Reserves v Altrincham

Mr. MUJAC

Manchester United Youth Historian
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Sep 19, 2005
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Walter Crickmer started it all...
United defeated Altrincham 2-0 at Moss Lane this evening.

Team:

1. Johnstone
2. S. Barnes
3. L. Barnes
4. Cathcart
5. Gill
6. Brady - scored on '30
7. Norwood
8. Morrison
9. Keane
10. Eikrem
11. Ajose

12. Fryers (11) HT
13. Devlin (1) HT
14. Possebon (10) HT
15. Lingard (8) '16
16. Dudgeon (3) '65 - scored on '75
17. Wootton (5) HT

I do not know who the two Barnes' lads are who played at fullback.

Interestingly Josh King was not in the squad?
 
Wonder if the S. Barnes is the Sam(?) Barnes from Stockport County who we were linked to when Ole praised him after the MSC game earlier in the year.
 
That Sam Barnes happens to have a twin brother called Louis, also at Stockport...
 
Wonder if the S. Barnes is the Sam(?) Barnes from Stockport County who we were linked to when Ole praised him after the MSC game earlier in the year.

I think you're right. He has a twin brother..

'Sam Barnes (born 16 October 1991 in Liverpool, United Kingdom) is a footballer playing for Stockport County. He made his Stockport County debut on 17 April 2010 in the Football League One clash with Leyton Orient which ended in a 2–0 loss.[1]

A former Liverpool schoolboys player, he first played for the Stockport County Under 18 team whilst still at school. His twin brother Louis Barnes is also part of the Under 18 side and was along with Sam given squad numbers for the first team in the 2009/10 season.'
 
No, I am away working but received updates from someone who went.

The Barnes' lads are either on trial or just filling in I guess

Looks as though the links to their profiles have been removed from the Stockport County site.
 
Looks as though the links to their profiles have been removed from the Stockport County site.


Could simply be a mistake - I remember the newspapers made a big deal of the fact that Fabien Delphs link was removed from the Leeds homepage - and true eventually he was sold - but that was like 8 months later as I recall.

Having said that - Sam Barnes' performance against United in MSC is one of the more majestic I have seen against United. He single-handedly kept us at bay for almost the entire game
 
No, I am away working but received updates from someone who went.

The Barnes' lads are either on trial or just filling in I guess

Well they were hardly filling in when we had, Fryers, Dudgeon and Wootton on the bench. So I think we can safely say we were 'taking a closer look' at them :)
 
IMO we don't have loads of really promising young defenders. Chester and Cathcart look like being Championship players, despite early promise from both, especially Cathcart. Wootton and Gill are both tall and tough, but neither are great footballers. Gill has really improved but I can't see him being a top level player. Wootton seems like a bit of a meathead really. Added to that, I've yet to see anything special from Massacci, McGinty or Fornasier (though haven't really seen enough of them to judge properly). Dudgeon looks decent, but not amazing.

The exception is Thorpe, who looks really promising.
 
Mind you, here's a thought. I didn't really notice Jonny Evans much till he came through to the first team. On the other hand, I remember being very impressed by Shawcross (ok, doing pretty well) and McShane (hmm).
 
I quite like Fornasier, I thought him and Thorpe were our best pairing. McGinty has been unconvincing so far for me, looks a bit gangly and clumsy. Blackett has done quite well so far.

Wootton is actually a pretty good footballer, he looked surprisingly composed and adroit on the ball when playing in midfield for the Academy last season.
 
I quite like Fornasier, I thought him and Thorpe were our best pairing. McGinty has been unconvincing so far for me, looks a bit gangly and clumsy. Blackett has done quite well so far.

Wootton is actually a pretty good footballer, he looked surprisingly composed and adroit on the ball when playing in midfield for the Academy last season.

The "problem" with defenders is that they require other skills than the one you notice at first sight. Gary Neville is one of the least talented footballers United have had in the first 11 the last 20 years - but his will to win, determination, willing to learn and football intelligence got him further than the rest.

I remember watching Michael Mifsud tearing Gerard Pique to shreds in the league cup - after that game I almost gave up Pique.

Reece Brown has potential - in terms of physical attributes he is probably the best we have. But he has a lot to learn defensively.

Tom Thorpe is my favourite - could be quicker, but he reads the play so well - and always positions himself correctly. Strong in the tackle - good in the air

Tyler Blackett - I have only seen a couple of times - but he impressed me. Very quick, tall, good going forward - showed in the Milk Cup that he can really hit the ball. Yet to see him properly tested defensively though

Oliver Gill - he has taken giant leaps the last 12 months - he was ridiculed in the academy but was rock solid for the reserves. He shouldn't be good enough - but he shouldnt have been good enough for the reserves either. He could do much better than I believe simply because of his ability to rise to the occation

Scott Wootton - to me he looks almost better in a defensive midfield position than in defense. Surprisingly decent with the ball. Wouldnt rule him out yet.

Alberto Massacci - seen very little of him - but he looks really strong offensively - slightly weaker defensively

Michele Fornasier - he hasn't impressed me that much and I don't quite see what the fuss is about. He isn't very quick, not very tall - not very good with the ball - a solid all-round defender and very little else.

Sean McGinty - I don't like his lack of pace - everything else is solid. He has a very good left foot - good in the air, strong as an ox - but the pace ?
 
The thing with defenders is you have to be exceptional as we're strong there with Rio fit most weeks (hopefully). Out of those listed one would be lucky to make it and then in 2/3 years time you can probably add a name or three to the list

The fullback sitation is very strong too with o'shea, evra, rafael, brown, fabio..even fletcher if needed. So I think the lack of 'quality' perhaps is ok for now