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The Spurs Youth Thread - 2017/2018

WindyCOYS

Well-Known Member
Feb 24, 2016
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You weren't impressed by Riley and Davis? Interesting. I thought Davis was the bees knees and so did David Pleat ;)
Davis was okay from what I remember; I didn't see much of him and remember thinking he drifted in and out.
 

WindyCOYS

Well-Known Member
Feb 24, 2016
479
1,588
To a degree, if he hadn't become manager and been so annoying, I'd not mind him back working in the academy.
Yup, he did a great job of placing players on loan and creating a link between Academy and first team. If he wasn't such a poisonous gobshite he would be an attractive proposition for that role.
 

beats1

Well-Known Member
Feb 22, 2010
30,006
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Yup, he did a great job of placing players on loan and creating a link between Academy and first team. If he wasn't such a poisonous gobshite he would be an attractive proposition for that role.
Which, is why I personally love to have Chris back
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
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Have we got anyone in the U19 games on Wednesday and Saturday?

Just want to know whether to set the Sky record.
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
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To a degree, if he hadn't become manager and been so annoying, I'd not mind him back working in the academy.

Yup, he did a great job of placing players on loan and creating a link between Academy and first team. If he wasn't such a poisonous gobshite he would be an attractive proposition for that role.

He's a grade A bullshitter who doesn't walk his talk. He did give Bentaleb his break, after constantly bitching to Levy about AVB not playing kids, he couldn't really not start picking them when he's given the job, but he dropped him quick enough when he was getting shit and his "head was on the block". I'm sure Kane wouldn't have lasted long if he hadn't scored and then scored again and again. He barely gave Pritchard anything meaningful, or Veljkovic, what a few minutes each? He also was happy enough to buy about 12 players from Ligue1 as soon as he got the job at Villa, rather than relying on their academy.

The reason he's all for not "over coaching" kids is because he can't fucking coach. Letting them run araaand would suit him to a tee. The reason everyone is constantly buying French kids is because they get good quality coaching, including tactically. Too much tactical awareness is not what's been holding English kids back for decades. And it's not why France, Germany and Italy keep winning major tournaments. And England are doing exactly the opposite of what he's saying, concentrating on trying to win tournaments and putting numpties like Boothroyd in pivotal positions.

It's laughable the garbage he spouts. He's a blagger. I wouldn't want him anywhere near our club ever again.
 

Sophos151

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2016
792
2,559
Former Spurs academy player Calum Butcher scored the winner in the Essex Senior Cup tonight. O’Hara came off the bench too; and Lee Barnard played a few minutes for the losing team.
 

mpickard2087

Patient Zero
Jun 13, 2008
21,886
32,513
This bit though:

"He struggled to convince the Tottenham fans at first. One of their own? It makes me laugh every time I hear it. They wanted the big name ending in 'o' to come into the team before Harry."

Is very true. I can't remember which game, I think it was maybe his first start, he played up alongside Adebayor and there was an absolute meltdown all over Spurs social media about how Poor Bobby wasn't getting his deserved chance. Some on here were basically in tears about it :LOL:
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
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This bit though:



Is very true. I can't remember which game, I think it was maybe his first start, he played up alongside Adebayor and there was an absolute meltdown all over Spurs social media about how Poor Bobby wasn't getting his deserved chance. Some on here were basically in tears about it :LOL:

So is the bit about players you buy being capable of letting you down as much as kids, but the trouble is Sherwood's as guilty as anyone of bottling it when his neck's on the block.

He's just a rampant bantersaurus, who spews out things he thinks people want hear.
 

mpickard2087

Patient Zero
Jun 13, 2008
21,886
32,513
So is the bit about players you buy being capable of letting you down as much as kids, but the trouble is Sherwood's as guilty as anyone of bottling it when his neck's on the block.

He's just a rampant bantersaurus, who spews out things he thinks people want hear.

To be honest I have no real feeling towards Sherwood. I didn't want him to continue, he had his chance here with his 6 month audition, he blew it, his subsequent managerial outings have shown what ability (lack of it) he has..... And yet in some ways, and I don't expect many/anyone to agree with me here, I do think the club had got itself in such a state that some wildcat taking a wrecking ball to it, calling out some of the bollocks we were seeing (even if he had culpability himself and had to share in it) and getting into the open what most people who follow the club were thinking wasn't an absolutely bad thing. It was something that had to be faced up to. In some of these actions he also, even if it wasn't applied consistently, did manage to get the ball rolling and show that you can bring academy kids in, they weren't totally useless, and they can contribute and big money signings aren't the be all and end all.
 

IGSpur

Well-Known Member
Jan 11, 2013
7,939
13,758
This bit though:



Is very true. I can't remember which game, I think it was maybe his first start, he played up alongside Adebayor and there was an absolute meltdown all over Spurs social media about how Poor Bobby wasn't getting his deserved chance. Some on here were basically in tears about it :LOL:

A lot of what he said he was right about imo, and many have said similar before. I observed something very similar and said that people are happy to say they're not good enough, but if one gets a chance due to injury and shine everyone pats themselves on the back and claim we're a club that gives academy players chances.

I could highlight so much of it I agree with but there was also this bit

"Winning games at youth level doesn't really mean anything in one sense, of course. But on the other hand it does matter because all of a sudden people are taking notice of these kids now."

There are such fine margins in the game. I must have raved about the 00 age group for so long, they missed out on the Euros but I was confident they would win the World Cup. Even if they didn't I would still know they were the best age group I have seen, yet for their hype to be vindicated they had to win it to get the recognition, otherwise they would just be considered another over-hyped age group. I have said many times before our current age groups or those born between 96-01 are the best I've seen, yet people will say because an older age group won a tournament before it must make them better. No one would claim our 08 CC winning side is better than our current side, but for some reason in youth football the Cups matters.

Also this bit is interesting as again and I've mentioned before, I think this is the reason we produce quality individual players with little structure. There is of course a debate to be had about the best way to develop but I like our method, as we produce quality players and they can always be adapted to new systems as they get older. I see clubs like West Ham and lesser clubs that are so focused on systems you struggle to see the good players in their and you get a player that can just end up doing a job, but with no real potential to be top quality

"Suddenly it went to 10 versus 10 and Tottenham battered them. I was so angry watching it that I went to the QPR coach afterwards to ask what he made of it. He told me that Spurs were just too good for them. Well, they weren't too good for them when it was five against five. But he then went and shackled them to positions.

"They were mindlessly tracking runners. He didn't let them play free and Tottenham murdered them. What he was doing was becoming obsessed with systems. It was all about tucking this player in here and denying that player space there. These kids would have been playing street football years ago. The South American lads are still doing it.

"We are over-coaching in this country too early. We need to recreate street football inside the academies and not be overloading them with information at a young age. There is plenty of time for all that. But the first thing is to create a happy environment in which they are relaxed and then you will see the beauty of the talent shine through."
 

IGSpur

Well-Known Member
Jan 11, 2013
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He's a grade A bullshitter who doesn't walk his talk. He did give Bentaleb his break, after constantly bitching to Levy about AVB not playing kids, he couldn't really not start picking them when he's given the job, but he dropped him quick enough when he was getting shit and his "head was on the block". I'm sure Kane wouldn't have lasted long if he hadn't scored and then scored again and again. He barely gave Pritchard anything meaningful, or Veljkovic, what a few minutes each? He also was happy enough to buy about 12 players from Ligue1 as soon as he got the job at Villa, rather than relying on their academy.

I, like mpickard, don't feel anyway about Sherwood, but after we constantly mention how difficult is to throw young people in, regardless of his agenda the fact he still chucked Bentaleb in without any loans is something to be praised, and perfectly showed what we all believe, that these players are good enough, without needing to jump through 100 hoops. Plenty of managers talk about it and have reputations and still never do it. It's a shame that the example he set, that they can be a success didn't inspire ours and other future managers. Without debating the whole head on the block bit, IIRC wasn't Bentaleb berated as being the teacher's pet precisely because Sherwood continued to play him when others thought his form had dropped.

Re: Kane I don't know what he would have done if he hadn't scored but he did, and that was due to the chance that Sherwood gave him. I think Sherwood did as much as he could with Kane. When he started Ade scored something like 8 in 14 games so there was no justification for dropping him. He did when he could and we've been grateful for it ever since.

Also I assume Sherwood didn't give many chances at Villa due to being there one year and not knowing the academy players that well. He could give our players chances as he knew them and was involved in their development. The Villa players were relative unknowns, and even then I think he tried out Hephburn-Murphy at one point. At Barca Guardiola brought through a load of academy players, probably because he knew them. He will be slower to use them at City I imagine
 
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IGSpur

Well-Known Member
Jan 11, 2013
7,939
13,758
The same reason affirmative action has proved necessary in every other field. Its an unpalatable truth but a truth none the less that minorities are discriminated against. It doesn't all have to be in an overt way but its clear that a cultural bias toward white men exists across the board. Black coaches' failures seem to be judged more serious than white coaches' failures. I'm no fan of Paul Ince as person but I think he makes a good point when he ask aloud why he struggles to get work when someone as demonstrably incompetent as, say, Adie Boothroyd can get a plum job with the FA. Trust is harder won and quicker lost for black coaches.

I of course agree with this. I always hear people say, why does race matter, just give the job to whoever is best. While that is a lovely saying it never works out in practice. The world is not a meritocracy, as the old saying goes, it's not what you know, it's who you know. And on a smaller scale this is the same reason the old boys club exists with, the Allardyces, Pardews and Pulis' preventing talented new managers getting chances from lower leagues. I hope the affirmative action starts to balance out some of the clear race issues in the sport, where the rule can eventually be removed
 

beats1

Well-Known Member
Feb 22, 2010
30,006
29,551
He's a grade A bullshitter who doesn't walk his talk. He did give Bentaleb his break, after constantly bitching to Levy about AVB not playing kids, he couldn't really not start picking them when he's given the job, but he dropped him quick enough when he was getting shit and his "head was on the block". I'm sure Kane wouldn't have lasted long if he hadn't scored and then scored again and again. He barely gave Pritchard anything meaningful, or Veljkovic, what a few minutes each? He also was happy enough to buy about 12 players from Ligue1 as soon as he got the job at Villa, rather than relying on their academy.

The reason he's all for not "over coaching" kids is because he can't fucking coach. Letting them run araaand would suit him to a tee. The reason everyone is constantly buying French kids is because they get good quality coaching, including tactically. Too much tactical awareness is not what's been holding English kids back for decades. And it's not why France, Germany and Italy keep winning major tournaments. And England are doing exactly the opposite of what he's saying, concentrating on trying to win tournaments and putting numpties like Boothroyd in pivotal positions.

It's laughable the garbage he spouts. He's a blagger. I wouldn't want him anywhere near our club ever again.
Pritchard wasnt at the club and Veljkovic was young at 18
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
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Pritchard wasnt at the club and Veljkovic was young at 18

Pritchard was at the club. The article itself speaks about Sherwood giving them debuts. I assume you mean Pritchard was on loan? But Sherwood could have brought him back in January. He did put him on the bench for the last two games of the season, but gave him the grand total of 7 minutes in the last game. Eager to preserve his PPG no doubt.
 

Flashspur

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2012
6,882
9,068
He's a grade A bullshitter who doesn't walk his talk. He did give Bentaleb his break, after constantly bitching to Levy about AVB not playing kids, he couldn't really not start picking them when he's given the job, but he dropped him quick enough when he was getting shit and his "head was on the block". I'm sure Kane wouldn't have lasted long if he hadn't scored and then scored again and again. He barely gave Pritchard anything meaningful, or Veljkovic, what a few minutes each? He also was happy enough to buy about 12 players from Ligue1 as soon as he got the job at Villa, rather than relying on their academy.

The reason he's all for not "over coaching" kids is because he can't fucking coach. Letting them run araaand would suit him to a tee. The reason everyone is constantly buying French kids is because they get good quality coaching, including tactically. Too much tactical awareness is not what's been holding English kids back for decades. And it's not why France, Germany and Italy keep winning major tournaments. And England are doing exactly the opposite of what he's saying, concentrating on trying to win tournaments and putting numpties like Boothroyd in pivotal positions.

It's laughable the garbage he spouts. He's a blagger. I wouldn't want him anywhere near our club ever again.

Occasionally you talk f***ing good sense BC :D (y)
 
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