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AVOR 7:40 Sun Jan 7
Are our youngsters good enough?

Or do we need to spend big on replacements?

Rice seems like he has now settled in, can Oxford, Burke and Cullen save us going out and buying Mawson, Shelvey or Allen?

Personally I would rather spend some of the funds on pacy players who can make us more effective on the break.

....And the young Forest striker looked a player today.

swindon hammer 7:55 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

No they are not.

Out of all our youngsters only Declan Rice and Nathan Holland have a chance of establishing themselves as first team players.

Josh Cullen did okay today and was neat and tidy and got stuck in but we are so fuckng poor in midfield that even doing the basics well like not giving the ball away and passing to a fellow team mate makes you stand out in our team.

The most overrated of our youngsters is Quina. Watched him 3 times for the U23s this season and he has been very average.

Takashi Miike 7:59 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

yes, I think a few have the potential to be good enough. Rice is top quality, as is Burke and I like the two young fullbacks Johnson & Neufville

cornish 8:01 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

No not at the moment but they will be in time.

hornchurchsteve 8:02 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

Rice is clearly a good prospect. Burke not good enough for me.

pulhampete 8:02 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

Rice - definitely
Too soon to tell for the rest.
You need the senior players to be playing well to help the youth bed in before you can properly judge them.
You also need a manager who isn't under pressure to take the chance on them and play them in their correct positions.

Hopefully they'll be given a chance before they are moved on.

moorethanjustananon 8:02 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

Only Rice looks to have the ability to step up, even then that needs be seen over a longer period of time though.

Thought Cullen looked decent today, particularly in the second half, seemed to sense danger really well and can pick a pass for sure. Loved that he played on after having his teeth kicked in, a lot of the senior players could learn a lot from that commitment - although as already said, next to Kouyate and Obiang as a pairing anyone could look good.

Burke looked up against it must be said.

Quina and Martinez didn’t seem to have any sort of impact at all other than running a lot.

Investment needed particularly in the middle of the park, where the manager and even the players seem to know there is a problem as they all seem to be looking to bypass it!

FrancoisVanDerElst 8:03 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

The worrying thing is that they had youngsters on the bench today and our coaching staff did not feel they could do any better today than the likes of Ayew even for 10 mins

Sir Alf 8:04 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

Academic question for me. You have to watch players over a number of games at the top level and against top level opposition to even begin to answer the question. All 3 today in a one-off tricky tie on a bobbly pitch in a team that had never played together before, did ok. But like I say, need to see them over several games to know.

The lad from Forest same applies. Might be a real prospect but need a few more games against top opposition to know.

Agree we need more mobility, pace and athleticism in midfield but many have been saying that for 5 years or more going back to the days of Kovac

Iron2010 8:19 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

It’s completely relative. The majority certainly wouldn’t walk into a top 6 side but I’m certain that Cullen would have done a better job than Kayoute, Obiang and Ayew in many games this year. I’m confident that a couple of them wouldn’t have been over run by Bournemouth and Newcastle as Zab was in key games late last year. I also find it hard to believe that Winks, Tom Davies and many players in the Brighton, Huddersfield and Bournemouth squads are any better than them.

In short we are slinking millions of pounds on established failures who are not producing any more than these lads would. So yes they are good enough for our current level.

Sven Roeder 8:19 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

Quina is 17 isn’t he?
Playing against players up to 5 years older in u23 let alone stepping up from there.

Not seen the game today but I’d be more worried about 2 international strikers being unable to score against a league one team and several experienced players seeming unable to impose themselves against even players from this level.
Is it wrong to say that if players can’t beat a league one team they shouldn’t be in a Premier league squad?

kirok1 8:28 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

Difficult to judge when the senior pros around them seem unable to get motivated enough to take the skin off a rice pudding.
Rice is definitely a high prospect.
Cullen and Burke would need chances, in a better line up, to develop those possibilities.
Lacking in service as they were, our strikers were pathetic today. In terms of progress, if they’re learning their trade from pros like Ayew, Reid, Kayoute and Hernandez et al, they’ll not exactly be learning from the best examples...

Briano 8:43 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

If you don't play them you will never find out

Keith Lemon 8:47 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

Rice - definitely

Burke - no chance, very very average. Probably one of those players more worries about his hair that developing as a footballer.

Cullen - did nothing of note today, not sure what his future is.

Briano 8:52 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

Keith

Was that you're opinion of Rice when he gave a goal away at Newcastle...probably not.

They are talented boys all under the age of 20, to develop naturally they need to play regularly

Keith Lemon 9:00 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

Absolutely mate. Rice for me is in the same category as Rio when he first came through, you can just tell he’s got it and is gong to make it.

Reece Burke is clumsy and has got nothing about him that convinced me he’s got a future in any level higher than Lwague 1/2, based on a fair number of times I’ve seen him.

ornchurch ammer 9:05 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

Rice - definitely worth persevering with.

Cullen - got to be given chances to shit or get off the pot. Definitely improved us today when he moved inside.

Burke - as with Cullen now is the time to do or die. Did OK but what is his position? If he is a centre back he has to be given chances at centre back.

Quina - did not impress me at all at Arsenal. Looks far too lightweight but is only 17 so may develop.

Keep dreaming 9:06 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

Good enough for what?

They are as good as the players we already have, and will become better over a couple of years.

They are just as good as most of the players coming through the ranks from 10 and down.

Ofcourse we need to spend, and buy better players. They that will become even better.

Cant rely on them to come in and make a change (even though Rice have done so)

Buy better players, and give them more games

El Scorchio 9:10 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

Rice looks good enough already.

The others have potential but are in no way ready to play in the top flight the next 6-12 months. Cullen may be the exception.

Iron2010 9:18 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

El Scor

That simply isn’t true. Have a look at players in teams above us in the league. You haven’t got to be Lanzini or Kane to play regularly in the prem.

claret on my shirt 9:24 Sun Jan 7
Re: Are our youngsters good enough?

Burke has to be behind Oxford and Rice so I can see him moving on, Cullen certainly passes the ball better than Koyoute and Obiang but he is a backup at most. Shelvey has awesome technique so i'd love to see him play for us but he does seem to have an attitude problem and would he fit into Moyes, run run and run some more philosophy?

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