The Mail Bag
Arsene Moyes
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The future looks bright. I'm genuinly excited by what's slowly been happening throughout our Academy for the last 5 years. In the last days at Netherton, I was fortunate enough to go down and see the facilities as well as meet Ray Hall and a few of the other coaches.
At the time (2007), I was told of three real prospects for the future of the club. Baxter, Rodwell and Agard. Now, with all three in the first team squad (four with Wallace), to add to the names of Vaughan, Anichebe, Osman, Hibbert and the many others who have moved on, we must be doing something right to have such a strong pool of players to pick from.
Subsequently, we moved to Finch Farm and an exclusive training facility which matches up to any seen in the Premier League. Surely now is the time to build on that and tempt the best prospects in Europe and beyond, that this great club is where the next generation of hungry footballers want to ply their trade. Mustafi, Orenuga, Spencer, Gosling, Felliani, Garbutt, Coleman and if rumours are believed Naughton certainly do just that.
Surely with perhaps two more additions, including Jo on loan and we'll have enough to at least challenge the top 3. If not this year, then, looking forward, it's only a matter of time...
Charlie Dixon, Posted 10/07/2009 at 12:55:55
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Seriously though I agree that the future could well be bright with some of these good players and it is nice for us to be able to attract them at that age (especially given that we can’t once they are 23!)
However we do need be realistic. Of every player that goes through the academy only one or two ever make the first team and rarely do they make it big time.
One minor point though, Spencer was released this summer, so replace him with the name Ross Barkley; England Under 16 vice captain, looks to be an excellent central midfield prospect.
Problem is reading about these yougsters leaves me just as clueless as I started off, they could write any old stuff there, without actually seeing them play it seems pointless and maybe a little wrong, as if I should be leaving these young lads alone until they’re old & wise enough to be able to handle people looking at them, a little voyeurish if you know what I mean, I’m kinda happy to let them be and pick up interest when they break into the first team.
I wonder how many will get an opportunity even if they are going to be good enough, last season we didn’t have much choice but you’ve got to wonder whether Rodwell/Gosling would have got a look in if we had a few less injuries. Everton is a desirable place to be for a youngster right now, not only because Everton have a good history of bringing youngsters through but becuase they can actually see plenty of them being given their chance right now.
If it’s fashionable for youngsters to come to Everton then lets not fight it, true a good proportion don’t make it, but even these players can be used as make weights in transfer deals and such like.
I’m in the stupidly optimistic camp, always have been, and I don’t like to say bad things about people but for me it was a strange decision for Anichibe to play for Nigerea when he knows it automatically makes him slightly less desirable to English clubs, then he had that dummy spitting incident last season, think he should be packed off to Sheff Utd as part of the Naughton deal, not sure I like his attitude.
Not sure there’s a point to this apart from to say, yes Charlie, I agree. (long night shift, sorry for the ramble)
COYB
He was being sarcastic, calm down calm down!
ps, I forgot the other way to compete is to buy from the lower leagues! Oh, we do that as well.
It is interesting to see David Moyes really go for this now. One or two have come through and it seems to have convinced Moyes that this is the only way available to him to progress the club. He’s probably right, unless we get the investment, how can we complete with the top four? It's a bit like doing the lottery, the more tickets you buy the more chance you’ve got.
What we need to do is what Man Utd did and bring through three or four at the same time. By that I mean three or four top class young players... and if that happens the money clubs will be swarming around them just like they did with Rooney. It's a bit of a Catch-22 really and there is no guarantee it will pay off but I admire David Moyes for giving it a go. It shows again that he is doing his level best to progress the club any way he can.
As for the subject of the post, Coleman, Mustafi, Duffy, Garbutt, Gosling, Orenuga, Rodwell, Wallace, Baxter, Peterlin, Vaughan, Agard - if we get 3 out of this bunch, it will have been worth it.
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1 Posted 10/07/2009 at 18:31:29
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