United - Derby U18

saik said:
Thanks. Makes sense after I googled about it.

Our subs made the difference here. I like Wheatley and would say he had the biggest impact as the sub today. His pressing from the front was very good. Was a bit surprised to see Missin got substituted? Sharpe did get the goal but I see Missin as the better player.

Watching our U-18s this season is such a respite from the car crash of our first team.
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It really is, well, it is until you see them get promoted to the first team and people calling them shit after 2 games.
 
AltiUn said:
It really is, well, it is until you see them get promoted to the first team and people calling them shit after 2 games.
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Haha true. For now I'm enjoying watching Missin, Lacey, Amass and Wheatley. My favorite players in the u-18 squad.
 
We gonna have such a good headache at this level in midfield once the Fletchers settled in. Still have Baumann and Moorhouse (injured).
 
Remarkable the strength in depth we've got this season, particularly in midfield. Think Fitzgerald is wasted a bit playing as a 10. Going to be very interesting to see what sort of XI we settle on when the Youth Cup comes around.
 
I’ve not watched the game but it’s pleasing to see us fight back after not playing well. Shows spirit and that we can win after adapting. Character traits I didn’t see much last season.

I made the point about midfield previously too. Definitely a strength for the team and while a lot of the players have similar qualities they are all different enough to bring different influences to the team. I too wonder what the pecking order will be as all the candidates I’ve seen this season have shown something pleasing.
 
To give my thoughts on some of the players involved :

Missin must be a managers dream - he always creates something, and at the same time works his socks off defensively. The only criticism I can find against Missin is that he needs to add a few more goals to his name. Lacey on the other side is the exact opposite of Missin in terms of playing style. He combines a brilliant control of the ball with vision and creativity in a way I haven't seen from any U18 United-player in the last 20 years. He is still too lightweight and defensively he is poor - but if he improves that - then the sky is the limit

Victor Musa puzzles me - he really has all the qualities to be a good striker - but his inability to be at the right place at the right time raises a lot of questions. It's not so much that he doesn't score goals, as that he never even looks like he will score. At the moment I much prefer Ethan Wheatley up front, he is much more direct and looks a much bigger threat, but he is not as good in the hold-up play.

Finley McAllister is not a right back, he will never be a right-back and should be moved into midfield where he is much better. His performance yesterday before being moved into midfield was so poor that he was Derby's best player. To once play the ball straight into the legs of a Derby-player just outside your own box is bad - but to manage to do it 3 times in the space of 30 minutes ... now that takes shaky to a whole new level.

Ruben Curley was brilliant against Newcastle, yesterday he was all over the place. But I guess a bit of inconsistency is to be expected after being out so long as he has - but on his day he looks a really talented player. He wasn't helped a lot by Devaney who also had a day to forget yesterday.

Jack Fletcher looked really exciting - yes he made some small mistakes - but he got involved much more than Curley and Devaney did, and passed the ball around really nicely. He could be a player to watch closely in the next months.

Amass is a player I really like - his ball control is excellent and he is so quick. He actually has a lot of Evra - who also relied a lot on good technique and that extreme acceleration who took him past players. And what impresses me the most about him is that he came here just a month ago, and already now looks like he is ready to take the next step
 
From what I have seen, Lacey and Amass are the two. There are various others who have a chance, but right now they are the two I would stick my neck out for.
 
Remember the geese said:
From what I have seen, Lacey and Amass are the two. There are various others who have a chance, but right now they are the two I would stick my neck out for.
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I think Lacey has 3 things he needs to work on to make it at United:
  1. Improve his physicality
  2. Avoid drifting in and out of games
  3. Improve his defensive contributions
If he does those three things he's almost certain to make it at first team level, in terms of technical ability he's one of the best I've seen us produce.
 
AltiUn said:
I think Lacey has 3 things he needs to work on to make it at United:
  1. Improve his physicality
  2. Avoid drifting in and out of games
  3. Improve his defensive contributions
If he does those three things he's almost certain to make it at first team level, in terms of technical ability he's one of the best I've seen us produce.
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Agreed. I think that your first and third concern should happen both naturally and via good coaching. My issue would be that he lacks a bit of electric pace. At under 18 level it isn't a problem because he can beat players for fun via his tight dribbling control and having a low centre of gravity. I just wonder how that will translate to first team level. I think Antony struggles because he lacks that burst of pace. With it, he'd be a different player. However, City have players like Bernardo Silva and Foden to an extent, who aren't exceptionally quick, but have still excelled out wide.
 
Remember the geese said:
Agreed. I think that your first and third concern should happen both naturally and via good coaching. My issue would be that he lacks a bit of electric pace. At under 18 level it isn't a problem because he can beat players for fun via his tight dribbling control and having a low centre of gravity. I just wonder how that will translate to first team level. I think Antony struggles because he lacks that burst of pace. With it, he'd be a different player. However, City have players like Bernardo Silva and Foden to an extent, who aren't exceptionally quick, but have still excelled out wide.
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I would say Antony struggles because he is so horrible left-footed. The only time Antony causes problems is when he goes inside and curls the ball towards the far corner. If you let Antony go on the outside - you know there will never be a decent cross anyway. In a way it's a big strange that Antony is used on the right, as he would probably cause a much bigger threat from the left.
 
lysglimt said:
I would say Antony struggles because he is so horrible left-footed. The only time Antony causes problems is when he goes inside and curls the ball towards the far corner. If you let Antony go on the outside - you know there will never be a decent cross anyway. In a way it's a big strange that Antony is used on the right, as he would probably cause a much bigger threat from the left.
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Agreed on the one footed-ness. This is something that Lacey doesn't suffer from. Lacey also has a more expansive passing range with the vision to match. I just worry that a limit is placed upon an attacking player's ceiling if they lack top level pace. Though like I said, if City can make it work with Bernardo Silva, Foden and Grealish, there must be hope for us moving forward.
 
Remember the geese said:
Agreed on the one footed-ness. This is something that Lacey doesn't suffer from. Lacey also has a more expansive passing range with the vision to match. I just worry that a limit is placed upon an attacking player's ceiling if they lack top level pace. Though like I said, if City can make it work with Bernardo Silva, Foden and Grealish, there must be hope for us moving forward.
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Lacey has that ability and control that he can go on the outside and dance along the line - as he has done a few times this season. And yes that comparison especially with Bernardo Silva is accurate.
 
Be a tall order to play in our first team looking at state of it. Be a brave manager to give any of these kids a chance thats for sure given pressures we face. Watched Greenwood similar age and he was unbelievable in our under 18s. Dont see anyone at that level.
 
Bigsid said:
Be a tall order to play in our first team looking at state of it. Be a brave manager to give any of these kids a chance thats for sure given pressures we face. Watched Greenwood similar age and he was unbelievable in our under 18s. Dont see anyone at that level.
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You don't have to be Greenwood's level to make it to the first team, if we're waiting for someone as good as Greenwood to come along before they make it to the first team then we'd be waiting another 20 years.
 
AltiUn said:
You don't have to be Greenwood's level to make it to the first team, if we're waiting for someone as good as Greenwood to come along before they make it to the first team then we'd be waiting another 20 years.
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Yeah Greenwood isn't the bar. Garnacho for example, wasn't anywhere near as good Greenwood.
 
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