Looks like we’ve beaten Man City

fail
It was funny in my mind.

comment by Wetherby White (U6810)
posted 9 hours, 6 minutes ago
You could put a YouTube clip up of me playing in my teens and I’d look like Messi.
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Yeah but playing against the local Blind School doesn’t count

Official now.

comment by Stoopo (U4707)
posted 1 hour, 38 minutes ago
comment by Wetherby White (U6810)
posted 9 hours, 6 minutes ago
You could put a YouTube clip up of me playing in my teens and I’d look like Messi.
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Yeah but playing against the local Blind School doesn’t count
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Exactly

Good signing. Seems to be very highly thought of in Spain. Won awards at his level, and performed well against some pretty sizeable academy teams. Not really sure what people have against these sorts of signings. Relatively cheap, relatively low risk, and worth a heck of a lot more if it works out.

Just been rereading the comments on this and pretty much agree with Lubo's take on it above.

Shaun who I often agree with on some of points on other threads is wide of the mark on this one though.

To suggest that we have a ratio of 1 in 40 of these sort of signings and academy players benefiting the club is inaccurate. Struijk, Geldhardt, Clarke (remembering we got c£10m for him whatever he has done since)and other still developing may have a big impact on the first team or be sold for a significant profit.

I also believe that we'll have separate budgets for Under 23 and academy development and cannot imagine that this signing impacts in any way other targets we are working on for the first team.

Also it is worth considering that the Under 23s sit 13th in the league out of 14. This signing looks to be effectively 'backfilling' Geldhardt's promotion to the first team to try plug that gap and help the 23s stay in the division they are in and hopefully progress and get on the fringes of the first team next season if he progresses. We can say to that 'not bothered about 23s, it's all about the first team etc' but surely we stand a better chance of recruiting more Geldhardts and Struijk success stories is we are in top Under 23 league and are seen as a club that has a path through to the first team.

I do believe our first team squad is too small and exposed in certain positions to injuries/suspensions and should be looking to bolster it but I don't see this signing impacting upon that and no way will Orta just be sat on his hands working on under 23 signings.

People can say whatever they want about the system we're recruiting with, we're a hell off a sight better off with this system then we were before AR came in!..

Cellino would have sold for a bob or two and pumped us full off Italian nobody's!..

We're much healthier now than we've been sinse before meltdown and some still have a go, this system is the way forward and it will eventually reap rewards!..

comment by Batty (U4664)
posted 18 hours, 20 minutes ago
comment by Jonty (U4614)
posted 1 hour, 23 minutes ago

I'd take a punt on Erickson.

^^^^^

If Eriksen is deemed fit enough to play, I'd also be up
for taking a punt on him. Excellent player and playmaker.
I just read on BBC that he's looking to play himself
into the Danish 2022 world cup squad. So why not.
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how about coutinho on loan from barca. aston villa sniffing around but wages may be a problem.

People talk like we’re in the only club in world football to sign lots of youth and only a few make it……….I think if you bothered to research it we’d be pretty high up in terms of players getting a chance in the first team.

If you want to blame anyone for that large first wave of players brought in to the u23’s then blame Cellino as we had to start from scratch with limited money.

1 in 40 is pretty laughable when with a large portion of Orta’s players we’ve;

Got in the playoffs
Won the league at a canter
Finished in the top half first season back
Won 2 u23 league titles

Funny that

Just maybe Bielsa sees a few of the U23’s as first team possibles now. If that’s the case then maybe we will just sign youngsters to replace them, rather than spend vast amounts on January cast offs.

There might be the odd bargain out there but players out of contract in the summer are either duds, in their clubs view, or looking for a big payday. Not sure we want any of them tbh.

There might be one or two he fancies though so never say never,