Houlston Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Theres also a lot of lads younger than the ones mentioned who are also real talents and good prospects, the obvious one is Jordan Graham who always stands out as head and shoulders above the other u16's but I see he is listed in the academy this year. Another lad is Daniel Crowley who at 13 already plays for the u16's and in fact scored on his last run out at the Emirates on the last day of the season against Arsenal u16's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Im not sure if they are all good enough if I am honest Lichaj - championship player Clark - most potential IMO. Think he could be a good player Bannan - Too lightweight think he may struggle over a season Allbrighton - Same as Bannan but think he has more potential may struggle aginst physical teams Gary Gardner - Heard alot of good things but total unknown quantity at this level cant really comment Fabian Delph - massive season for him. Needs to show his quality now 50/50 on how good he really is Fonz - Not good enough IMO Wiemann - Not sure he is ready for the premiership or has the quality. Strikers need to be very special in the mould of Owen, Rooney or Fowler. Not sure if Wiemann is anymore than championship Baker - not good enough Herd - not good enough Hogg - not good enough Johnson - have not got a clue. anyone seen him to make judgement? Thats what I think, Clark, Allbrighton, Delph may make an impact. Gary Gardner possibly but will have to see him to make any comment but sounds promising The rest im not convinced by at all **** hell, you must have seen a LOT of reserve and youth matches to make such sweeping judgements. I'm impressed by your obvious commitment. I love the Weimann comment especially. Not ready, hasn't got the quality, championship player. Unless you're as good as Owen, Fowler, Rooney, off to the championship you go. And seriously, did Albrighton take a dump on a pregnant woman or something and I missed it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I think this is the best youth squad on reputation that we've had in a very, very long time. Whether they develop or not is beyond my realms of knowledge, but I've been impressed with Bannan, Albrighton and Clark so far. Think all have a future at the club to a varying degree. Obviously Gardner is rated by many and I'm intrigued by this Johnson lad, just popped up from nowhere and is flying through the ranks. 'Citing. Delph has the goods as well, though strictly speaking he's not our youth product. We paid 6 million pounds for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LancsVillan Posted July 22, 2011 Moderator Share Posted July 22, 2011 DJ is one of those players who I think could actually be a better player in the PL than he would in the Championship (Think Gareth Barry as a good example of that, and another who broke through very young). He certainly has something about on the couple of occasions I've seen him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Gary Gardner is the jewel in the crown, he'll make Stevie G look like Jean II Makoun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalyvilla Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 I tell you one thing, I'm getting pretty sick of hearing guys who have never been to an academy or reserves match telling us how average or shit our youngsters are.+1 If I lived in Birmingham, I would attend every reserve or academy match. But my opinion is based only on all (extended) highlights and few full matches with live TV coverage of academy or reserve and I can claim that we have an exciting set of youth players. If there is one weakness, it will be our defense as I am not sure we have excellent youth in this area. both of these i really think we've got a good thing goin with the youth at villa, Tony Mac has done a fantastic job and he has the correct mentality about it... check out his interview on AVTV, very impressive/encouraging... for me the standouts are gardner, johnson, burke and i think delfouneso, if he keeps his head right will push on... UP THE YOUNG LIONS..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Albs - massive potential, great start to the season last year. Great crosser, good dribbler. Bannan - again, a lot of potential and some real ability there - very good passer and crosser of the ball. Definitely has a part to play, I think as Makoun's understudy. Clark - will be 1st choice in a couple of seasons I think, all the attributes to be a very good CB, just needs the experience. Fonz - As somebody else said 50/50. A bit of luck and confidence and I think he'll be flying. Weimann - Ostensibly more highly rated than the Fonz by the coaches etc. Really want to see him given some game time. Delph - Didn't spend a big wedge on him for nothing. Probably the next youngster to come good and be sold for big bucks after a couple of good seasons. Lichaj - Can't think of a better person to have as a back-up RB. Works very hard, has very little fear and is a lot cheaper than someone like Beye. The others have hardly featured and hopefully the things we're hearing about the likes of Burke and Johnson are true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeyVillan Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 If the financial fair plays are suitably enforced then having a good academy could stand us in good stead for the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumstopdogs Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Thats what I think, Clark, Allbrighton, Delph may make an impact. Gary Gardner possibly but will have to see him to make any comment but sounds promising The rest im not convinced by at all I agree these are our best young players - not too convinced about the rest although Delf might surprise us but I doubt it! Clark I'm not 100% convinced about - particuarly suspect away from home but he does have something about him so I would persist with him. Albrighton is a very talented player and hopefully he'll continue to progress after a good last season. Delph, if he can stay clear of injuries, should get more playing time and has shown he is a talented player. Hogg, Herd, Baker and Bannan - not convinced any of them are good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAFC2000 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 For me its Delph that looks our greatest young player so far. Followed closely by Clarke and Albrighton. I think its very important to have a good back room team when producing these players. McDonald does a great job bringing them on and its good to have the consistency. We has Robertson Under O Neil who was a genius with the likes of Ashley Young, Milner and co. Any one know who Mcleish has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villabromsgrove Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 We need to sign N'Zogbia because we don't have a natural speedy left winger among our crop of exciting youth. Apart from this "one more quality signing" McCleish is in the happy position of having probably the most talented bunch of young players around to introduce into the team (steadily). He can quite rightly claim that the financial restraint on wages has forced his hand. AM is not going to be risking his reputation by using new young players, which may have deterred other past managers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amo69 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 How old is Albrighton? Would it be fair to say he looks better than Young did at the same age? I think all the youth players that featured last year have the potential of becoming established PL players. All be it Albrighton, Clark, Delph and Bannan seem to have that something extra. They have to be brought in slowly and alongside experience. Due to injuries last year there were times they were all in the team at once which although was a good learning experience for them, it was very hard for them to cope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC-Prideofbrum Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Well Ashley Young scored 8, with 17 assists at age 22 in 07-08, that's what Albrighton will be for most part of next season. If he manages that sort of form, it'd be a miracle. So no, I don't think so and if he was....it means very little (IMO) still has too many flaws in his game to be a regular starter IMO but I guess being first choice (looks likely) won't harm him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amo69 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 ok Fair enough but dont forget that was the year we scored a lot of goals from freekicks, especially with Laurson being superb in the air. Young took all the free kicks. My point is Albrighton is an exciting talent and can be as good as Ashley Young IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaAlex Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Had Ireland U19's on in the background earlier. Derrick Williams didn't seem too comfortable and gave away a freekick which led to a goal, however I was really impressed with Carruthers. Technically he was probably the best player on the park and seemed to have the trait where he was always finding himself space. His passing was very clever too, most of the time he stayed composed and waited to pass till the right moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC-Prideofbrum Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 ok Fair enough but dont forget that was the year we scored a lot of goals from freekicks, especially with Laurson being superb in the air. Young took all the free kicks. My point is Albrighton is an exciting talent and can be as good as Ashley Young IMO. All about opinions but I don't see it. I hope so. Well actually, I hope he's slightly down from Young but still good, so no big clubs will come for him but he's still very good for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amo69 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 I think if he does hit the heights there would be a larger chance of keeping him for longer due to the fact he came through the ranks. Similar to how we could have kept Cahill. I dont think i'll ever get over us selling him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted July 23, 2011 Moderator Share Posted July 23, 2011 Had Ireland U19's on in the background earlier...I was really impressed with Carruthers. Technically he was probably the best player on the park and seemed to have the trait where he was always finding himself space. His passing was very clever too, most of the time he stayed composed and waited to pass till the right moment. He really came on last season and he's now looking a really bright prospect - he's one to keep an eye on this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrackpotForeigner Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Albrighton is an exciting talent and can be as good as Ashley Young IMO. He'll never be as fast as AY, and he possibly lacks a bit of AY's arrogant confidence, but IMO his crossing and shooting are better than Young's. So even if he's never a better player all round, he can be at least as valuable to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I was just looking over the OS and noticed a few things. The 24-man squad that we took to Hong Kong included the following youngsters: Albrighton, Bannan, Clark, Delfouneso, Delph, Gardner, Herd, Hogg, Lichaj & Lowry. I've got a feeling that these chaps are all going to be in and around the first team when the season starts. Burke/ Johnson/ Cameron were left home, and playing Chasetown tonight. So as highly rated as Johnson & Burke might be, I still feel they have a way to go to get into the plans like Gardner/ Delph etc are. We've already seen Clark, Albrighton, Bannan, and to a lesser extent Delfouneso, make an impression on the squad. I'd like to see Delph and Gardner really push for a place in the team this year. Also, did anyone else see Bannan's quotes on the OS about wanting to try and make his name one of the first on the team sheet by the end of the season? I saw similar quotes from Delfouneso when he had his interview about his new contract. We really do have a LOT of decent youngsters trying to force their way into the team! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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