The Spurs Youth Thread - 2017/2018

[Spurzinho]

After Claude Seanla, Maghoma is the worst player to feature in our youth setup. An ambomination of a footballer who highly doubt will ever make it as a pro.

Abomination isn't very nice language about any kid, regardless of whether they're a footballer or not, or one of ours or not.

As to your point, c'mon we've had some lads at the club who were well below the required standard and to pick out Maghoma as some sort of nadir is ridiculous. I'm not going to name names or shame anyone but C. Maghoma is far from being one of the least "talented" youngsters we've had in recent times.

By the way Seanla was a very nice kid.

 

[therhinospeaks]

We all dream of a team of very nice kids, a team of very nice kids.

 

[edson]

Just like to say how impressive Tanganga has been over the last few seasons and he could easy play Championship football now.

 

[Krafty]

Never mind the CL game vs Apoel, I think some of the youngsters should be pushing the first XI in all games. There are a couple of players who just aren't performing, and there are some who looked either mentally or physically knackered.

KWP has to start for his own development, but I would like to see TOB in central midfield, and Edwards et al on the bench.

 

[wlhatwhl]

Abomination isn't very nice language about any kid, regardless of whether they're a footballer or not, or one of ours or not.

As to your point, c'mon we've had some lads at the club who were well below the required standard and to pick out Maghoma as some sort of nadir is ridiculous. I'm not going to name names or shame anyone but C. Maghoma is far from being one of the least "talented" youngsters we've had in recent times.

By the way Seanla was a very nice kid.

I saw Christian Maghoma playing for England schools a few years ago. He was a year younger than the other players but stood out as a very composed defender and played very well. Sadly, since then his development has stalled and you're left wondering where his future lies with regards a career in football. Perhaps as a young player his height gave him an advantage as a defender but that no longer applies and others have developed and matured into superior players.

 

[Spurzinho]

I saw Christian Maghoma playing for England schools a few years ago. He was a year younger than the other players but stood out as a very composed defender and played very well. Sadly, since then his development has stalled and you're left wondering where his future lies with regards a career in football. Perhaps as a young player his height gave him an advantage as a defender but that no longer applies and others have developed and matured into superior players.

I've always had the feeling that Maghoma doesn't really believe in himself. Some players are like that. I remember David Pleat saying the same thing about Dean Marney, every time he tried something he'd look over to the coach as if to check if he'd done the right thing, rather than just backing himself.

 

[Blake Griffin]

bloody hell alfie, think he was waiting for christmas.

 

[Hengy1]

bloody hell alfie, think he was waiting for christmas.

Awful by the GK wasn’t it. Both goals were both our fault.

Bennett’s with a great assist/cross.

Still maintain he should have Nkoudou spot with the first team

 

[WiganSpur]

Does anyone knowledgeable about the youth think any of the strikers (Sterling/Harrison etc.) could possibly be used as first team backup striker?

 

[WiganSpur]

Hopefully one or two will get a run out against APOEL next week, have a great game and force themselves into the manager's thoughts. Thats the only way it will happen as far as I can see it

Will be a great judge of whether Pochettino is willing to give the kids a chance. If we see all first teamers in there then it will be very disappointing

 

[Spurzinho]

Does anyone knowledgeable about the youth think any of the strikers (Sterling/Harrison etc.) could possibly be used as first team backup striker?

Harrison, definitely not. Sterling, probably not.

Harrison is not a hard working forward which you need to be to get into a Poch team. Sterling is very hard working but lacks a little bit of quality. He's definitely improved in the last few months but I still suspect he's not quite Premier League standards.

 

[Blake Griffin]

@lilywhite_rose on twitter says skipp and patterson have both signed pros.

i suspect(and hope) lyons-foster will too when he turns 17 later this week.

 

[alfie103]

bloody hell alfie, think he was waiting for christmas.

Sorry about that, I don't know what I was thinking!

 

[Spurzinho]

@lilywhite_rose on twitter says skipp and patterson have both signed pros.

i suspect(and hope) lyons-foster will too when he turns 17 later this week.

They may have got that information from the news story about Luke O'Neill being registered with us with the Premier League, where further down the list Phoenix & Skipp were also listed. It may just be a mistake or a confusion over what registering means and entails or it could be that they have signed pro deals.

 

[Sophos151]

@lilywhite_rose on twitter says skipp and patterson have both signed pros.

i suspect(and hope) lyons-foster will too when he turns 17 later this week.

Are those three the most highly rated from their year? I've heard good things about Skipp and Lyons-Foster, no so much about Patterson.

 

[edson]

Harrison, definitely not. Sterling, probably not.

Harrison is not a hard working forward which you need to be to get into a Poch team. Sterling is very hard working but lacks a little bit of quality. He's definitely improved in the last few months but I still suspect he's not quite Premier League standards.

Have always enjoyed watching Harrison play and he is a good finisher but my question would be what kind of Striker is he because he is not someone who can hold the ball up when you need him to his link up play is good and he can play out wide at a push but what type of player will he be?

Sterling is a player I am not a fan of but he is a player who can prove me wrong because he does score goals and he has a bit of power about him.

What do you think of Griffiths I am a fan of his and I know some are not but would like to know what yourself and others think?

 

[Blake Griffin]

Are those three the most highly rated from their year? I've heard good things about Skipp and Lyons-Foster, no so much about Patterson.

paris maghoma is probably a little above patterson, though that is in large part due to him being more physically developed. i haven't seen patterson for a while though so others will have a better idea of where he's at currently. there are a couple of other decent talents in this year's group but i can't help but feel 16 was an unnecessarily large intake, i think we could've cut that down by 5 and not missed much but then i guess it's better to take on too many than it is to potentially make a mistake by prematurely releasing one of them.

 

[Blake Griffin]

in isolation sterling shouldn't be good enough to be our backup striker but when llorente currently holds that title it's not really that farfetched to say he could be. llorente can hold the ball up and play with a bit of composure but everything else he just looks so poorly suited to us and it's hard to imagine him scoring unless it's put on a plate for him - and as we saw yesterday even then that's not a given. he can't press, he can barely even run - two things a pochettino side is built on and sterling would definitely give us that at least. his all-round game is unpolished but he will work and hassle defenders, he's an inconsistent finisher but he's shown he can score different types of goals - playing off the shoulder of the defender is his main source of goals but he's also good at working a yard and getting shots off that way too.

 

[Spurzinho]

Have always enjoyed watching Harrison play and he is a good finisher but my question would be what kind of Striker is he because he is not someone who can hold the ball up when you need him to his link up play is good and he can play out wide at a push but what type of player will he be?

Sterling is a player I am not a fan of but he is a player who can prove me wrong because he does score goals and he has a bit of power about him.

What do you think of Griffiths I am a fan of his and I know some are not but would like to know what yourself and others think?

I like Griffiths a lot. He's a good height, surprising upper body strength, wriggles well with the ball more than dribbles with it, has decent pace which I don't think people notice as much as they should, good feet. He obviously needs improve his link up play and he can be a little bit 'head down' at times, his movement off the ball sometimes betrays the fact that he's only recently been converted into a striker but he looks like the perfect mould to make a footballer out of.

As always, how he develops we'll have to wait and see. Does he end up as a Nathan Delfounso or a Marcus Rashford?

 

[allpaths]

We all dream of a team of very nice kids, a team of very nice kids.

Respect your view on a lot of the youth dealings, but this is pretty harsh stuff. The majority of our boys arent going to make it with us, so how do you think it would look if we started treating every player that isnt a nailed out future first teamer like trash. We'd wouldnt have an academy side to field for anyone's benefit.

As for the nice kids fininsh last jibe, it's really sad that any Tottenham fan, let alone a youth watcher would have this mentality. Especially because argueably our two biggest academy successes in recent years were two nice kids that nobody outside of Tottenham particularly rated, but through hard work and a good personality are going to play in the next world cup for England. The two Harrys. Attracting kids with a top personality and that come from good homes are a great way to combat the City's, Chelsea's and Liverpool's of the world who throw large amounts of money at any top youth player.

And for Maghoma, he's obviously not suited to our style of play, but that doesnt mean he couldnt become a top professional for a side that keeps things simple defensively and allows him to focus solely on what he is good at. If he sticks with the game, shows a good mentality, Id be really disappointed if he didnt find a good level somewhere in the football league. Which would be a success story in itself, as anyone of our lads making a living in football should be something we applaud.