U18s vs Newcastle

[Lost bear]

Highlights for anybody interested

That’s an interesting watch. Thanks.

 

[In Rainbows]

Fitzgerald was quality again. Probably the best player of the match. Thought Devaney was good defensively, but was involved a little less than Fitzgerald in possession, and was slightly more limited with the ball than Fitzgerald. Was a good performance from him though.

Fletcher was decent. Had a few over the top balls that didn't reach a man, but in and around the box was quality in combining with his teammates.

Amass was quality. Was really good in possession and helped quell the opposition press by being able to bring the ball up and having defenders focus on stopping him.

Missin had a good goal, but probably less influential outside of that. Thought Williams was more influential in possession, but did mess up a few chances.

In my opinion - the only concern I see with this team is that they are not good enough in attack. Which may seem like a strange to say when we score goals for fun....but that's mainly down to everyone in the team contributing. But in a team that dominates so much of the gameplay - it is a bit of a concern that the 3 players we have used as strikers have scored 11 goals combined in 11 matches - and I think 3 of those goals coming from penalties. And to be honest, neither Biancheri, Musa or Wheatley have really impressed me this season. Musa is good at his hold-up play - but he is never in the box to score goals. Biancheri is a bit of the opposite, he looks dangerous in the box but his allround-play is not quite up there, and that is the reason why I think he has been given so few chances.

Imagine this team with a quality striker up front......like a young Greenwood

Yeah, none of our strikers are all that great. They're decent, like Mellor, Ramazani, or Hoogewerf. To make it at United, you need to be a level above that.

I'm a big fan of Williams, he's the one I have high hopes for up front. I do like Biancheri though, bit of a throwback in a way.

I like Williams too, but the standard for a forward at United seems too high a standard for Williams to break through. Then again, maybe he pulls a Rashford, who didn't have a great goal scoring record for the u18s until he was 18 years old. However, when comparing him to Greenwood, Keane, Wilson, Garnacho, etc... his numbers are not that great.

He's not been a striker like Greenwood, Keane, or Wilson, but I feel like he's less influential in attack compared to other attacking midfielders we've had at least when comparing similar ages.

I don't want to seem negative in regards to this player. As with all players I discuss in our youth ranks, I always make sure not to completely write them off. Lingard, McTominay, and Michael Keane have had good first division careers and I wasn't too high on them. Lingard was a small guy, hence why I treat Missin the same way now. He could develop later than others due to his small stature. On the other hand, I was wrong about Tom Thorpe. So yeah, my opinion means nothing obviously.

It's difficult to predict who will make it or not. As long as the player and club continue to believe in each other, it's possible they make a jump and become a first division player.

I made this post 2015/16 table that I will update from time to time. I need to include Elanga for example.

 

[sglowrider]

It really feels like the academy is firing on all cylinders at the moment. Really hope injuries don't decimate this generation like they've done with recent ones and the likes of Lacey, Fletcher, Harrison and Ibragimov could save us tens of millions.

Got to give Murtough his dues.

 

[lysglimt]

Fitzgerald was quality again. Probably the best player of the match. Thought Devaney was good defensively, but was involved a little less than Fitzgerald in possession, and was slightly more limited with the ball than Fitzgerald. Was a good performance from him though.

Superb stats - thanks. But Devaney was the best player on the pitch yesterday - he was the reason we boxed Newcastle in for long periods. His ability to win the ball back was insane. And guess who the player was that won the ball back just outside the box prior to Williams' first goal ? Yep that was Delaney again. As soon as Devaney left the pitch - we lost control of the game.

 

[Thiagoal]

In my opinion - the only concern I see with this team is that they are not good enough in attack. Which may seem like a strange to say when we score goals for fun....but that's mainly down to everyone in the team contributing. But in a team that dominates so much of the gameplay - it is a bit of a concern that the 3 players we have used as strikers have scored 11 goals combined in 11 matches - and I think 3 of those goals coming from penalties. And to be honest, neither Biancheri, Musa or Wheatley have really impressed me this season. Musa is good at his hold-up play - but he is never in the box to score goals. Biancheri is a bit of the opposite, he looks dangerous in the box but his allround-play is not quite up there, and that is the reason why I think he has been given so few chances.

Imagine this team with a quality striker up front......like a young Greenwood

I suspect Ibragimov will be the answer very soon

 

[In Rainbows]

Superb stats - thanks. But Devaney was the best player on the pitch yesterday - he was the reason we boxed Newcastle in for long periods. His ability to win the ball back was insane. And guess who the player was that won the ball back just outside the box prior to Williams' first goal ? Yep that was Delaney again. As soon as Devaney left the pitch - we lost control of the game.

Don't get me wrong, I thought Devaney was great. I just think Fitzgerald on the ball sets the tempo really well, picking and choosing when to slow things down, when to dribble, and combine with others. Although he didn't win as many balls back, he does do his job defensively to get back. Apart from the goal, he could have also bagged an assist to Williams.