Youth?

[Harry]

So, we had a bad night. We've had an average season. The defence is poor, the keeper is shocking, the strikers are blunt, the midfield don't create. That's pretty much the opinions being summed up here today.

The other long-standing opinion is that GJ should play the kids. He's loaned them all out to get experience, and many people think this is a mistake and that the kids should be playing.

So, judging by the players which have been slagged off, and those which have been praised, here's the team which most of you lot want to see on Saturday away at Boro :

Henderson in goal.

Ribeiro and J.Wilson to come in at the back, perhaps alongside Nyatanga and Carey (who just about keeps his place for now).

We'll go for 3 in the middle, with Hartley being partnered by Skuse and Artus yeh.

Then we'll stick 3 up front, with Haynes and Campbell-Ryce playing wide, and Akinde up the middle.

So something like this :

...................Hendo.......................

Ribeiro....Wilson...Carey....Nyatanga

...................Skuse........................

..........Artus..........Hartley.............

Haynes........................Campbell-Ryce

..................Akinde.........................

Players dropped : Gerken, Orr, McAllister, Fontaine, Maynard, Agyemang.

Is this what we all want then?

Prepare yourselves for another stuffing.

Yes, we need to improve. Yes we need to invest in the defence. Yes, we need to blood some youngsters. But you lot would have us make wholesale changes, simply for the sake of it.

Lets not go wild here. Lets keep some perspective. Let GJ carry on and judge him at the end of the season. And please don't expect him to field a team of under 20's.

[Guest bigcheese]

I would still play Maynard, just give the guy the sodding ball!

[The Casual Connoisseur]

That's not exactly what is being said though. There is no competition for places in some positions and players have been brought in where our younger lads could have at least been tried.

It's all about giving them a chance and easing them in, something that should have been done with nothing to play for at the end of last season.

Let's for example use Akinde as an example, he's done well on loan albeit at a lower level, however give him a chance, can you honestly say the strikers we have added have been any better than the glimpses you have seen of big John, hand on heart I can't.

[Nibor]

What a silly post. There's not a single poster on here who'd pick that team.

Try looking at who posted what - some people think Akinde/Ribeiro/Wilson should be playing, some people want Basso back in the side, some people want different midfielders... it's not the same people though is it?

I think it's perfectly valid to ask why the hell we sign someone like Agyemang instead of giving Akinde a go, and why we let Ribeiro go on loan when McAllister and Orr are clearly miles off form.

Doesn't mean anyone thinks it's sensible to go to Boro with an academy side, get real.

[screech]

So, we had a bad night. We've had an average season. The defence is poor, the keeper is shocking, the strikers are blunt, the midfield don't create. That's pretty much the opinions being summed up here today.

The other long-standing opinion is that GJ should play the kids. He's loaned them all out to get experience, and many people think this is a mistake and that the kids should be playing.

So, judging by the players which have been slagged off, and those which have been praised, here's the team which most of you lot want to see on Saturday away at Boro :

Henderson in goal.

Ribeiro and J.Wilson to come in at the back, perhaps alongside Nyatanga and Carey (who just about keeps his place for now).

We'll go for 3 in the middle, with Hartley being partnered by Skuse and Artus yeh.

Then we'll stick 3 up front, with Haynes and Campbell-Ryce playing wide, and Akinde up the middle.

So something like this :

...................Hendo.......................

Ribeiro....Wilson...Carey....Nyatanga

...................Skuse........................

..........Artus..........Hartley.............

Haynes........................Campbell-Ryce

..................Akinde.........................

Players dropped : Gerken, Orr, McAllister, Fontaine, Maynard, Agyemang.

Is this what we all want then?

Prepare yourselves for another stuffing.

Yes, we need to improve. Yes we need to invest in the defence. Yes, we need to blood some youngsters. But you lot would have us make wholesale changes, simply for the sake of it.

Lets not go wild here. Lets keep some perspective. Let GJ carry on and judge him at the end of the season. And please don't expect him to field a team of under 20's.

Is there something wrong with dropping Orr when he's out of form for Ribs, or when Soborio and Clarkson are not up to it we give Akinde a chance, maybe Frankie Artus deserved a game or two when Lee Johnson was playing crap.

Is it too much to ask that some of these players are dropped from time to time and we make use of the players we have here first before we go out and loan another dud?

They don't have to all be included at the same time, just give them a chance when a player who is in the first team is underperforming, is that so wrong?

Your suggestion is ludicrous, and I haven't seen anyone post it either, I think you are gathering lots of posts about certain players and grouping them all together. Find me one poster who has suggested we drop the whole team to accomodate them. You wont.

[Harry]

That's not exactly what is being said though. There is no competition for places in some positions and players have been brought in where our younger lads could have at least been tried.

It's all about giving them a chance and easing them in, something that should have been done with nothing to play for at the end of last season.

Let's for example use Akinde as an example, he's done well on loan albeit at a lower level, however give him a chance, can you honestly say the strikers we have added have been any better than the glimpses you have seen of big John, hand on heart I can't.

I agree.

My point, however, was this rather old adage :

"You can't please all of the people all of the time"

Whatever GJ does from now on will be wrong in someone's eyes. If he plays Akinde and he fails, half the people will say why did he bring Agye in and not play him.

If he plays Ribeiro and he fails, half the people will say Orr shouldn't have been dropped.

If he plays Artus and he fails, half the people will question why the kid ain't on loan getting more experience.

If he plays Wilson and he fails, people will blame GJ for not trusting him before and denting his confidence.

etc etc etc......

The fact is, these kids aren't good enough (at the moment). Aside from Akinde, I don't want one of them in my starting line up. On the bench yes, and possibly to use from the bench if we are comfortably winning. But that ain't gonna happen is it, so why not let them get a competitive game twice a week in league 1??

[Harry]

Is there something wrong with dropping Orr when he's out of form for Ribs, or when Soborio and Clarkson are not up to it we give Akinde a chance, maybe Frankie Artus deserved a game or two when Lee Johnson was playing crap.

Is it too much to ask that some of these players are dropped from time to time and we make use of the players we have here first before we go out and loan another dud?

They don't have to all be included at the same time, just give them a chance when a player who is in the first team is underperforming, is that so wrong?

Your suggestion is ludicrous, and I haven't seen anyone post it either, I think you are gathering lots of posts about certain players and grouping them all together. Find me one poster who has suggested we drop the whole team to accomodate them. You wont.

Mmmmmm....I think a Mighty Whoosh there.

[chinapig]

I agree.

My point, however, was this rather old adage :

"You can't please all of the people all of the time"

Whatever GJ does from now on will be wrong in someone's eyes. If he plays Akinde and he fails, half the people will say why did he bring Agye in and not play him.

If he plays Ribeiro and he fails, half the people will say Orr shouldn't have been dropped.

If he plays Artus and he fails, half the people will question why the kid ain't on loan getting more experience.

If he plays Wilson and he fails, people will blame GJ for not trusting him before and denting his confidence.

etc etc etc......

The fact is, these kids aren't good enough (at the moment). Aside from Akinde, I don't want one of them in my starting line up. On the bench yes, and possibly to use from the bench if we are comfortably winning. But that ain't gonna happen is it, so why not let them get a competitive game twice a week in league 1??

You may be right, but if it is the case that Ribeiro and Wilson could not do better than the current incumbents then those who say the Academy is a waste of money are right.

[screech]

Mmmmmm....I think a Mighty Whoosh there.

Is that the sound of your argument being blown away?

[gordie]

So, we had a bad night. We've had an average season. The defence is poor, the keeper is shocking, the strikers are blunt, the midfield don't create. That's pretty much the opinions being summed up here today.

The other long-standing opinion is that GJ should play the kids. He's loaned them all out to get experience, and many people think this is a mistake and that the kids should be playing.

So, judging by the players which have been slagged off, and those which have been praised, here's the team which most of you lot want to see on Saturday away at Boro :

Henderson in goal.

Ribeiro and J.Wilson to come in at the back, perhaps alongside Nyatanga and Carey (who just about keeps his place for now).

We'll go for 3 in the middle, with Hartley being partnered by Skuse and Artus yeh.

Then we'll stick 3 up front, with Haynes and Campbell-Ryce playing wide, and Akinde up the middle.

So something like this :

...................Hendo.......................

Ribeiro....Wilson...Carey....Nyatanga

...................Skuse........................

..........Artus..........Hartley.............

Haynes........................Campbell-Ryce

..................Akinde.........................

Players dropped : Gerken, Orr, McAllister, Fontaine, Maynard, Agyemang.

Is this what we all want then?

Prepare yourselves for another stuffing.

Yes, we need to improve. Yes we need to invest in the defence. Yes, we need to blood some youngsters. But you lot would have us make wholesale changes, simply for the sake of it.

Lets not go wild here. Lets keep some perspective. Let GJ carry on and judge him at the end of the season. And please don't expect him to field a team of under 20's.

I think you are over exagerating what people are saying, i for one dont want wholesale changes but i would like to see the odd players given a chance, you may be surprised and they perform well, if you watch the top managers they do this give them a run in the team and then rest them when there form inevitabally dips as it will, just take Gerken for example he started off brilliant but his form has dipped and for me now would be the time to take him out of the firing line and take a rest. Its not about playing all the youth at the same time but giving youth a chance, saying all of that maybe now would not be the right time to throw that inexperience in the team with the total lack of confidence running through the team at the moment

[notsobigfatdave]

The fact is, these kids aren't good enough (at the moment).

Actually The fact is.......... With GJ at the helm we are never going to find out if they are good enough.

[Guest pogopete]

What a silly post. There's not a single poster on here who'd pick that team.

Try looking at who posted what - some people think Akinde/Ribeiro/Wilson should be playing, some people want Basso back in the side, some people want different midfielders... it's not the same people though is it?

I think it's perfectly valid to ask why the hell we sign someone like Agyemang instead of giving Akinde a go, and why we let Ribeiro go on loan when McAllister and Orr are clearly miles off form.

Doesn't mean anyone thinks it's sensible to go to Boro with an academy side, get real.

Talk about Mcaillester what has he done to earn a 3 year contract last Summer that's amazing and young player should be blooded say for ten minutes over a period of time not slung in at the deep end

[notsobigfatdave]

Talk about Mcaillester what has he done to earn a 3 year contract last Summer that's amazing and young player should be blooded say for ten minutes over a period of time not slung in at the deep end

Pete, thats the most sensible comment ive read on this site in respect of the Youth Policy.....It can do a young players confidence no good at all being benched for 4 or 5 games in a row........Very well said.

Im afraid 90% of being a manager is man management and not coaching ability. I played proffessional footy for 7 years in the lower leagues in the 70,s. ( before i broke my pelvis and started eating pies) I was never really any good but our manager got the best out of every one of us by treating us like adults and giving us all a fair go. From What I understand of GJ's Dressing room rants his language makes Barry Fry look like Mother Theresa of Calcutta.

[Harry]

Is that the sound of your argument being blown away?

Uh...no. It's me commenting on the fact that your reply failed to see the tongue in cheek nature of the original post.

It was merely a dig at everyone thinking they're right, and what would happen if we merged all of those opinions.

GJ will not be able to please all of us, all the time.

[Tunley Legend]

Uh...no. It's me commenting on the fact that your reply failed to see the tongue in cheek nature of the original post.

It was merely a dig at everyone thinking they're right, and what would happen if we merged all of those opinions.

GJ will not be able to please all of us, all the time.

True. But he would please a few people if he gave John Akinde, OUR PLAYER, a go over the various loan signings he has. It would even be acceptable if he played him alongside Agyemang but the important thing is to have a look at Akinde - that is more useful to the long term aims of the club.

[Harry]

You may be right, but if it is the case that Ribeiro and Wilson could not do better than the current incumbents then those who say the Academy is a waste of money are right.

Hence the bracketed comment of they're not good enough (at the moment).

If this current crop all end up playing League 1 football at best, then perhaps the Academy isn't working?

But there's absolutely no point playing kids who are not yet up to scratch. We'll find out in time.

Yes, I would like to see some of them given a chance, but ONLY if they are good enough. Akinde is the only one who possibly deserves a crack at the moment. Those who regularly watch the reserves have said that these kids are ok, no-one who has regularly witnessed them in action has ever come out and said how fantastic they are and they should be first teamers now. Let them grow, let them get games at a level appropriate to them now. If they're good enough at L1 for a decent period of time, they will get their chance.

[GrahamC]

Talk about Mcaillester what has he done to earn a 3 year contract last Summer that's amazing and young player should be blooded say for ten minutes over a period of time not slung in at the deep end

Only problem with your argument is that McAllister didn't get a new 3 year contract last summer.