Maddison

[billythefish]

Watched the U21 game last night vs QPR and he looked a very decent prospect. Good feet, seemed to have time on the ball and got forward well. Scored a decent goal as well.

Good performance to win 2-0 at top of the table side.

Barton actually played well at the back and two young brothers looked good at full back. Took me a while to realise they werent the same player!

[dog rout 21]

Yeh agreed, really good performance, impressed with the way they moved the ball so quickly and didn't seem to have any fear. Was very surprised by Barton almost worth a go in the first team at CB.

[billythefish]

Thought Miller was a tad disapointing as he was outshone by the kids and expected a bit more from him.

[AD]

I watched the first half of that game and I was quite impressed.

Although I don't know if it would be affordable but often we take a small handful of the academy crop each year, give them a year (sometimes two) on a contract and inevitably after a short while they all seem to drop off.

This team look quite good, and maybe that's what we need to do, bring through a TEAM. I've always believed the Class of 92 were so successful because they'd spent so long playing with each other they already knew how and where the others would be, and had a camaraderie that you cannot buy. It made that transition for them easier.

Offer more of them a deal and for three years, as people progress at different rates and it can't be expected for every player to take to the rigours and physicality of first team football immediately (and often those that do burn out much quicker) and allow them to progress together through the U21's. Plus that security that they have some time to adapt relieves the pressure a bit and they stop trying too hard to impress straight away as they've probably got 6 months to earn a new deal. Yes, if you're good enough you're old enough, but just because you're not good enough at 18/19/20 it doesn't necessarily mean you never will be. Turner took years to become competent, Rickie Lambert didn't really start to show ability until his mid-20's.

Yes, some will undoubtedly take the easy route and fall by the wayside, but we have to do something to change why some very talented youngsters end up achieving nothing.

If a trainee is showing promise in a company, you don't just them go and put them straight on the executive board.

[adge]

On the other side of coin we get Clark and Thomas..............

[billythefish]

That was the first win of the season for the U21s. Probably need to see more games to be able to comment but a couple of the kids looked decent. I think QPR were missing a couple of players due to international call ups and players going out on loan. Think you need to take that into context within the game.

If I was a manager looking at that game and looking for players for the future then I would probably say there were 3 players per side worth looking at. I was impressed by the QPR midfielder that seemed to pull the strings for them (cant rememer his name but Southland or something). The big coloured centre back who won everything until he went off (not even going to try to spell) and the winger who looked dangerous (Andrade).

To be honest I would guess that those would go on to do more than the majority of the Cov boys possibly with the exception of Maddison.

I wouldnt read too much into the class of 92 as that is an exception rather than the rule. You just cant sign up every kid in a youth team that looks good as you just cant give them game time to progress. To a certain extent they got game time because of injuries to first team players and got opportunities to play and then took those opportunities.

[AD]

I'm basing my more on the results and highlights of the U18's than this one U21 fixture. Some of the passing and movement is very very good, and that comes from familiarity.