[Archived] Now We Are Safe

[Flopsy]

i think Matteo (defensively) is a great player for the left midfield of our full backs Neill is the weakest, offensively Matteo should not be allowed to pass further than 5 yards (same goes for Todd too)

[Brownie]

As rough as it may seem, of the youngsters I've seen for the reserves, and I've only seen them a couple of times, I can't see any of them making the dramatic leap to becoming a regular Premiership player, and that includes Jemal Johnson.

Andy Taylor looks a decent left back but it is such a big jump, it's difficult to see it happening.

Look at Ciaran Donnelly for example, the wonder-kid who scored freely for International junior sides.

He has been very quickly removed from the Blackpool side and apparently was very poor playing for Blackpool reserveslast week against a group of kids from Burnley masquerading as a reserve side.

[bellamy11]

well i'd give taylor the left back a go,as this is a problem position.and i think barker deserves a go,even derbyshire or young garner.you lot are worse than hansen[you win nowt with kids].you talk like we are going to win 12pts out off our next 4 games,we will get 4pts because thats how the season has panned out

I think Taylor is becoming the underground favourite here. He has not been outstanding for the reserves.

Barker doesn't deserve a go, he looked woeful against Bolton reserves and contributed nothing. Derbyshire is quite quick but his finishing is none-existant and looked about half as good as Jemal. Playing Garner now would be about two years too early. He's doing very well at his level now, but the Premiership is an almighty step up.

The only player remotely deserving of a place is Jemal. Maybe he should play? Can't really hurt, although Jon Stead is a young lad in need of developing too. If any of the others were even threatening to knock on the first team door then fair enough, but they aren't. End of.

[rover6]

Official site reports that Andy Taylor and Matt Derbyshire have been given squad numbers and are travelling with the first team squad.

Clickito

[waggy]

2 points out off 9pts,is not a great return we should be playing the youngsters

[stuwilky]

2 points out off 9pts,is not a great return we should be playing the youngsters

If they looked any good I would agree.

But Im afraid most of them dont on the handful of times Ive seen them this term.

[Flopsy]

2 points out off 9pts,is not a great return we should be playing the youngsters

so we could have had 0 points from 9 (possibly )

[Blue blood]

TBH they're not good enough. I'd doubt that any of our reserves except Jemal would actually look that good in the first division/championship/whatever it is these days. Maybe the problem is to do with the fact that reserve team football isn't actually reserve team football but glorified youth and player's coming back from injury football. IMO I'm not sure reserve football is the next level for developing talent to aspire to. Which makes the fact that none of them look that inspiring all the more depressing.

[waggy]

surely youth is worth a go,we have 2 bloody poor full backs imo,given a young lad a go is not to great a risk,giving one off the young forwards is not too much off a risk,or do we not want too pay great harwood the add on clause for derbyshire?if we had 9pts out off 9pts this we can finish so high up the league might wear on me,but we have averaged just over a point a game this season.we can only go up 2 places now and down 3 if we gain or other teams gain maximum points,this has to be the time to play the YOUNG GUNS

[cn174]

Maybe the problem is to do with the fact that reserve team football isn't actually reserve team football but glorified youth and player's coming back from injury football.

This isn't really a Rovers problem, its a problem for all clubs. Since the stupid FA got rid of the two tier academy system, to just one team, it now means that there isn't an extra level for players to develop in. Before most reserve sides were mostly first team players who couldn't get in or coming back from injury, with a couple of promising youngsters in. Now its the other way round.

Waggy - I dont think anyone is against bringing youngsters through. But, losing a million quid (which would be extremely useful this summer) because we tried out a few youngsters who aren't good enough anyway, and aren't even shining in the reserves is just silly.

It's not as if we have the next Damien Duff, who is miles too good for the reserves but isn't getting a chance.

[waggy]

we have two games to go and will be very lucky to take more than 3 pts from them,last year we made great pre season signings,a dwarf and matteo,plus some spanish waiter.the transfer fund will already be sorted,regardless off position we finish in.our only hope is souey coming in for some off the dross he left us with.

when season ticket sales hit a alltime low,posters will be moaning about not having money to spend in the transfer market,we need to give the fans hope,play some young uns,see some light at the end off the tunnel,a debut or two on saturday and the return off andy cole might give us a 18k gate

[Dan Furness]

2 points out off 9pts,is not a great return we should be playing the youngsters

you really are obsessed with this aren't you?

[stuwilky]

the transfer fund will already be sorted,regardless off position we finish in

Familiar with the budget for next season are we waggy?

I would imagine that if by a stroke of luck we can finish in 11th, our transfer budget will be increased by the necessary amount - about 1 million quid!

[Ste B]

we have two games to go and will be very lucky to take more than 3 pts from them,last year we made great pre season signings,a dwarf and matteo,plus some spanish waiter.the transfer fund will already be sorted,regardless off position we finish in.our only hope is souey coming in for some off the dross he left us with.

when season ticket sales hit a alltime low,posters will be moaning about not having money to spend in the transfer market,we need to give the fans hope,play some young uns,see some light at the end off the tunnel,a debut or two on saturday and the return off andy cole might give us a 18k gate

FFS..we cannot afford to play any of our youngsters as we dont have any who are good enough.

[Flopsy]

Where’s McEveley at the moment? On loan, injured, sold or just not good enough?

[stuwilky]

Where’s McEveley at the moment? On loan, injured, sold or just not good enough?

Two of the above.

[Neil Weaver]

True, Stu, unless good old Stan does an Andy Todd with him

[waggy]

3pts out off 15pts,we blooded derbyshire for 8 mins,sometimes i dispair.we had an ideal chance to play some young lads and the management stuck to thr tried and tested.we could have took 0pts and still finished 15th.

the best game i have seen this season at ewood was wednesday night,the academy final,when will garner get his chance when he is 22yrs old

[Flopsy]

or maybe all the best players have been out on loan?

McEveley got his go on Sunday as did Johnson

To give Souness his due he blooded the youngsters if he thought they were ready.

[bellamy11]

or maybe all the best players have been out on loan?

McEveley got his go on Sunday as did Johnson

To give Souness his due he blooded the youngsters if he thought they were ready.

Exactly. He had the chance to give Nissa (what looks like) his swansong as a Rovers player but decided to give McEveley some more experience. He also gave Jemal a good half hour to try and make a better impression than Stead. I still don't understand which players you think are better than this and able to cut it at Prem level?

[broadsword]

Can't see Johnson making it.

He tried some nice touches on Sunday, but reacted too slowly afterwards.

Maybe I'm being harsh, because he was up against a big lug in Ledley King, but he really didn't make much of an impression. Maybe he'll do better next year when we have some more strikers at the club.

Didn't think much of McEveley either, he almost got caught out once or twice. Why Jonny Douglas was on the bench I don't know.

[rover6]

Didn't think much of McEveley either, he almost got caught out once or twice. Why Jonny Douglas was on the bench I don't know.

I have my suspicions that he just isn't up to it as a left back. Someone who has been made to look silly by Gary Neville must have question marks against his name (admittedly it was when he was 17). He's good on the ball but cannot use his right peg for toffee and as Mario Melchiot found out, rather weak when it comes to people running at him.

To be fair, his favoured position is centre half so he may yet prove a good Premiership player and as a left back, offers more attacking threat than Matteo. Either way, I guess Hughes will keep him as a useful squad player in the short term.

Edited May 17, 2005 by rover6

[Exiled in Toronto]

Now the dust has settled on this one and we are not in the chase for mythical points to ad to the transfer fund, I have to say that I am appauled at how most fans are now obsessed by the short term chase for Murdochs dosh at the expense of the longer term picture.

In other topics, many posters will bemoan the effect of money on the game, but when it comes down to it, are like the people you see in the movie The Lavender Hill Mob, climbing over their grandmothers to scoop up the pound notes raining down from the sky.

I have always subscribed to the management philosophy that no-one is ever totally ready for the next step up; there is always an element of learning on the job, and I think the same applies to youth. Duff, Dunn and Beattie didn't exactly break onto the scene like Wayne Rooney - they were all little boys lost on their full debuts.

Look at the people who do youth well to see how it should be done. For all Fergie's faults, he puts youth into the team to SEE if they can make the step up. And not just 8 mins at the end, or a full game; for every Darren Fletcher who makes it, there are five Jonathon Greenings who get umpteen games before the jury reports back and they are decided not good enough for ManUre.

BRFC can only do well in the EPL and break-even at the same time if we have a vibrant youth set up, both reducing our need to compete on transfer fees and also as a source of revenue from the ones we sell on. Whether or not we get an extra million or two from Murdoch is neither here nor there in the long run.

The only way to see if they are good enough and can learn quickly enough is to put them in.

[Blue blood]

Maybe the problem is to do with the fact that reserve team football isn't actually reserve team football but glorified youth and player's coming back from injury football.

This isn't really a Rovers problem, its a problem for all clubs. Since the stupid FA got rid of the two tier academy system, to just one team, it now means that there isn't an extra level for players to develop in. Before most reserve sides were mostly first team players who couldn't get in or coming back from injury, with a couple of promising youngsters in. Now its the other way round.

Waggy - I dont think anyone is against bringing youngsters through. But, losing a million quid (which would be extremely useful this summer) because we tried out a few youngsters who aren't good enough anyway, and aren't even shining in the reserves is just silly.

It's not as if we have the next Damien Duff, who is miles too good for the reserves but isn't getting a chance.

314407[/snapback]

Yeah I realise it's not Rover's fault but I do think that it is the nub of the problem, the step up these days is much larger than before.

Exiled another point regarding Manures youth policy is that the pressure is off players when they come in. Because they've got loads of highly skilled players playing with them this takes some of the pressure off and allows the youngster to concentrate on their own game. I've heard several pundits say this over time and I think it's true. An example people use is that good batch of youth players from Everton when they nearly got relegated - the players had too much responsibilty on them too soon and now they've all faded into obscurity. Linking this back to Rovers, any player who comes in, especially up front, will be seen as the next whoever and people will be disappointed if they aren't. The pressure on them to perform and the amount of responisiblity they will have to take will be greater. McEveleys a good example of this, yeah he's not the finished product yet by far but in 2 yrs or so he could well be very good.