10 Sep 2024 00:21:08
We all have a tendency to get excited when an a ademy talent breaks through into the first team and that can lead to extravagant claims being made about such players.
This is so counterproductive to the players long term. We need to let them learn their trade, make mistakes (as we all do on our daily work) without them fearing being pilloried by supporters and the media. There has to be a happy medium between hero and villain.
We also need to give young players a gradual introduction to the physicality of first team football and not over play them.
I can't but perhaps you can name in the last 25 years how many real world class young players Utd has had in its academy and / or nurtured into the first team. We need to invest in the future and give the likes of Mainoo a clear pathway to succeed.
Allegedly Angel Gomes had issues in his personal life to deal with and a move abroad helped settle him down. Now he is gookf to play for England and seems to have matured.
10 Sep 2024 13:32:19
Scholes, Giggs, Beckham, come to mind. footballing ability greenwood can be another one and still young and remains to be seen.
Then there is Pogba and Morrison who went all wrong although Pogba for a stint was incredible.
Social media makes it harder and harder for young guys to break through. Quick to build them and even more quick to knock them down.
10 Sep 2024 15:35:49
Some players mature early and don't get much better. Also, when a young player springs onto the scene, they're an unknown quantity but teams quickly learn their tendencies and how to defend against them, stifling their creativity and skills, which means the player has to both rise to the next level and have a good team around them that can take advantage of the defensive posture somewhere else on the field. We simply cannot rely on the likes of Mainoo, Garnacho and other kids to do it all by themselves week after week. They will burn out.
10 Sep 2024 18:31:56
Totally agree Shawthing I worry our top youngsters will burn out because they don't have enough quality and mentally tough older players to bed them in slowly and teach them how to have a long successful career reaching their full potential. Fergie did it with hsi youngsters resting them when nec and Pep has done the same with Foden.
10 Sep 2024 21:29:46
Yep. souness spring to mind, I mean mainoo is 19.