quizme Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 What can we expect? Seems to be playing well in the U21-series and next gen series. I know there is alot of hype around him and hes highly thought of. Anyone seen him play? I know people said a while ago that hes a like young (!) Ashley Young. How old is he? 17? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I like your avatar... THATISALL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyClarke Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 He is fantastic, genuinely fantastic in terms of his footballing ability. Great on the ball, decent turn of pace, technically very good and probably the best dribbler in the club. Unfortunately all of those things don't necessarily equal a Premier League footballer, as stupid as that might sound. I've said it before that the next 18-24 months are massive for him and he could go either way and there is almost no middle ground, he'll either be an absolute star or fade away to non league obscurity. That may sound over the top, but he is so very talented but has a lot to learn, both physically and mentally, his end product is a little bit hit and miss and he is going to have to cope with playing against men, who deal with tricky wingers by trying to kick them over the stand. With lads like Jordan Graham, making that step up is dependant on attitude and being able to understand where things might need changing (e.g. Spend a bit less time on the ball) to actually improve, it may be he has to be a bit more negative to get to the top, beat one less man to pick out the right pass etc etc. That can be very difficult for somebody who has spent their entire youth team career running rings around defenders. Great ability, just needs a few chances, which I believe he would have had by now if Houllier had been in charge last season. Far more talented than Marc Albrighton will ever be, but has to work as hard for the team as Albrighton does, particularly when the chips are down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SikhInTrinity Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Great talent and actually a very down to earth lad on Twitter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Sounds very promising...hasn't he been on the bench a coule of times? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigy1874 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Watched him last week v Celtic in the nextgen series - my eyesight is not the best but im pretty sure he set up both of villas goals with good crosses. He played well first half but kinda fell out in the 2nd. Not too difficult to understand as he is still young and Celtic really upped their game second half. Although not on topic, our 2 centre-halfs were immense, Devine and an other. Very commanding and good to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaglint Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Bizarely I was thinking about young Jordan just this morning. I read a report of Gerrard evangelising over Raheem Sterling and thought how easily he could not be involved this season. Many a manager would have given him a few more years in reserves to help them bed into senior football. Took a lot of vision from Rodgers to see he was ready now. I was wondering who could make that same kind of impact for us and Jordan Graham is the obvious option. Grealish maybe a bit more experienced but he doesnt have the trickery or pace that Graham does. His skill level is frightening and would be something for any defender to be worried about even in Prem. As Andy rightly says though he could easily fizzle out into nothing at this stage in his career. I just wonder though... we are so desperate in our team for someone who can go past a player. Maybe he is worth a go on the bench and give him the odd 10 mins here and there to see what he can do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacketspuds Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 If he is technically as good as some are saying i'd start giving him some game time. Albrighton is useless and we need a bit more pace and trickery out wide. Sterling gave Liverpool a bit of a boost. Can't be worse than what we have already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John_10 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I find it hard to get excited about our young players anymore. If they lived up to the hype on here we'd have won the league by now. Hopefully though we have a few that will come through and not be another albrighton, delfonsou, moore etc.. Any news on carruthers? I thought he looked promising in his brief chance last year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaglint Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Worth watching for his run against Ajax alone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyClarke Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I find it hard to get excited about our young players anymore. If they lived up to the hype on here we'd have won the league by now. Hopefully though we have a few that will come through and not be another albrighton, delfonsou, moore etc.. Any news on carruthers? I thought he looked promising in his brief chance last year. That is the nature of youth football though, some players don't progress for one reason or another. Some are basically too stupid to make a life for themselves as a professional footballer and throw away their chance, others are not physically up to the rigours of professional football, then there are the ones who are simply not interested enough to make the sacrifices that are necessary. All of these things are not always obvious to the casual observer when a player is playing the youth team. It really doesn't help that you get fans hyping up the youngsters on the basis of having heard something from a mate or seeing them in one game. Again, that is the nature of being a fan and is an inevitability, partly because people want to appear to be in the know and also because we are all desperate for something to cling onto, even in our darkest hour as a football fan, it is no different at any other club. If you look back at discussions on the recent academy graduates, I would think you'll find a pattern of players being talked up, anybody who doesn't agree is shouted down and told this player is clearly going to be great, followed by a couple of years down the track, the same people slating the player for being overhyped and not good enough. Marc Albrighton is a perfect example of this, the majority who talked him up had seen him perhaps once or twice, or more likely decided that he was going to be amazing through hearsay, which perpetuates until the majority start believing rubbish because so many people are saying it. Our young players are always going to be hyped up, most of the hype will be of our own making. This lad has the lot, fingers crossed that it works out for him, because we'll have on hell of a player on our hands if he can make the step up. Carruthers is a good player, but he (certainly in the past) hasn't always had the greatest attitude. Loads of ability on the ball, bags of talent in that regard but lacking physically and I'm not convinced he has enough to make it at Premier League level, he will inevitably stand out at reserve level (definitely prior to the reshuffle this season) because he is good on the ball. He might be a better player with the ball at his feet than Marc Albrighton but he is never going to work as hard or deliver the kind of consistency of performance, therefore it a risk that he will be a liability and as with many other young players the reason that first team chances are so hard to come by. I assume he will get another opportunity, but I wouldn't really expect to see much more of him in a Villa shirt. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SikhInTrinity Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Totally agree Andy, we hype up our players but honestly think Graham does have the ability, but the problem is we shouldn't hold him back due to his age, I think we hold a player back sometimes too much. Graham seems to have the arrogance with him to go with the ability. I look at Carruthers and think of Forrester, Forrester had so much ability and still does as he is playing very well for Brentford and I have no doubt he will be snapped up by a Championship side very soon, but he thought he made it here with his move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyClarke Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 That is the problem though isn't it? We can all sit here comfy in our armchairs saying that Graham should start but none of us have our jobs and pride on the line, there is so much pressure at the top level that managers and coaching staff are scared to throw lads in. They know what Albrighton will offer, week in, week out, he'll run all day and has enough quality to make an impression or at least he will do everything he can to get a result for the team. That is possibly more favourable than playing a kid and finding the game has gone away from you before you drag the youngster off. I appreciate that the only way you can find out if somebody is up to the job is to give them the opportunity but the majority of managers will play the percentages and there is no doubt that players have passed clubs by because nobody would risk giving them a chance. Worst case for us is that he plays, isn't up to it and we moan that the kids are overhyped and why did Lambert play him? Surely he watches him in training? etc etc etc. Best case we all congratulate ourselves for our incredible foresight and pat each other on the back............Only to rip him to pieces in three years when he hasn't led Villa to Champions League glory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanvilla_1994 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 i don't get too excited about the youngsters as most are usually extremely overrated. Will be interesting to see if he gets a chance this season though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I think people get excited(not just at Villa) because fans really want to see a local lad come through the ranks and shine as feels they are like one of them espcialy in todays game when players are gooing for shocking fees Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 I find it hard to get excited about our young players anymore. If they lived up to the hype on here we'd have won the league by now. Hopefully though we have a few that will come through and not be another albrighton, delfonsou, moore etc.. Any news on carruthers? I thought he looked promising in his brief chance last year. I'm with you John However,JG does have an abundance of talent....Perhaps we don't blood them early enough. Francis, Little, Shaw, Gray were all playing very early...give him a go, even if its cameo roles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightoffyour Posted November 2, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted November 2, 2012 We've been holding our academy graduates back for a long time recently, maybe because they're not good enough. Like Gary Gardner not really coming into the team until, what 19? OK so he had his injury setbacks before his current one, but you do have to wonder if blooding them earlier would help? Look at Raheem Sterling. You can only step up to PL quality by being given a chance at that level. I for one would like to see players like Carruthers and Graham being given some chances from the bench at least this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romavillan Posted November 2, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted November 2, 2012 I think people get excited(not just at Villa) because fans really want to see a local lad come through the ranks and shine as feels they are like one of them espcialy in todays game when players are gooing for shocking fees yeah, you have no idea how much i'd love to see a side of ours with a core of local lads being successfull. that would make me so happy, let's face it a lot of kids born in and around brum don't have much to look forward to in terms of material success in life. to see local lads winning in the claret and blue shirt gives me the most satisfaction as a fan. there's always this idea around too that if they don't make it at the highest level then they are a failure, avfc as a club are playing against some of the best squads currently playing the game worldwide (well at lest 5 or 6 times a year ) the level is VERY high. giving kids stick for not making it here after having promise is a bit wrong really, if they earn their corn even playing league 1 or 2 then in personal terms they've made it for me, in terms of academy success then we need to sell them at champs level or to a club top half of league 1 in order to get some money back to continue the investment in the youth. specifically on graham, he'd be worth throwing on for the last 10 mins of a couple of games, even if it's just to give more competition to zog. same goes for giving carruthers time on the pitch, more competition in the "creative" areas of the team might just spur the more established names on to give us a bit more week in, week out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John_10 Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 I think you only have to look at the comments towards albrighton and how overrated he's been to see its obvious fans are desperate for a home grown hero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Looks like a good player. Very poised on the ball. If Sterling can start for Liverpool, surely this boy can get a game for Villa? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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