Youth player(s) you had high hopes for?

[CoopsieDeadpool]

I know he wasn't exactly our youth player. But what ever happened to Zeki Fryers? I seem to remember a bit of a shit storm when we got him?

 

[ralphs bald spot]

I know he wasn't exactly our youth player. But what ever happened to Zeki Fryers? I seem to remember a bit of a shit storm when we got him?

he has just been released by Swindon

 

[weststandyid]

never saw it with bentaleb, don't think he ever had a huge amount in his locker. best performance was at rb imo.

got negatives for this, but proof has been in the pudding.

 

[Nocando]

Who was the defender we paid a million for, which at the time was a fair whack. Was it Leigh Mills? Never saw him play mind you.

 

[eddiebailey]

I was Googling a young winger called Jamie Davis whom I had high hopes for with the purpose of mentioning him in this thread when the search results brought up this post of mine from a decade ago:

It is really difficult to spot who is going to make it; for every Wayne Rooney there are a dozen Terry Dixons. Back when I was filing reports on reserve games, the ones who really caught my eye were Johnnie Jackson, Lee Barnard, Mark Yeates, Jamie O'Hara and Phil Ifil. There was also a little right winger called Jamie Davis whose career was over before it began because of injury. (I swear that our youth team played on concrete pitches in those day, we had sooo many injuries...)

Jackson's career has been sabotaged by his own left foot, such an unusual attribute that it has seen him consistently played out of position. He needs to play in a deep midfield role where he can use his reading of the game to snuff out attacks and set moves going with his accurate long passing. I still feel he is slumming it in League One.

I did not take to Barnard to begin with, too much of the Alan Smith about him; but then Clive Allen came along and remodelled him in his own image. If Jol had had more faith in him he could have been a useful back-up striker for us. Injuries have held him back, but if Southampton rise again he could still get his chance at the big time.

Yeates was wonderfully gifted, but he was too cocky by half. If he had been prepared to listen to coaches and put in the work he could have been a very special player indeed. Similar in this respect to Taarabt, and like him he only thrives with a manager who is prepared to stake everything on him. The managerial merry-go-round means he quickly falls out of favour wherever he goes.

O'Hara I first saw in a half-time kick around, I was so impressed by his touch that I thought then that we had a player. It was Edgar Davids though who sorted him out, transforming him from a lightweight show pony with an attitude problem into an aggressive competitor.

Ifil looked to have it all, I have never seen a young player I was so sure was going to make it. But somewhere along the way - probably Millwall on loan - he lost all belief in himself. I could not believe how wracked with nerves he looked in his first team appearances for us. Then at Colchester he suffered from injury and changes of management, and now sadly he is without a club.

The two who have done better than I expected are Dean Marney and Steven Kelly; they looked useful but no better than a dozen or so others: John Piercy, Rob Burch, Ben Bowditch, Mark Hughes, Jamie Slabber, Michael Malcolm, Kieran McKenna, Tommy Forecast, Charlie Lee, Charlie Daniels, Andy Barcham, Simon Dawkins, Stewart Lewis, Jacques Maghoma, Joe Martin, Troy Archibald-Henville, the list goes on... Injury did for some, others are still plying their trade in the lower leagues. I recall reading somewhere that only Manchester United and Arsenal have more produced more current professionals than us.

 

[agrdavidsfan]

Yannick Kammaman was another I remember seeing him score a hat trick for Spurs vs Swindon in ore season

 

[SirNiNyHotspur]

Cameron Lancaster who I thought would be our Harry Kane before we got the actual Harry Kane who I thought would be our next Lee Bernard...

 

[Cochise]

As a young'n I remember Dean Marney's debut and expecting massive things.

In the last few years I was convinced KWP and Winks would make it. Onomah was a player I initially was excited by, but just seemed to plateau. Ccv and Amos from that group also really impressed me.

 

[Savage7]

Nealle Fenn

 

[tony_parkes]

A very young version of myself put my Darren Caskey sticker in the wrong place in the album back in the day. I never got the actual sticker to go over the top, so I forever had 2 Darren Caskey's.

Caskey was aware of this and mentions it as a reason he didn’t have a better spurs career. You bastard.

 

[tony_parkes]

I literally thought Taarabt was going to be the new Zidane.

I remember my brother in law scoffed after I told him Taarabt was the most talented player I’d seen come through the ranks at Spurs and I almost punched him in the face.

You are an otter you should have bitten his finger off so he could be like Terry nutkins.

 

[C0YS]

got negatives for this, but proof has been in the pudding.

That he’s been one of our most successful graduates this decade? I know he hasn’t had the greatest few years but was at a time a starting midfielder for a champions league team, he has ultimately not done badly. Though, yes he never made it right to the top and at this moment risks (and possibly will, but I suspect shalke will be trying to move him on as relationships are broken there) becoming a second division player.

 

[wizgell]

Caulker has to be the main one for me, and having watched the gambling documentary on Ch4 this week and listened to him talk a few months ago it's clear that his off field troubles were the main reason he didn't hit the heights expected and that is so sad.

Plenty of others- Reto Ziegler, Edwards, Phil Ifil, Alex Pritchard. I guess you could argue that Foyth and Winks fall in that category now too?

Carter-Vickers too, I remember meeting him the day after he'd played for the U23's against United and had absolutely bossed Falcao, the lad was buzzing and there was so much hype around him at the time I really thought he'd make the breakthrough.

 

[dontcallme]

I know he wasn't exactly our youth player. But what ever happened to Zeki Fryers? I seem to remember a bit of a shit storm when we got him?

A great Levy deal. Running out of contract at Utd but due to his age not available for free to English clubs. So he went to Standard Liege on a free then we bought him for cheap 6 months later. Impossible not to believe we set that all up.

But he then turned out not to be very good and we sold him for a small profit a year later. He has apparently failed at every club.

I remember us not being able to agree a fee with Palace for Bostock. We were reportedly ready to pay £2.5m and they wanted £5m. Tribunal gave him to us for £700k.

 

[Young Nasty Man]

Caulker has to be the main one for me, and having watched the gambling documentary on Ch4 this week and listened to him talk a few months ago it's clear that his off field troubles were the main reason he didn't hit the heights expected and that is so sad.

Plenty of others- Reto Ziegler, Edwards, Phil Ifil, Alex Pritchard. I guess you could argue that Foyth and Winks fall in that category now too?

Carter-Vickers too, I remember meeting him the day after he'd played for the U23's against United and had absolutely bossed Falcao, the lad was buzzing and there was so much hype around him at the time I really thought he'd make the breakthrough.

Pritchard stands out a mile above anyone in my mind. We were all convinced he was going to be lightning in a bottle.

 

[Snarfalicious]

Yeah, I remember thinking Alex Pritchard would be a mainstay for us for years to come.

 

[amathews3416]

Weren’t we quite close to landing Jadon Sancho for compensation before Dortmund came in and nipped him from us on deadline day?

 

[dontcallme]

Weren’t we quite close to landing Jadon Sancho for compensation before Dortmund came in and nipped him from us on deadline day?

Not to my recollection.

 

[Moorechild]

Weren’t we quite close to landing Jadon Sancho for compensation before Dortmund came in and nipped him from us on deadline day?

I remember this being itk around the walker deal.

 

[Chris Finch]

Weren’t we quite close to landing Jadon Sancho for compensation before Dortmund came in and nipped him from us on deadline day?

We wanted him and bid something like 7m from memory?
City were adamant he couldn’t come so he left for Dortmund