U21s: United vs. Spurs

gooDevil

Worst scout ever
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Oct 2, 2008
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VS
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Barclays Under 21 Premier League Elite Group
Kick off: Monday, 15 April, 7:00 PM BST
Location: Salford City Stadium, Barton-upon-Irwell, Eccles, Salford


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BARCLAYS UNDER-21 PREMIER LEAGUE ELITE GROUP
Code: 
| TEAMS                  | Games | Won | Draw | Loss | GF  | GA  | Points |
[COLOR="Green"]
| TOTTENHAM              |  11   |  8  |  2   |  1   | 33  | 14  |  26    |
[B]| MANCHESTER UNITED      |  10   |  5  |  3   |  2   | 13  |  8  |  18    |[/B]
| LIVERPOOL              |  10   |  5  |  2   |  3   | 16  | 15  |  17    |[/COLOR]
| SOUTHAMPTON            |  11   |  4  |  3   |  4   | 13  | 13  |  15    |
| WEST HAM               |  10   |  2  |  4   |  4   | 12  | 13  |  10    |
| ARSENAL                |  10   |  2  |  4   |  4   | 15  | 18  |  10    |
| WOLVERHAMPTON          |  10   |  2  |  3   |  5   | 13  | 20  |   9    |
| WEST BROM              |  10   |  1  |  3   |  6   |  6  | 20  |   6    |
 
Did an exam this morning, so revision up until 7pm will be great :) Great post-revision wind-down.
 
I wish Cofie was starting, or another striker at least. Having Januzaj so far up would limit a lot of his qualities.
 
Not the prettiest line-up I've ever seen, it has to be said. Three DMs - one of whom is really a defender - and no proper striker. I'd rather drop Veseli and put Tunnicliffe where he belongs alongside Charni, then give Lawrence a start in the hole.

Also, a slight query - is it not more likely to be Thorpe at CDM and Veseli at CB? I don't keep up with the U21s as religiously as the U18s but I'm sure I've seen Thorpe in midfield more often than Freddie.
 
Brightonian said:
Not the prettiest line-up I've ever seen, it has to be said. Three DMs - one of whom is really a defender - and no proper striker. I'd rather drop Veseli and put Tunnicliffe where he belongs alongside Charni, then give Lawrence a start in the hole.

Also, a slight query - is it not more likely to be Thorpe at CDM and Veseli at CB? I don't keep up with the U21s as religiously as the U18s but I'm sure I've seen Thorpe in midfield more often than Freddie.
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This could well be, Thorpe has indeed played more in CM than Veseli. But Veseli has played in CM more recently so I thought that trend might continue. Plus Thorpe-Fornasier is our best CB pairing, and Spurs are top of the table.
 
So yet again no striker and it looks like defender Veseli is in midfield.

Fair enough a few games without a natural striker would benefit the attacking midfielders sharing the responsibilities with them playing in different roles, however 4 months and nearly 10 games later and their still at it and it makes you wonder what the coaches are thinking. Especially since we have an 18 year old striker out on loan who cant get a game (Henriquez) and an in-form striker for the 18s (Byrne) who hasn't kicked a ball for the reserves so far but will be too old for 18s next season.

Also it's not as if Byrne isn't physically developed yet either, as he is one of the biggest in the 18s. It just seems the coaches don't trust him or some of the others yet. Next year a whole group are going to be moved up in the summer and barely any bar Januzaj have had u21 experience. Unfortunately I can see a lot of the promising 18s talents struggling and falling by the way side with he step up next season, much like the previously promising Blackett, Mcullocgh and Lawrence have struggled this this year. I believe the lack of previous u21 level experience hindered the performances of these 3 this year and I really hope the same doesn't happen with next years group.

Obviously who the hell am I to say whether we are doing it the right way or the wrong way but it is evident that in the last couple of years we have become very slow to give younger players games at a higher age group level, especially compared to some of the other top academies in the country and abroad.

Anyway its going to be a tough game tonight regardless of personnel, as Spurs have beat us easily the previous two times we have played them.
 
Is Powell injured or is he involved with the first team instead?
 
SkeppyRed said:
So yet again no striker and it looks like defender Veseli is in midfield.

Fair enough a few games without a natural striker would benefit the attacking midfielders sharing the responsibilities with them playing in different roles, however 4 months and nearly 10 games later and their still at it and it makes you wonder what the coaches are thinking. Especially since we have an 18 year old striker out on loan who cant get a game (Henriquez) and an in-form striker for the 18s (Byrne) who hasn't kicked a ball for the reserves so far but will be too old for 18s next season.

Also it's not as if Byrne isn't physically developed yet either, as he is one of the biggest in the 18s. It just seems the coaches don't trust him or some of the others yet. Next year a whole group are going to be moved up in the summer and barely any bar Januzaj have had u21 experience. Unfortunately I can see a lot of the promising 18s talents struggling and falling by the way side with he step up next season, much like the previously promising Blackett, Mcullocgh and Lawrence have struggled this this year. I believe the lack of previous u21 level experience hindered the performances of these 3 this year and I really hope the same doesn't happen with next years group.

Obviously who the hell am I to say whether we are doing it the right way or the wrong way but it is evident that in the last couple of years we have become very slow to give younger players games at a higher age group level, especially compared to some of the other top academies in the country and abroad.

Anyway its going to be a tough game tonight regardless of personnel, as Spurs have beat us easily the previous two times we have played them.
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Its been going on for a couple of years now. I remember Van Velzen playing up top on his own for an extended period. As you say, its all about development...
 
Someone look up a photo of Spurs-winger Kenneth McEvoy. He looks EXACTLY like Gareth Bale. It's scary....
 
Wow, this pitch is huge compared to the old one! It will certainly make a difference in how the team plays football, it has to!

What do you guys think, will a bigger pitch help or hinder development in this age group?
 
Can't understand why Tunnicliffe is the one playing in the creative attacking midfielder role when we have Januzaj, Lingard and Cole on the pitch.
 
SkeppyRed said:
Can't understand why Tunnicliffe is the one playing in the creative attacking midfielder role when we have Januzaj, Lingard and Cole on the pitch.
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I don't mind a player or two playing out of position, but when half the team is playing that way it seems to hurt our offense. When you get a defender in midfield, which pushes a central midfielder into attack, which pushes an attacking midfielder onto the wing, well, that starts to seem counterproductive to me.

Should have scored there, Lingard does well to make the space for a shot.
 
Januzaj takes a curling left footed shot from outside the box, hits the bar on the back of the goal-frame after going just above the top left corner of the net.
 
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