Under 18 player of the year

jb8521

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Joined
Oct 6, 2007
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Unlike the senior and under 21 player of the year their is no official voting for the under 18 player of the year and its decided by the coaches but who would people have as their top 3 for player of the year for the under 18s? For me it would be
1. Tuanzebe
2. Fosu Mensah
3. Rashford
Although I've also been very impressed by the development of Gribbin, Reid and Williams.
 
1. Tuanzebe
2. TFM
3. Rashford
4. Williams
5. Gribbin
6. Riley
7. Reid
8. Borthwick-Jackson
9. Henderson
 
Further proof of how underrated CBJ is. He's been our second best defender this season, the amount of times he's bailed out Williams (who's very promising but for now gets caught out of position quite a bit), and to a lesser extent Tuanzebe, is staggering. He's also done a decent job going forward, though his ability on the ball shone even brighter in the DM position he occupied early in the season. He's such a mature, well-rounded young player and I rate him as highly as any member of this year's team.

1. Tuanzebe
2. BJ
3. The Fookin' Man
 
EllIott said:
Further proof of how underrated CBJ is. He's been our second best defender this season, the amount of times he's bailed out Williams (who's very promising but for now gets caught out of position quite a bit), and to a lesser extent Tuanzebe, is staggering. He's also done a decent job going forward, though his ability on the ball shone even brighter in the DM position he occupied early in the season. He's such a mature, well-rounded young player and I rate him as highly as any member of this year's team.

1. Tuanzebe
2. BJ
3. The Fookin' Man
Click to expand...
Personally I don't think he has enough going forward to be much of a prospect at left back and don't think he's strong enough or aggressive enough as a cb, he's similar to Blackett in that hes probably looked best on the left side of a back 3 but we don't play that very often
 
1. Fosu Mensah
2. Tuanzebe
3. Williams
4. Rashford
5. Gribbin

To be fair it's difficult to highlight any of our u18 defenders without mentioning all of them. I think CBJ and Reid have done really well too. Surely one or two of them will make it all the way?
 
Tuanzebe has been our best player IMO. Looks really, really promising.
 
jb8521 said:
Personally I don't think he has enough going forward to be much of a prospect at left back and don't think he's strong enough or aggressive enough as a cb, he's similar to Blackett in that hes probably looked best on the left side of a back 3 but we don't play that very often
Click to expand...

I guess we finally disagree on something.

I don't see him as a long-term LB either, but I think he's a brilliant prospect centrally. Sure, like plenty of u18s he needs to fill out, but he's got the frame, and I quite prefer players whose physique develops in tandem with their game to the likes of Janko and Reid, who have a big advantage at lower levels which decreases with every step up. And I don't think BJ lacks aggression, he's calm and proactive, but he gets stuck in when he needs to. Making a positional comparison to Blackett is fair enough, but apart from that they're nothing alike. BJ's awareness and decision-making are two of his main assets, and in many ways that makes him the anti-Blackett.
 
Elliott said:
I guess we finally disagree on something.

I don't see him as a long-term LB either, but I think he's a brilliant prospect centrally. Sure, like plenty of u18s he needs to fill out, but he's got the frame, and I quite prefer players whose physique develops in tandem with their game to the likes of Janko and Reid, who have a big advantage at lower levels which decreases with every step up. And I don't think BJ lacks aggression, he's calm and proactive, but he gets stuck in when he needs to. Making a positional comparison to Blackett is fair enough, but apart from that they're nothing alike. BJ's awareness and decision-making are two of his main assets, and in many ways that makes him the anti-Blackett.
Click to expand...
I didn't mean physically strong I meant strong enough defensively in comparison to Williams, Fosu Mensah and Tuanzebe. When he was playing centrally last year he often stood off, allowed the ball to beat him and didn't attack the ball well in the air. Hes the type of player who likes the other cb to attack the ball while he stands off and cleans up afterwards where as I think the other 3 can all do both roles well. My comparison with Blackett was purely in terms of their most comfortable position rather than style of play or abilities
 
Elliott said:
I guess we finally disagree on something.

I don't see him as a long-term LB either, but I think he's a brilliant prospect centrally. Sure, like plenty of u18s he needs to fill out, but he's got the frame, and I quite prefer players whose physique develops in tandem with their game to the likes of Janko and Reid, who have a big advantage at lower levels which decreases with every step up. And I don't think BJ lacks aggression, he's calm and proactive, but he gets stuck in when he needs to. Making a positional comparison to Blackett is fair enough, but apart from that they're nothing alike. BJ's awareness and decision-making are two of his main assets, and in many ways that makes him the anti-Blackett.
Click to expand...

If he does make it I can see become an O'Shea type of the left side.Not too good going forward (thought still decent) while solid in defence and can play in many positions (and not feck it up in half of the matches he plays).
 
Axel Tuanzebe has impressed me most, though there was a time between January and March where I didn't get to see the U18s. Timothy Fosu-Mensah also looked excellent though, particularly in first half of season. After that, Rashford, Williams and Gribbin were the stand-outs, in that order imo.
 
jb8521 said:
I didn't mean physically strong I meant strong enough defensively in comparison to Williams, Fosu Mensah and Tuanzebe. When he was playing centrally last year he often stood off, allowed the ball to beat him and didn't attack the ball well in the air. Hes the type of player who likes the other cb to attack the ball while he stands off and cleans up afterwards where as I think the other 3 can all do both roles well. My comparison with Blackett was purely in terms of their most comfortable position rather than style of play or abilities
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I thought he was a mixed bag last season, but still very promising for someone who had a year left at u18 level. He's a better player this season.


khoazany said:
If he does make it I can see become an O'Shea type of the left side.Not too good going forward (thought still decent) while solid in defence and can play in many positions (and not feck it up in half of the matches he plays).
Click to expand...

Now that you mention it, there is something a bit O'Sheaesque about him. And yes, that's a compliment.
 
Elliott said:
Further proof of how underrated CBJ is. He's been our second best defender this season, the amount of times he's bailed out Williams (who's very promising but for now gets caught out of position quite a bit), and to a lesser extent Tuanzebe, is staggering. He's also done a decent job going forward, though his ability on the ball shone even brighter in the DM position he occupied early in the season. He's such a mature, well-rounded young player and I rate him as highly as any member of this year's team.

1. Tuanzebe
2. BJ
3. The Fookin' Man
Click to expand...

:lol:
 
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