalities. Maybe not so much Bostock, I play in a league where a number of players within a team actually know him quite well and go to the same church. He has come down to watch games in our league from time to time and actually comes across as a nice kid tbh. Parrett looks a bit braindead and I am sure he had a spat with Spurs fans on Twitter a few years ago over being a bit billy big time. So I would subscribe to your view on the players - Bostock definitely has the tools, maybe it has all come a bit too early in his career and he doesn't want it as much as he should. Parrett, like you, I never saw him have a good game in the sense that I never came away and thought he ran things today and I watched alot of the reserves/youth from 2007-2010.

I know that a few players in that age group felt marginalised by the Bostock/Parrett signings and were of the opinion that those players were more likely to be given game time due to the fact they were purchased for relatively big money as a youth player. One of those players was Yaser Kasim who was a wonderful passer of the ball, looked to me a shoe in to be a decent holding midfielder. His dad had a bit of a ruck with the management over such issues as he felt that players who had been there from a very young age weren't treated with the respect they warranted by comparsion to those bought, ie Bostock/Parrett. This resulted in his dad pulling him out before he signed another contract and he went to Brighton.
 
I always heard Yaser Kasim was a good prospect, but I just found out he got released last month and is now without a club.
 
I always heard Yaser Kasim was a good prospect, but I just found out he got released last month and is now without a club.

Very surprised. I thought that going to Brighton might do him a favour in terms of exposing him to first team football regularly. I also felt that Poyet would be a good manager to help him flourish as he would have been playing the perfect system for him to sit there and recycle the ball, popping it off short and long as required.
 
I would say it is quite likely an element of that came out within their personalities. Maybe not so much Bostock, I play in a league where a number of players within a team actually know him quite well and go to the same church. He has come down to watch games in our league from time to time and actually comes across as a nice kid tbh. Parrett looks a bit braindead and I am sure he had a spat with Spurs fans on Twitter a few years ago over being a bit billy big time. So I would subscribe to your view on the players - Bostock definitely has the tools, maybe it has all come a bit too early in his career and he doesn't want it as much as he should. Parrett, like you, I never saw him have a good game in the sense that I never came away and thought he ran things today and I watched alot of the reserves/youth from 2007-2010.

I know that a few players in that age group felt marginalised by the Bostock/Parrett signings and were of the opinion that those players were more likely to be given game time due to the fact they were purchased for relatively big money as a youth player. One of those players was Yaser Kasim who was a wonderful passer of the ball, looked to me a shoe in to be a decent holding midfielder. His dad had a bit of a ruck with the management over such issues as he felt that players who had been there from a very young age weren't treated with the respect they warranted by comparsion to those bought, ie Bostock/Parrett. This resulted in his dad pulling him out before he signed another contract and he went to Brighton.

Thanks for that informative post. Family and peers have a heavy influence in normal people's lives so it should not be a surprise that they do with footballers, too.
 
Thanks for that informative post. Family and peers have a heavy influence in normal people's lives so it should not be a surprise that they do with footballers, too.

Im not quite sure if that comment is being drier than the sahara in terms of sarcasm but I shall take it in the spirit it is possibly intended which is a straight forward comment. ;)
 
Just reading adam smiths comments how he wants a prem loan this season and he thinks young english players are not given a chance. I agree with the last bit but think it is a bit cheeky of him to say he does not want to go on loan in the championship again when it was him who refused the loan to wigan in januray because he was not sure he could get first team football.

Still a good loan for him in the prem this season and then with luck he will be ready to compete for a first team spot the following year and we can sell naughton and use the money elsewhere in the team.
 
Debateable, I think Smith is better than Naughton.
Certainly younger with more potential. Naughton is in his mid 20s will not improve much, doubt he'll be anything more than a squad player.
Many look at Naughton as a young player as he has never had his big breakthrough, but he'll turn 25 in the first half of coming season.
Best use of our resources would be to sell Naughton if there are clubs willing to pay £5m, and involve Smith in the first team squad.
Smith also club trained, which could be important down the line if/when Bale, Lennon etc. aren't with us anymore.

If we keep Naughton for another year, we should make sure Smith get a Premier League loan which is what he needs to take his next step.
Just make sure we have him under a secure contract though.
 
but Naughton is better than Smith..

Well i would disagree but i suppose it is hard to tell because naughton is currently playing it a higher level, but i think smith has more potntial then naughton and better aspects to his game. To add to that i saw naughton make several mistakes last season, big ones that if walker had made a lot more would have been saaid about them. One in a europa league match when he made a stupid pass back under no pressure, it lead me to believe he has no football brain.

I think the is also another aspect to all this in that we could make money by selling naughton and bringing through smith which would also meet our "developed player" quota and we can put that money to use elsewhere. Im convinced that until the stadium is built and paid for we will be going down this path a lot more with our youth players.
 
I think Naughton is very underrated on this board. Literally shoved out at left back which isn't his natural position and gave some very solid performances, it's just a shame people only remember bad games he has.

During Walkers shocking form for most of the first 6 months of the season I thought Naughton should have been given a go there but he never really was. I remember him starting one game at right back in the league away at Fulham in which he was solid, we won 0-3 and kept a cleansheet. I think Naughton is a clever player actually and has good vision.
 
I think Naughton is very underrated on this board. Literally shoved out at left back which isn't his natural position and gave some very solid performances, it's just a shame people only remember bad games he has.

During Walkers shocking form for most of the first 6 months of the season I thought Naughton should have been given a go there but he never really was. I remember him starting one game at right back in the league away at Fulham in which he was solid, we won 0-3 and kept a cleansheet. I think Naughton is a clever player actually and has good vision.

Well i agree that he was played out of position at left back and that was where i saw him have his shockers. I just feel that walker has the amazing pace as his quality assest and smith at youth level anyway looks to have a great reading of the game, so im not sure naughton is really going to get a look in.

Though like you in walkers poor form i felt naughton should have been given a run out at right back. I believe he was even playing in central defence in the reserves at the end of the season with livermore, not sure if that is the way forward or not.
 
I think Naughton is very underrated on this board. Literally shoved out at left back which isn't his natural position and gave some very solid performances, it's just a shame people only remember bad games he has.

During Walkers shocking form for most of the first 6 months of the season I thought Naughton should have been given a go there but he never really was. I remember him starting one game at right back in the league away at Fulham in which he was solid, we won 0-3 and kept a cleansheet. I think Naughton is a clever player actually and has good vision.

Agree with all of that, Naughton is a good player and we're lucky to have a player of his ability sitting on the bench covering both full back positions. A shame he hasn't got to play RB for a period of time, was very good there for Norwich...
 
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