Spurs U21’s, U18’s and other youth news – 2015/16 Edition

[IGSpur]

yeah, right back. lb is arsenal's tafari moore, he's actually a rb too and was previously 1st choice there but I think kwp has overtaken him now.

I don't understand England's logic. Moore has been injured for quite a while and is primarily a RB. In that time Rico Henry has come to the fore and been playing excellently and regularly at Walsall and Borthwick-Jackson has been playing LB in the PL for Man Utd.

Henry didn't make the original squad nor did Moore but CBJ did. Clarke-Salter a CB gets injured so they call up Moore (RB/LB) instead of Henry. Moore then goes onto play all or 2 out of 3 of the matches while CBJ barely features.

 

[IGSpur]

Thought yesterday's match was really good. EW were much the better team and controlled the game however Ipswich also had some decent players, their RB I think Kieron Dyer's son looked like he had some ability and their goalscorer who I think is on a trial for them was their best player. Easy to see why this group is so highly rated especially and it will be interesting to track their development. I started giving ratings, but took them away as it didn't feel right, I'm sure you guys might be able to imagine scores. @Flobadob would like your input as I can't remember specific bits of every player so you might be able to add and it would be good to see if you thought the same or different.

Josh Oluwayemi - Had to make a few saves but looked very comfortable and held on to a lot of shots despite diving low. Goods hands. Got sat down fro the goal but credit to the scorer

Brooklyn Lyons-Foster - Put in an assured performance at RB. Comfortable on the ball and always provided an options

Max Statham - First time seeing this player, believe he is the son of ex Spurs player Brian Statham. Thought he played really well, both CBs were composed on the ball, but he just looked slightly more assured to me with his passing. Also had a good turn of pace to outrun or not get beaten by their strikers.

Jubril Okedina - Again he was very happy to be on the ball but I felt he held onto the ball too long looking for a pass. A couple of times he ended up almost getting into a situation or losing the ball but credit to him for never panicking and never went long however he did make one nice run through the middle beating a couple of players and was always looking to carry out from the back. I sat next to the ITFCacademy twitter handler and he thought Jubril was the better of the 2 so can go either way.

Kane Thomspson-Sommers - Don't think he had the best game, very small player but I think they got in behind him a couple of times. Probably just had an off night.

Paris Maghoma - Unsurprisingly looks to have grown since we saw him in the Riga vids a couple of years ago. He didn't have the best game it felt, considering what I've seen before but he still looked like one of the best players on the pitch. Snatched at a shot early on and couldn't quite find his passing. Has a lot of strength to carry the ball through the midfield

Bowden - Controlled the midfield and held on to the ball well. Was always looking to create to, but offered an outlet to relieve pressure. When he moved to RB he performed a similar role and was released some attacks from there

Pochettino - I'd heard he wasn't the most talented but in the Riga vids he looked fine. Yesterday he didn't look out of place but he didn't offer much as a winger. He can keep the ball well though just didn't see much of an attempt to beat someone

Patterson - Great performance. The glimpses I get of him at the training ground he always seems to be involved but yesterday he showed he could be a real player. He is smallish but surprisingly strong. Good dribbler, looks after it well in small spaces and can pick out passes, and as we saw he looks like he has an eye for goal. Finished off a rebound, scored a rocket and hit the crossbar

Clarke - Didn't get on the ball anywhere near as much as I would have liked as I was talking him up before the game, but he definitely caused trouble when he was on i. Had the beating of his man when he was on and is very slippery. Probably should have had two penalties, and he seems a real team player with a good workrate. Small but is shifty, some would say similar to Hazard

Richards - was impressed with Richards. Made some good runs, did a lot of flicks and one touch stuff. Knew how to make himself a bit of space with some feints and held the ball up well, showing awareness to bring the ball down on his chest from a goalkick. If I was being critical he held onto the ball too long a couple of times in the box after creating space for himself when he could have short, but I was impressed

Subs

Markanday - Good little dribbler, small but again comfortable on the ball, and can turn himself out of trouble.

Thorpe - Like ths kid. Incredibly tiny, but seems to have good football knowledge. He has an excellent touch and tried to change the game from the outset. On the edge of the box he has a good awareness of his team mates with little touch and not afraid to give others a dress down from what I saw

Mukendi - Usually a winger a believe but was playing uptop, didn't get into the game when he came on, I can't remember too much about his performance but I have heard he is a talented player

Mehmeti Carried the ball a lot in CM, plays with his head up, looks like another good player if I'm honest

Overall imo I think this is a talented group and I look forward to seeing how many are left when they join the academy in a couple of years. One of the parents expects this year group to be a larger intake than next years which gives an idea of the talent they have. Shame Shashoua wasn't playing though, I knew he was injured earlier in the season but I'm pretty sure he played against Chelsea u15s a few weeks back so don't know what happened and it was also missing a few others like De Bourg and Elva-Fontaine.

Here's the squad photo from the programme
Back Row from L to R: Elliot Thrope, Armando Shashoua, Jamie Bowden, Rayan Clarke, D'Jean Spencer
Middel Row from L to R: Anderson Mbangi, Anis Mehmeti, Kamal De Bourg, Kane Thomspson-Sommers, Phoenix Patterson, Brooklyn Lyons-Foster, Dilan Markanday, Joshua Oluwayemi
Front Row L to R: John McDermott, Paris Maghoma, Oliver Skipp, Jubril Okedina, Justin Cochrane

I can see that quite a few players are missing from here that played yesterday and some other who I know are there but still the group has been cut quite a bit from last year.

 

[jari17]

I can see that quite a few players are missing from here that played yesterday and some other who I know are there but still the group has been cut quite a bit from last year.

Jayden Clarke no longer apart of this group?

 

[IGSpur]

Jayden Clarke no longer apart of this group?

Not sure there are only a few of I know that have definitely left from that picture. Mason Tunbridge to West Ham, Brandon Young-Chambers to Crystal Palace, Jake Frailing to QPR and Bayli Spencer-Adams to Arsenal

 

[Spursidol]

Thought yesterday's match was really good. EW were much the better team and controlled the game however Ipswich also had some decent players, their RB I think Kieron Dyer's son looked like he had some ability and their goalscorer who I think is on a trial for them was their best player. Easy to see why this group is so highly rated especially and it will be interesting to track their development. I started giving ratings, but took them away as it didn't feel right, I'm sure you guys might be able to imagine scores. @Flobadob would like your input as I can't remember specific bits of every player so you might be able to add and it would be good to see if you thought the same or different.

Josh Oluwayemi - Had to make a few saves but looked very comfortable and held on to a lot of shots despite diving low. Goods hands. Got sat down fro the goal but credit to the scorer

Brooklyn Lyons-Foster - Put in an assured performance at RB. Comfortable on the ball and always provided an options

Max Statham - First time seeing this player, believe he is the son of ex Spurs player Brian Statham. Thought he played really well, both CBs were composed on the ball, but he just looked slightly more assured to me with his passing. Also had a good turn of pace to outrun or not get beaten by their strikers.

Jubril Okedina - Again he was very happy to be on the ball but I felt he held onto the ball too long looking for a pass. A couple of times he ended up almost getting into a situation or losing the ball but credit to him for never panicking and never went long however he did make one nice run through the middle beating a couple of players and was always looking to carry out from the back. I sat next to the ITFCacademy twitter handler and he thought Jubril was the better of the 2 so can go either way.

Kane Thomspson-Sommers - Don't think he had the best game, very small player but I think they got in behind him a couple of times. Probably just had an off night.

Paris Maghoma - Unsurprisingly looks to have grown since we saw him in the Riga vids a couple of years ago. He didn't have the best game it felt, considering what I've seen before but he still looked like one of the best players on the pitch. Snatched at a shot early on and couldn't quite find his passing. Has a lot of strength to carry the ball through the midfield

Bowden - Controlled the midfield and held on to the ball well. Was always looking to create to, but offered an outlet to relieve pressure. When he moved to RB he performed a similar role and was released some attacks from there

Pochettino - I'd heard he wasn't the most talented but in the Riga vids he looked fine. Yesterday he didn't look out of place but he didn't offer much as a winger. He can keep the ball well though just didn't see much of an attempt to beat someone

Patterson - Great performance. The glimpses I get of him at the training ground he always seems to be involved but yesterday he showed he could be a real player. He is smallish but surprisingly strong. Good dribbler, looks after it well in small spaces and can pick out passes, and as we saw he looks like he has an eye for goal. Finished off a rebound, scored a rocket and hit the crossbar

Clarke - Didn't get on the ball anywhere near as much as I would have liked as I was talking him up before the game, but he definitely caused trouble when he was on i. Had the beating of his man when he was on and is very slippery. Probably should have had two penalties, and he seems a real team player with a good workrate. Small but is shifty, some would say similar to Hazard

Richards - was impressed with Richards. Made some good runs, did a lot of flicks and one touch stuff. Knew how to make himself a bit of space with some feints and held the ball up well, showing awareness to bring the ball down on his chest from a goalkick. If I was being critical he held onto the ball too long a couple of times in the box after creating space for himself when he could have short, but I was impressed

Subs

Markanday - Good little dribbler, small but again comfortable on the ball, and can turn himself out of trouble.

Thorpe - Like ths kid. Incredibly tiny, but seems to have good football knowledge. He has an excellent touch and tried to change the game from the outset. On the edge of the box he has a good awareness of his team mates with little touch and not afraid to give others a dress down from what I saw

Mukendi - Usually a winger a believe but was playing uptop, didn't get into the game when he came on, I can't remember too much about his performance but I have heard he is a talented player

Mehmeti Carried the ball a lot in CM, plays with his head up, looks like another good player if I'm honest

Overall imo I think this is a talented group and I look forward to seeing how many are left when they join the academy in a couple of years. One of the parents expects this year group to be a larger intake than next years which gives an idea of the talent they have. Shame Shashoua wasn't playing though, I knew he was injured earlier in the season but I'm pretty sure he played against Chelsea u15s a few weeks back so don't know what happened and it was also missing a few others like De Bourg and Elva-Fontaine.

Here's the squad photo from the programme
Back Row from L to R: Elliot Thrope, Armando Shashoua, Jamie Bowden, Rayan Clarke, D'Jean Spencer
Middel Row from L to R: Anderson Mbangi, Anis Mehmeti, Kamal De Bourg, Kane Thomspson-Sommers, Phoenix Patterson, Brooklyn Lyons-Foster, Dilan Markanday, Joshua Oluwayemi
Front Row L to R: John McDermott, Paris Maghoma, Oliver Skipp, Jubril Okedina, Justin Cochrane

View attachment 22625

I can see that quite a few players are missing from here that played yesterday and some other who I know are there but still the group has been cut quite a bit from last year.

Thanks for the player by player review - very useful.

As you commented the maximum number of players allowed to be in an academy 'year squad' reduces from about 30 in the earlier year groups to a maximum of about 15 by the Year 1 Academy age group, hence Spurs 'losing' some players from the previous year, and still some 'pruning' to go in the next 2 years.

Think this is the list of players from a year ago which are in your u14 pics of whom about 8 might have left (or at least they haven't been in recent public squads eg Riga Cup, Lion Cup)

Phoenix Patterson, Rodel Richards, Jeremie Mukendi, Oliver Skipp, Brandon Young-Chambers, Jubril Okedina, Armando Shashoua, Elliot Thorpe, Marcel Elva-Fontaine, Brooklyn Lyons Foster, Kane Thompson-Sommers, Joshua Oluwayemi, Rayan Clarke, D'Jean Spencer, Tyrone Baker, Tom Chambers, Jayden Clarke, Paris Maghoma, Bayli Spencer-Adams, Kamal de Bourg, Jamie Bowden, Nathaniel Orafu, Tiernan Parker, Jake Frailing, Dilan Markanday

 

[Anuth]

Anyone got a pic of Pochettino Jr.?

 

[IGSpur]

Anyone got a pic of Pochettino Jr.?

He is front row in the u14 squad pic above. I'm sure I don't need to specify which one .

He's another missing from u15s pic.

 

[Anuth]

He is front row in the u14 squad pic above. I'm sure I don't need to specify which one .

He's another missing from u15s pic.

Thanks. He doesn't look like his dad, does he?.

 

[Spursidol]

http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/sport/colchesterunited/14395257.Oduwa_can_have_a_good_career___Keen/

Colchester United manager Kevin Keen has backed Nathan Oduwa to have a good career in the game after his loan spell at the Weston Homes Community Stadium ended.

Oduwa managed only two substitute appearances for the U’s in his spell at the club from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and has now returned to White Hart Lane.

The 20-year-old winger recently featured in the Nigeria under-23 squad in Brazil and boss Keen said his involvement on the international stage played a part in them deciding against Oduwa staying for longer.

Keen said: “We weren’t sure whether to keep him or not and he did OK, but he then got called up for Nigeria Under-23s which meant he would miss a couple of games.

“We just decided in the long run that it would be better for him to go back to Tottenham.

“He’s a great lad with a great work ethic.
“He did Tottenham proud in the chances that he did have.
“He has a great attitude and he’ll have a good career but it was just with the Nigeria thing and him going off to Brazil, it sort of made our decision for us.
“Drey (Wright) has done well up there for us and Darren Ambrose has scored when he’s come in and done well.”

 

[Spursidol]

Thanks. He doesn't look like his dad, does he?.

Not sure I would immediately recognise Poch as a much younger man either. You have a 1 in 3 chance with this photo

 

[bceej]

Not sure I would immediately recognise Poch as a much younger man either. You have a 1 in 3 chance with this photo

Forgot Poch was in the Argentina set up with Batistuta - what a player. Remember Poch said Kane was similar to him.

 

[jari17]

Forgot Poch was in the Argentina set up with Batistuta - what a player. Remember Poch said Kane was similar to him.

Poch has played with some of the greatest players in the history of football for long periods of time.

 

[elDiablo]

Poch has played with some of the greatest players in the history of football for long periods of time.

And now he's managing some of them.....BOOM.

 

[Flobadob]

Thought yesterday's match was really good. EW were much the better team and controlled the game however Ipswich also had some decent players, their RB I think Kieron Dyer's son looked like he had some ability and their goalscorer who I think is on a trial for them was their best player. Easy to see why this group is so highly rated especially and it will be interesting to track their development. I started giving ratings, but took them away as it didn't feel right, I'm sure you guys might be able to imagine scores. @Flobadob would like your input as I can't remember specific bits of every player so you might be able to add and it would be good to see if you thought the same or different.

Josh Oluwayemi - Had to make a few saves but looked very comfortable and held on to a lot of shots despite diving low. Goods hands. Got sat down fro the goal but credit to the scorer

Brooklyn Lyons-Foster - Put in an assured performance at RB. Comfortable on the ball and always provided an options

Max Statham - First time seeing this player, believe he is the son of ex Spurs player Brian Statham. Thought he played really well, both CBs were composed on the ball, but he just looked slightly more assured to me with his passing. Also had a good turn of pace to outrun or not get beaten by their strikers.

Jubril Okedina - Again he was very happy to be on the ball but I felt he held onto the ball too long looking for a pass. A couple of times he ended up almost getting into a situation or losing the ball but credit to him for never panicking and never went long however he did make one nice run through the middle beating a couple of players and was always looking to carry out from the back. I sat next to the ITFCacademy twitter handler and he thought Jubril was the better of the 2 so can go either way.

Kane Thomspson-Sommers - Don't think he had the best game, very small player but I think they got in behind him a couple of times. Probably just had an off night.

Paris Maghoma - Unsurprisingly looks to have grown since we saw him in the Riga vids a couple of years ago. He didn't have the best game it felt, considering what I've seen before but he still looked like one of the best players on the pitch. Snatched at a shot early on and couldn't quite find his passing. Has a lot of strength to carry the ball through the midfield

Bowden - Controlled the midfield and held on to the ball well. Was always looking to create to, but offered an outlet to relieve pressure. When he moved to RB he performed a similar role and was released some attacks from there

Pochettino - I'd heard he wasn't the most talented but in the Riga vids he looked fine. Yesterday he didn't look out of place but he didn't offer much as a winger. He can keep the ball well though just didn't see much of an attempt to beat someone

Patterson - Great performance. The glimpses I get of him at the training ground he always seems to be involved but yesterday he showed he could be a real player. He is smallish but surprisingly strong. Good dribbler, looks after it well in small spaces and can pick out passes, and as we saw he looks like he has an eye for goal. Finished off a rebound, scored a rocket and hit the crossbar

Clarke - Didn't get on the ball anywhere near as much as I would have liked as I was talking him up before the game, but he definitely caused trouble when he was on i. Had the beating of his man when he was on and is very slippery. Probably should have had two penalties, and he seems a real team player with a good workrate. Small but is shifty, some would say similar to Hazard

Richards - was impressed with Richards. Made some good runs, did a lot of flicks and one touch stuff. Knew how to make himself a bit of space with some feints and held the ball up well, showing awareness to bring the ball down on his chest from a goalkick. If I was being critical he held onto the ball too long a couple of times in the box after creating space for himself when he could have short, but I was impressed

Subs

Markanday - Good little dribbler, small but again comfortable on the ball, and can turn himself out of trouble.

Thorpe - Like ths kid. Incredibly tiny, but seems to have good football knowledge. He has an excellent touch and tried to change the game from the outset. On the edge of the box he has a good awareness of his team mates with little touch and not afraid to give others a dress down from what I saw

Mukendi - Usually a winger a believe but was playing uptop, didn't get into the game when he came on, I can't remember too much about his performance but I have heard he is a talented player

Mehmeti Carried the ball a lot in CM, plays with his head up, looks like another good player if I'm honest

Overall imo I think this is a talented group and I look forward to seeing how many are left when they join the academy in a couple of years. One of the parents expects this year group to be a larger intake than next years which gives an idea of the talent they have. Shame Shashoua wasn't playing though, I knew he was injured earlier in the season but I'm pretty sure he played against Chelsea u15s a few weeks back so don't know what happened and it was also missing a few others like De Bourg and Elva-Fontaine.

Here's the squad photo from the programme
Back Row from L to R: Elliot Thrope, Armando Shashoua, Jamie Bowden, Rayan Clarke, D'Jean Spencer
Middel Row from L to R: Anderson Mbangi, Anis Mehmeti, Kamal De Bourg, Kane Thomspson-Sommers, Phoenix Patterson, Brooklyn Lyons-Foster, Dilan Markanday, Joshua Oluwayemi
Front Row L to R: John McDermott, Paris Maghoma, Oliver Skipp, Jubril Okedina, Justin Cochrane

View attachment 22625

I can see that quite a few players are missing from here that played yesterday and some other who I know are there but still the group has been cut quite a bit from last year.

I'd say this is pretty spot on and a very good report. You certainly pay a lot of attention to detail and this another very informative post from you. I think I payed less attention to each player as an individual than you and rather the team/match as a whole and I'd say I was a little disappointed with the effort to create an option for the defenders when they were on the ball in the first 15-20 minutes, although the Ipswich lads were clearly well up for it and didn't give us a lot of space. With the way I watched the match more waiting for a player to stand out rather than watching in so much detail (was a bit of a catch up with a friend I went with too tbh) I'd say I came away with the following in mind- The 2 CB's who were both very comfortable on the ball and defended well all round in terms of physicality and the more technical side of the game like their reading/positioning, Patterson who I thought was outstanding (my Ipswich mate was very very impressed and enjoyed watching him almost as much as I did), Mehmeti who looked to play forward and drive into the space at every opportunity and kept the ball well and although he was isolated at times, as you say, Clarke the striker as when he got the ball you could see his skill and trickiness, just maybe needs to keep it a bit more simple/efficient (a few matches sat watching Kane would do him good!). Cheers for your report and hope you enjoyed the match

 

[Spursidol]

I'd say this is pretty spot on and a very good report. You certainly pay a lot of attention to detail and this another very informative post from you. I think I payed less attention to each player as an individual than you and rather the team/match as a whole and I'd say I was a little disappointed with the effort to create an option for the defenders when they were on the ball in the first 15-20 minutes, although the Ipswich lads were clearly well up for it and didn't give us a lot of space. With the way I watched the match more waiting for a player to stand out rather than watching in so much detail (was a bit of a catch up with a friend I went with too tbh) I'd say I came away with the following in mind- The 2 CB's who were both very comfortable on the ball and defended well all round in terms of physicality and the more technical side of the game like their reading/positioning, Patterson who I thought was outstanding (my Ipswich mate was very very impressed and enjoyed watching him almost as much as I did), Mehmeti who looked to play forward and drive into the space at every opportunity and kept the ball well and although he was isolated at times, as you say, Clarke the striker as when he got the ball you could see his skill and trickiness, just maybe needs to keep it a bit more simple/efficient (a few matches sat watching Kane would do him good!). Cheers for your report and hope you enjoyed the match

Thanks for the comments from the match, much appreciated.

One point of clarification, when you say 'Clarke the striker' can you recall whether these comments were on Richards the striker or Clarke the AM ? Not trying to catch you out - its difficult sometimes watching a youth group who haven't had that much public exposure and therefore the players are not readily recognisable !

Seems that Patterson was the player everyone agrees was the MOTM.

 

[Flobadob]

Thanks for the comments from the match, much appreciated.

One point of clarification, when you say 'Clarke the striker' can you recall whether these comments were on Richards the striker or Clarke the AM ? Not trying to catch you out - its difficult sometimes watching a youth group who haven't had that much public exposure and therefore the players are not readily recognisable !

Seems that Patterson was the player everyone agrees was the MOTM.

Ah yeah you got me! Haha got the two mixed up. It was Richards the striker. Looked a good player, just needs some fine tuning maybe. Clarke played LW i believe and I'd agree with IG's comparison with Hazard in terms of his balance and the way he seemed to quickly gluide inside his opponent in a flash on a few occasions. Overall you could see the technical ability was there from both sides and it was a good watch. Only downside was it was bloody freezing and I didn't dress well enough and I was sat behind some pretty annoying teenage girls. Lots "Oh my god!" "Woooohwhoooo!"'s and asking dumb questions like "Why do they have those nets behind the goals? That's stupid!"

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Thought yesterday's match was really good. EW were much the better team and controlled the game however Ipswich also had some decent players, their RB I think Kieron Dyer's son looked like he had some ability and their goalscorer who I think is on a trial for them was their best player. Easy to see why this group is so highly rated especially and it will be interesting to track their development. I started giving ratings, but took them away as it didn't feel right, I'm sure you guys might be able to imagine scores. @Flobadob would like your input as I can't remember specific bits of every player so you might be able to add and it would be good to see if you thought the same or different.

Josh Oluwayemi - Had to make a few saves but looked very comfortable and held on to a lot of shots despite diving low. Goods hands. Got sat down fro the goal but credit to the scorer

Brooklyn Lyons-Foster - Put in an assured performance at RB. Comfortable on the ball and always provided an options

Max Statham - First time seeing this player, believe he is the son of ex Spurs player Brian Statham. Thought he played really well, both CBs were composed on the ball, but he just looked slightly more assured to me with his passing. Also had a good turn of pace to outrun or not get beaten by their strikers.

Jubril Okedina - Again he was very happy to be on the ball but I felt he held onto the ball too long looking for a pass. A couple of times he ended up almost getting into a situation or losing the ball but credit to him for never panicking and never went long however he did make one nice run through the middle beating a couple of players and was always looking to carry out from the back. I sat next to the ITFCacademy twitter handler and he thought Jubril was the better of the 2 so can go either way.

Kane Thomspson-Sommers - Don't think he had the best game, very small player but I think they got in behind him a couple of times. Probably just had an off night.

Paris Maghoma - Unsurprisingly looks to have grown since we saw him in the Riga vids a couple of years ago. He didn't have the best game it felt, considering what I've seen before but he still looked like one of the best players on the pitch. Snatched at a shot early on and couldn't quite find his passing. Has a lot of strength to carry the ball through the midfield

Bowden - Controlled the midfield and held on to the ball well. Was always looking to create to, but offered an outlet to relieve pressure. When he moved to RB he performed a similar role and was released some attacks from there

Pochettino - I'd heard he wasn't the most talented but in the Riga vids he looked fine. Yesterday he didn't look out of place but he didn't offer much as a winger. He can keep the ball well though just didn't see much of an attempt to beat someone

Patterson - Great performance. The glimpses I get of him at the training ground he always seems to be involved but yesterday he showed he could be a real player. He is smallish but surprisingly strong. Good dribbler, looks after it well in small spaces and can pick out passes, and as we saw he looks like he has an eye for goal. Finished off a rebound, scored a rocket and hit the crossbar

Clarke - Didn't get on the ball anywhere near as much as I would have liked as I was talking him up before the game, but he definitely caused trouble when he was on i. Had the beating of his man when he was on and is very slippery. Probably should have had two penalties, and he seems a real team player with a good workrate. Small but is shifty, some would say similar to Hazard

Richards - was impressed with Richards. Made some good runs, did a lot of flicks and one touch stuff. Knew how to make himself a bit of space with some feints and held the ball up well, showing awareness to bring the ball down on his chest from a goalkick. If I was being critical he held onto the ball too long a couple of times in the box after creating space for himself when he could have short, but I was impressed

Subs

Markanday - Good little dribbler, small but again comfortable on the ball, and can turn himself out of trouble.

Thorpe - Like ths kid. Incredibly tiny, but seems to have good football knowledge. He has an excellent touch and tried to change the game from the outset. On the edge of the box he has a good awareness of his team mates with little touch and not afraid to give others a dress down from what I saw

Mukendi - Usually a winger a believe but was playing uptop, didn't get into the game when he came on, I can't remember too much about his performance but I have heard he is a talented player

Mehmeti Carried the ball a lot in CM, plays with his head up, looks like another good player if I'm honest

Overall imo I think this is a talented group and I look forward to seeing how many are left when they join the academy in a couple of years. One of the parents expects this year group to be a larger intake than next years which gives an idea of the talent they have. Shame Shashoua wasn't playing though, I knew he was injured earlier in the season but I'm pretty sure he played against Chelsea u15s a few weeks back so don't know what happened and it was also missing a few others like De Bourg and Elva-Fontaine.

Here's the squad photo from the programme
Back Row from L to R: Elliot Thrope, Armando Shashoua, Jamie Bowden, Rayan Clarke, D'Jean Spencer
Middel Row from L to R: Anderson Mbangi, Anis Mehmeti, Kamal De Bourg, Kane Thomspson-Sommers, Phoenix Patterson, Brooklyn Lyons-Foster, Dilan Markanday, Joshua Oluwayemi
Front Row L to R: John McDermott, Paris Maghoma, Oliver Skipp, Jubril Okedina, Justin Cochrane

View attachment 22625

I can see that quite a few players are missing from here that played yesterday and some other who I know are there but still the group has been cut quite a bit from last year.

Who's EW ?

 

[Spursidol]

Who's EW ?

EveryWon playing fir Spurs, commonly called 'We' ?

 

[Dharmabum]

Ah yeah you got me! Haha got the two mixed up. It was Richards the striker. Looked a good player, just needs some fine tuning maybe. Clarke played LW i believe and I'd agree with IG's comparison with Hazard in terms of his balance and the way he seemed to quickly gluide inside his opponent in a flash on a few occasions. Overall you could see the technical ability was there from both sides and it was a good watch. Only downside was it was bloody freezing and I didn't dress well enough and I was sat behind some pretty annoying teenage girls. Lots "Oh my god!" "Woooohwhoooo!"'s and asking dumb questions like "Why do they have those nets behind the goals? That's stupid!"

And did you respond to their inquieries...?

 

[IGSpur]

Who's EW ?

Meant to be 'we'