Tahith Chong

[limerickcitykid]

Quotes about that?

I'm at work so can't search too much and its harder to find old stuff since all search results just show up the recent articles. There was an interview once where he was praised because he just wanted to play football and didn't have a fancy haircut. I'm sure it's somewhere in his old youth thread which I can't find. From a quick search:



"He's got so much ability, he's got a great attitude too. He can be anything he wants to be. He's that good, he's got that chance" Michael Carrick

"He's grown up a certain way and I think he has had a tremendous education over in Belgium. He's come over here with good technique and is desperate to be a footballer as well so he's got a lot of things going for him." - Joyce

 

[Varun]

In a couple years time everyone will forget about him, and will be opening threads about the next big thing, while Chong will be plying his trade in some shady league in Malaysia or Vietnam.

Continue this level of posting and you won't be around to post in those threads.

 

[Raees]

You are talking about the two greatest talents to play the game, there are plenty more Walcott's, Rodwell's and Vaughns.

Fergie always used to use youth but not throw them in deep so they'd have their confidence destroyed.

I would add the modern game is less physically damaging now than previously. I'd be happy for Chong/Gomes to start coming on last twenty/thirty of won games etc. See how they cope, see if they need a loan etc.

They just happen to be shit footballers. I don't think playing them at a young age was neither here nor there.

For me if you're good enough, you should be allowed to play rather than languishing in reserve football. That way, a manager can quickly ascertain if this player is worth investing in and has the mentality to handle first team football, and if answer is yes.. the being careful with minutes etc, is still relevant but at least you are aware of how good the player is and that player also knows he has a future there, has had a taste of first team football and will hopefully be motivated to break into the side as a regular.

If the player is unable to handle the step up, or the game gets to his head etc - see Januzaj.. then you get rid. Fair enough - we gave him a fair shot and he failed to grab it with both hands and he's moved on. Better to do that, rather than wait and wait and then player comes through and he isn't all that.. he's wasted years in reserves.

 

[KM]

I'm at work so can't search too much and its harder to find old stuff since all search results just show up the recent articles. There was an interview once where he was praised because he just wanted to play football and didn't have a fancy haircut. I'm sure it's somewhere in his old youth thread which I can't find. From a quick search:



"He's got so much ability, he's got a great attitude too. He can be anything he wants to be. He's that good, he's got that chance" Michael Carrick

"He's grown up a certain way and I think he has had a tremendous education over in Belgium. He's come over here with good technique and is desperate to be a footballer as well so he's got a lot of things going for him." - Joyce

The tweet you quoted actually implies that his attitude needs work.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

The tweet you quoted actually implies that his attitude needs work.

The McGuinness quote is from 2017, when his career was already going south. I don’t remember anything but positivity about him when he was the age that Chong is now.

 

[limerickcitykid]

The tweet you quoted actually implies that his attitude needs work.

It is but it's also about older Adnan not about Adnan at 17. Paul also says for us to adjust our attitudes not Adnan. So he is also backing him up and saying all the criticism isn't fair. If he had such an awful attitude then his former coach wouldn't be sticking up for him.

McGuinness has always spoke highly of Adnan. I'm fairly sure it was him who spoke of him having such a great attitude and not caring about hairstyles.

 

[Number1]

I know it's a lazy comparison (with hair) but reminds me a lot of Ruud Gullit, tall/skillful/good technique/dynamic.

Fingers crossed he develops how we all hope.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

They just happen to be shit footballers. I don't think playing them at a young age was neither here nor there.

For me if you're good enough, you should be allowed to play rather than languishing in reserve football. That way, a manager can quickly ascertain if this player is worth investing in and has the mentality to handle first team football, and if answer is yes.. the being careful with minutes etc, is still relevant but at least you are aware of how good the player is and that player also knows he has a future there, has had a taste of first team football and will hopefully be motivated to break into the side as a regular.

If the player is unable to handle the step up, or the game gets to his head etc - see Januzaj.. then you get rid. Fair enough - we gave him a fair shot and he failed to grab it with both hands and he's moved on. Better to do that, rather than wait and wait and then player comes through and he isn't all that.. he's wasted years in reserves.

If the player isn’t yet ready for step up - for whatever reason - that’s not a “fair shot” that’s potentially ruining his career.

 

[DrRodo]

Great hair. Best since possebon

 

[Raees]

If the player isn’t yet ready for step up - for whatever reason - that’s not a “fair shot” that’s potentially ruining his career.

I'm not saying with every player you push them into first team football - but if they for example are finding reserve football too easy, then next step generally is loan and if they excel there then the next step is first team football.

I don't see why players should be held back until 21 before getting a taste of first team football (even on loan) - for me that is too slow and it stunts a lot of careers to be overly patient especially if they have shown they can easily handle youth or reserve football. You've got to keep challenging them.

Fwiw I don't think we did ruin Januzaj .. he just wasn't as good as we all thought he was. It happens. It's not always a case of we could have done this better or that.. he had his chance, he had countless loans and still wasn't setting World on fire. Adios.

Move on to the next talents on the conveyor belt. There is no perfect formula for integrating youth talent into first team football, the best footballers tend to have just made it at quite a young age into the first team.

That is why just giving young players a shot to prove themselves is probably more conducive to creating more talents who can play on big stages than just sitting and waiting until you're 100% sure they can mentally and physically handle grown up football. By that stage you've held their hand for too long in most instances.

 

[Rozay]

I think he’s better, or at least as good as Gomes. I think Gomes is getting fast-tracked a bit quicker as he is a bit more symbolic for our academy setup. There are a lot of eyes on how we develop him, especially now England won the WC and the inquest has begun into how those players will get chances.

Hudson-Odoi, Brewster and Foden have also both been involved this season, and if we were the only club not to play our one, it would not do well for our high-horse we like to sit on in such debates.

 

[KM]

I think he’s better, or at least as good as Gomes. I think Gomes is getting fast-tracked a bit quicker as he is a bit more symbolic for our academy setup. There are a lot of eyes on how we develop him, especially now England won the WC and the inquest has begun into how those players will get chances.

Hudson-Odoi, Brewster and Foden have also both been involved this season, and if we were the only club not to play our one, it would not do well for our high-horse we like to sit on in such debates.

This is a very stupid reason for us to play Gomes.

 

[RedEM10]

I had a dream recently, he ripped some team apart when making his first start. Random as feck but it must have been the night I watched the clips V spurs and went to bed

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I think he’s better, or at least as good as Gomes. I think Gomes is getting fast-tracked a bit quicker as he is a bit more symbolic for our academy setup. There are a lot of eyes on how we develop him, especially now England won the WC and the inquest has begun into how those players will get chances.

Hudson-Odoi, Brewster and Foden have also both been involved this season, and if we were the only club not to play our one, it would not do well for our high-horse we like to sit on in such debates.

So long as McTominay and Rashford keep getting games for our first team - while their equivalents at Chelsea/City don’t - then we can happily remain sitting on our high horse, thanks very much.

Re the other kids you mention, have they really been involved all that much more than Gomes?

 

[KM]

So long as McTominay and Rashford keep getting games for our first team - while their equivalents at Chelsea/City don’t - then we can happily remain sitting on our high horse, thanks very much.

Re the other kids you mention, have they really been involved all that much more than Gomes?

Nope. Hudson-Odoi was actually made his appearance for Chelsea this season after Gomes made his appearance for us(in the FA Cup)

 

[Brightonian]

So long as McTominay and Rashford keep getting games for our first team - while their equivalents at Chelsea/City don’t - then we can happily remain sitting on our high horse, thanks very much.

Re the other kids you mention, have they really been involved all that much more than Gomes?

Only Foden has. And it's just easier to do it when the team are walking all over all their opponents.

Also don't forget Lingard - he's not a youngster, but is an academy product, and should therefore count towards the aforementioned high horse.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Only Foden has. And it's just easier to do it when the team are walking all over all their opponents.

Also don't forget Lingard - he's not a youngster, but is an academy product, and should therefore count towards the aforementioned high horse.

Good point!

 

[TheFlagStaysDown]

He looks good alright but let’s not get carried away. James Wilson looked similarly fantastic at about the same point in his career.

It's about the attitude and luck for injuries now for Chong but he looks very hungry after the injury. And considering James Wilson, he has maybe finishing over Chong, but he never possessed the natural skill Chong has, including the close control dribbling. The acceleration and and agility and body covering and mostly aggression speaks for Chong too.

Wilson was too hyped up, would come good if he worked on his weaknesses. Never really understood how poor his stamina and heading for instance are..

 

[NickyT]

So long as McTominay and Rashford keep getting games for our first team - while their equivalents at Chelsea/City don’t - then we can happily remain sitting on our high horse, thanks very much.

Re the other kids you mention, have they really been involved all that much more than Gomes?

I think if you look at it in terms of involvement with the first team, especially since the world cup, its a clear yes. Callum has been involved in a number of matchday squads, same goes for Foden who would have probably featured more if it wasn't for injury, and that's involvement in all competitions. As for Gomes seems like he's only getting a looking in the FA cup, and I'd hate for that to be down to a clause in his contract rather than Mourinho actually wanting to involve him.

 

[mat85]

So long as McTominay and Rashford keep getting games for our first team - while their equivalents at Chelsea/City don’t - then we can happily remain sitting on our high horse, thanks very much.

Re the other kids you mention, have they really been involved all that much more than Gomes?

Rashford hasn't started a Premier League match since the 2-2 draw against Burnley on December 26 and with the January arrival of Alexis Sanchez, the England international has subsequently been limited to 19 minutes of league football.

Obviously still better than Chelsea, but we have relegated him one slot with the addition of sanchez

 

[mat85]

That's the long way of saying no.

Yes, i don't think that would be anyones translation of the question

 

[RedSky]

Rashford hasn't started a Premier League match since the 2-2 draw against Burnley on December 26 and with the January arrival of Alexis Sanchez, the England international has subsequently been limited to 19 minutes of league football.

Obviously still better than Chelsea, but we have relegated him one slot with the addition of sanchez

I'd whisper that unless you want a crowd of angry caftards with pitchforks calling you Jamie Redknapp wannabe.

 

[roonster09]

Rashford hasn't started a Premier League match since the 2-2 draw against Burnley on December 26 and with the January arrival of Alexis Sanchez, the England international has subsequently been limited to 19 minutes of league football.

Obviously still better than Chelsea, but we have relegated him one slot with the addition of sanchez

That's an amazing spin. Since Sanchez was signed we played 3 league games and Rashford was injured for one of it. He was about to come on as a sub and one of our midfielder who came on as a sub got injured.

 

[KM]

I think if you look at it in terms of involvement with the first team, especially since the world cup, its a clear yes. Callum has been involved in a number of matchday squads, same goes for Foden who would have probably featured more if it wasn't for injury, and that's involvement in all competitions. As for Gomes seems like he's only getting a looking in the FA cup, and I'd hate for that to be down to a clause in his contract rather than Mourinho actually wanting to involve him.

Do you really think that there's an actual clause in his new contract which compels Mourinho to pick him up?

Has this place gone absolutely insane.

 

[mat85]

That's an amazing spin. Since Sanchez was signed we played 3 league games and Rashford was injured for one of it. He was about to come on as a sub and one of our midfielder who came on as a sub got injured.

Yeah, i appreciate he was injured, bit given the amount he has played since Decemeber as stated, the addition of sanchez wouldn't seem to benefit his cause

 

[KM]

This is the reason why some players are picking City and Chelsea over us, because we don't promise gametime to anyone while they do.

I don't think even City and Chelsea are gonna put in a guaranteed gametime in any youth player's clause.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Rashford hasn't started a Premier League match since the 2-2 draw against Burnley on December 26 and with the January arrival of Alexis Sanchez, the England international has subsequently been limited to 19 minutes of league football.

Obviously still better than Chelsea, but we have relegated him one slot with the addition of sanchez

Nothing to with the very obvious drop in form that predated the Sanchez signing, then?

You'll note that Sanchez didn't join us until almost a month after Rashford's last PL start.

 

[Rozay]

So long as McTominay and Rashford keep getting games for our first team - while their equivalents at Chelsea/City don’t - then we can happily remain sitting on our high horse, thanks very much.

Re the other kids you mention, have they really been involved all that much more than Gomes?

Re the other kids I mentioned, my point isn’t about them playing more than Gomes. My point was that it would have attracted criticism if they were featuring more than Gomes - as it will show other clubs are trying to integrate their WC-winning prospects more than us. Given the coverage and conversation that rose in the aftermath of the WC with managers like Conte and Pep even addressing it in press conferences about how these players would get a chance - it wouldn’t look good on us if the squad’s captain didn’t get into any matchday groups. Especially as Chelsea and City have drawn criticism for not playing these kids.

My point is, I think the integration Gomes has gotten recently is due to a combination of his ability and a mild undertone of political pressure to do so. Around the time of the WC we still had a debate about his contract, with First-team integration obviously being the main topic. His profile was bigger than normal, articles getting written about him, and the WC win added to this. He has manoeuvred into a position of ‘the chosen one’ in our academy for various reasons - reasons that don’t apply to Tahith Chong. That’s all I meant, I think Chong is at least an equal talent to Gomes, if not better, and I think the reasons Gomes is ahead in first team integration is partly for the reasons I mentioned.

 

[roonster09]

Yeah, i appreciate he was injured, bit given the amount he has played since Decemeber as stated, the addition of sanchez wouldn't seem to benefit his cause

His form dropped much before Sanchez was signed.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Re the other kids I mentioned, my point isn’t about them playing more than Gomes. My point was that it would have attracted criticism if they were featuring more than Gomes - as it will show other clubs are trying to integrate their WC-winning prospects more than us. Given the coverage and conversation that rose in the aftermath of the WC with managers like Conte and Pep even addressing it in press conferences about how these players would get a chance - it wouldn’t look good on us if the squad’s captain didn’t get into any matchday groups. Especially as Chelsea and City have drawn criticism for not playing these kids.

My point is, I think the integration Gomes has gotten recently is due to a combination of his ability and a mild undertone of political pressure to do so. Around the time of the WC we still had a debate about his contract, with First-team integration obviously being the main topic. His profile was bigger than normal, articles getting written about him, and the WC win added to this. He has manoeuvred into a position of ‘the chosen one’ in our academy for various reasons - reasons that don’t apply to Tahith Chong. That’s all I meant, I think Chong is at least an equal talent to Gomes, if not better, and I think the reasons Gomes is ahead in first team integration is partly for the reasons I mentioned.

That sounds far too much like a conspiracy theory tbh. Gomes has been talked about in absolutely glowing terms going back a long long time so it's not a big surprise that he's been anointed as "the chosen one" with the exposure and first team involvement you'd expect as a result. Chong's injury was obviously stopped him from competing with Gomes for that crown but he seems to be coming up the rails nicely in the last few months.

You can't ignore the significance of that injury, though. He's even being kept out of certain games because the coaches are worried about him playing on a particular surface. Stands to reason that they're in no great rush to stick on a pitch with a bunch of fully grown men. I don't think he's being held back because of any political agenda. He's obviously just deemed not quite ready yet. I'm sure that can change between now and the end of the season though.

 

[Rozay]

That sounds far too much like a conspiracy theory tbh. Gomes has been talked about in absolutely glowing terms going back a long long time so it's not a big surprise that he's been anointed as "the chosen one" with the exposure and first team involvement you'd expect as a result. Chong's injury was obviously stopped him from competing with Gomes for that crown but he seems to be coming up the rails nicely in the last few months.

You can't ignore the significance of that injury, though. He's even being kept out of certain games because the coaches are worried about him playing on a particular surface. Stands to reason that they're in no great rush to stick on a pitch with a bunch of fully grown men. I don't think he's being held back because of any political agenda. He's obviously just deemed not quite ready yet. I'm sure that can change between now and the end of the season though.

Hmm. I don’t doubt that Gomes is a great prospect or anything. And yes, he’s been raved about for years, as has Chong, but on the continent as he wasn’t at United.

I don’t think that it’s unusual that Gomes makes it in the first team. I do think it is unusual for Mourinho especially to be playing him at 16 or 17 though - that is not down to natural progression because he’s really good. We don’t exactly need him in the first team now either. With someone like Rashford, there was at least a need in the team at the time. If he were 19 or so, after outgrowing the reserves, I’d think it more natural, but as it is, he has been fairly average since stepping up to the 23s, unlike Chong who has been our best player in every game he’s played.

I think Gomes has been picked as he ‘embodies what United are about’ and all that stuff, to showcase our academy. What you have said about Chong’s recovery is fair. He has been even better since coming back, but nothing wrong with pacing it. I just don’t think Gomes would be making first team appearances at 17, under Jose no less, if he were foreign and signed from abroad, unless we had cornered ourselves into a Pogba-like contract situation, which may have even been a recent factor with Gomes anyway. It’s unusually early, and not even down to an injury crisis. And he hasn’t been great for the 23s yet. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all of our rivals are also integrating English 17 year olds at the same time either. It’s not like that’s the norm, or they haven’t had talented Englishmen in recent years who have gotten different treatment.

 

[yumtum]

He's the reason Fellaini is leaving, imagine training with this lad every day, and his magnificent hair.

 

[Buchan]

Chong is such an exciting talent. Playing very well v Liverpool in the u18s Champions League right now.

 

[Adnan]

He looks good alright but let’s not get carried away. James Wilson looked similarly fantastic at about the same point in his career.

Wilson was pretty much all pace, and to this day I never saw what all the fuss was about..

 

[Rozay]

Wilson was pretty much all pace, and to this day I never saw what all he fuss was about..

He was an excellent finisher.

 

[AltiUn]

What I'm really liking about Chong is that he seems very comfortable going inside and outside when on the wing, he's so direct too; barely ever see him mess around with it. Constantly wanting the ball and trying to get involved, I think he's got a real shot of making it here, strikes me as a player Mourinho would really like.

 

[Paxi]

He was an excellent finisher.

And so was Macheda. Iirc he was ripping up in our youth teams.

Anyway, Chong looks a great talent but what position do people see him in the future?

Seems to me like a attacking mid more than a winger to me.

 

[Rozay]

And so was Macheda. Iirc he was ripping up in our youth teams.

Anyway, Chong looks a great talent but what position do people see him in the future?

Seems to me like a attacking mid more than a winger to me.

Wilson also had great close control. It was not uncommon for him to pick the ball up 40-50 yards out and run through a few defenders and score.

I remember one against Burnley away like that I think, and it wasn’t the only. He was poor when given a chance though.

 

[Paxi]

Wilson also had great close control. It was not uncommon for him to pick the ball up 40-50 yards out and run through a few defenders and score.

I remember one against Burnley away like that I think, and it wasn’t the only. He was poor when given a chance though.

It's hard to predict at the end of the day. I mean who really thought Harry Kane would become the best n9 in the world when he couldn't get playing for various teams that he went on loan to. I practically stopped getting too excited about young talents. Only one for me now is that Fulham kid. He looks the bollocks.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

And so was Macheda. Iirc he was ripping up in our youth teams.

Anyway, Chong looks a great talent but what position do people see him in the future?

Seems to me like a attacking mid more than a winger to me.

Looks like a proper old school winger to me. Shades of Andre Kanchielskis. Hopefully they’ll have come back in fashion again by the time he’s a first team regular!