He may well be 100 times better than Kewell was at 14 but will he be a good player when he is 24? Thats the million dollar question but nevertheless thats one to be asked a long time down the line.
Regarding potential new signings Im a bit worried by Wyness coming out in the saying at the moment the playing side is second to the stadium bullshit.
I would be a bit concerned if we are still sat here at the end of June and no reinforcements are in considering I think we need at least 8 players this summer.
Who shall we attempt to make our first signing?. Will it be a big name?. Perhaps it will be Gera as a squad player which isnt too bad if you get the quality in to go with that kind of squad player.
I have to say after watching tonights game I wouldnt lose too much sleep if we dont pursue Michael Bradley as for me he looked nothing more than average, infact average may be putting it mildly.
Ok he was in a shocking US team but he doesnt look like what we need.
Who and what do we need though? And how many is maybe just as important?
We wont want to be left ina similar position to the end of this season where we run out of numbers and consequently lost our way after March.

Not to be pedantic or anything, but where is this claimed?

Where did you find this story out? I have not heard anything about this in Australia. We usually hear about these things down here if they happen.

I am pretty sure his family is close to Timmy?s. I have seen him play and he is at the very high end of talent for his age in Australia.

Hi Craig, saw it on NSNO very late last night--also spotted something about it on bluekipper forum....

Haven?t heard squat about it in Australia. Search his name though and plenty of newspaper articles come up on him. If he is the wonder kid on tv a few years back he has serious footwork and ball control..

I’d be very happy with this as signing very talented youth from across the globe is very ’arsenal’ & shows we want to be the best in years to come, only problem is, is this actually true? Cant see an announcement of this anywhere!

His signing wasn’t announced on the o/s but he’s definitely with us ,


this article was written about him in 2005

Football freak
By NIKKI TUGWELL

October 25, 2005

HE is said to be more advanced than Harry Kewell at the same age.

He has a sponsorship with adidas and scouts from French and English soccer giants Marseille and Liverpool are drooling. He is being touted as Australia’s answer to Wayne Rooney and is described by David Beckham as "the freak from Down Under". To everyone else, he is Terry Antonis.

"You are wary of throwing too much on a young boy," says Australia’s most capped player and former Socceroos captain, Alex Tobin.

"But he is one of the most outstanding young players that I have seen running around. I have seen him train and he is a gifted soccer player, one of immense talent without a doubt."

It was in Madrid last year that the Sydney whiz kid, then just 10, caught the eye of Beckham because of the incredible things he can do with a soccer ball.

Antonis, who turns 12 next month, and other prodigies from all corners of the globe were carefully handpicked to film a documentary with the England captain and Real Madrid superstar.

He was not just juggling a soccer ball but squash balls with his feet, he was as accomplished with his left foot as his right and his technical skills were as good as many of the top players.

So impressed was Beckham in Antonis he affectionately renamed him and took the time to offer some parting advice.

"It was really good fun and it was pretty cool to fly all the way over there and Beckham told me to keep my skills up and to keep going," Antonis said.

Antonis won a world-wide skills competition to spend three days with Beckham to make a training DVD.

In Australia, the competition was run by Channel 7’s Today Tonight and one judge to select the Georges Hall youngster ahead of other finalists was Frank Farina.

"He is very young but he has a lot of talent in terms of skill and technique," the former Socceroos coach said yesterday.

"His juggling is very good, he pulled out a squash ball and started juggling that and didn’t drop it once, he is very impressive. Whether he progresses with his skills will be something to wait and see."

The romantic version of the story goes, after training with the world’s most celebrated player, a jetlagged Antonis flew back into Sydney airport with his father.

A strange man approached, asked if he could accompany them home or buy a coffee. It was an agent.

But while Marseille and Liverpool have "a relationship" with the family, Antonis has his sights set closer to home. "I love watching Dwight Yorke and one day I want to play for Sydney FC and Australia," he said.

His father Peter added: "He has to prove himself before he can play for anyone but I’d certainly like to see him play here, play for Sydney FC and entertain Sydneysiders."

Antonis began kicking the ball around the backyard aged three with his grandmother. He was identified by the Coerver program at five, has since represented Oceania, spent six months training with the NSWIS program and attends Westfields soccer school twice a week.

"He is 100 per cent more advanced than a Harry Kewell at his age, light years ahead," says Paul Bentvelzen, director of Oceania’s Coerver coaching scheme.

"It is amazing what the boy can do with a soccer ball. He has the same physical capabilities as a first grade player. "The international director of Coerver coaching, who works with children at the top clubs all over the world, has never seen a player of his age anywhere with the same physical and technical capabilities as this boy."

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****************************************************
so he does look promising

Mark Griffiths - None of the Arsenal youngsters were ever labelled as superkids were they, no-one had even heard of Fabregas until he played in the 1st team??

My point is, I?m very, very sceptical of this wonderkid tag as they very rarely turn out to be top players. Freddy Adu anyone??

I do like that the club is scouting for youth as far afield as Australia but I?m just sceptical about ?wonderkids?. That is, as you say, if its true.

arthur jones - there’s a link to that article at the top & what makes you say ’he’s definately with us’??
John Lloyd - labelling youngsters as ’wonderkids’ does mean very little (as you say freddy adu was supposed to be the next pele) but if he has the skils, control & technique now then there’s obviously more chance of him becoming a very good technical player.

Mark ..I was told of his signing by somebody who works at Finch Farm . There’s no big secret about it , If you wish to know more then just Google his name

So we?ve signed some 14yr old from Austrailia...BIG FUCKIN DEAL !!....
We need the finished article now not some kid who MIGHT prove to be good in 5yrs time FFS
We?ve heard it all before about ?wonderkids? ....I?ll make a statement hear & now...I?ll bet you this kid NEVER plays in our first team or any other top Premier league 1st team either come to that.
Jermaine Pennant was a ?wonderkid? whom Arsenal paid £2 mil for when he was that age...enough said !!

Yeah nothing there really.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Terry%20Antonis

I agree Mark, your spot on with that comment, its also great for the club to be able to attract such players at all.
I’m just thinking that at the minute, although its good to see the club involved with these stories & players, we are not at the level that Man U, Barca etc are at. So I wanna see stories about top players ready now for the 1st team as we have a painfully thin squad & as we all know we need quality & numbers in sooner rather than later

In fact its the one thing that all Evertonians agree on at present!! ha ha.

This kid is a real talent. I certainly don’t want to label him the ’next this, or next that’, but having seen him play first-hand, he is far and away better than any kid in Australia at his age and really had to come to the UK to continue developing.

If he continues to grow, mature and develop like the people close to him think he can (and obviously the Everton club have seen the potential), Everton fans are in for a treat.

Under the "homegrown players" rule touted by UEFA, he would be elligible as one of eight players that must be put forward in any Champion’s League squad.

Even if he is sold he would qualify as being part of the association so be eligible for another team. Because he has been at an English club for three years before the age of 21.

That’s why foreign signings in paticular are getting younger. There’s is much to gain and little to lose.

THERE IS NO STORY!!!!!

Tony Part, first comment: we need at least 8 players? I don’t think so. We’ve just come fifth in the league with two decent cup runs out of three, we need to add quality, not numbers. I suggest we need to add 4 midfielders, any other transfers should be on a one in one out basis, and therefore not a matter of needing.

Our current squad:

GK: Howard, Turner, Ruddy - enough numbers there, the merits of the back ups are a different debate.

DF: Neville, Hibbert, Baines, Valente, Yobo, Lescott, Jagielka. I’ll concede we might need a fourth centre-back as cover (Gardner anyone?) but that might even be Jack Rodwell. Dan Gosling can also be considered at right back.

MF: Arteta, Cahill, Pienaar, Osman. This is where we need the extra 4 players. We play better with a 5 man midfield where Cahill is practically a forward. We need Fernandes, another holding midfielder (Scharner could cover DM and CB), a left footed winger and another, probably central, midfielder.

CF: Yakubu, Johnson, Vaughan, Anichebe. I consider this more than enough for a team who are better with one up front. If we wanted to sign another striker, I’d sell Johnson to make room.

So four midfielders needed, I’ll give you that. Where do we need the rest of the 8?

How was Fabregas not labelled as a wonderkid if Arsenal bought him by the time he was 16? someone clearly thought he was one from a young age at Arsenal.

Slightly off topic lads.

I was watching ?Britains got talent? on TV last week, a youg lad went on stage, juggled a ball etc etc amazing to watch. At the same time the lad was released by Arsenal! One thing to do tricks and Juggle a ball, its another to have the awarness, positioning, speed and strength along with a level head. If indeed we have him, great, but let's pass judgement in 4 years time.

Arsene Wenger aside then!

I was talking about these kids that are all over you tube at 7 years old then sign forms with someone at 12/13/14 then amount to be, usually, average players if they make it at all.

Like the aforementioned Freddy Adu, who is currently a bit part player for Benfica after being at 3 different MLS clubs and making no real impact.

http://nearpost.blogspot.com/search/label/Paul%20Okon?max-results=20

Sunday, 27 April 2008
"Fourteen year old Sydney boy Terry Antonis is off to Everton in England. Fozzie says it’s the most crucial issue facing Australia. Young player development."

Mike Allison... Did you not watch Everton this season? Maybe you were oblivious to the fact that we simply ran out of numbers due to the amount of injuries to the usual injury suspects of Vaughan and Cahill, Valente, Baines.. As for the goalkeeper scenario well Ruddy and Turner are untested kids and Turner has been here for six years and surely wont want to sit around on the bench for another six.
Anichebe is not top quality, he is a good squad player I will grant you that.
Andy Johnson has had injury problems..Van Der Meyde is never going to feature..
Players who were on the bench this season have left like Gravesen..
Some younger players have also gone like Vidarrson and Boyle..
Do you not remember when we only had one fit striker at Anfield? Or the situation at Fulham when we had to bring Hibbert on for Johnson after 10 minutes?
The reason the best teams do so well over long hard seasons is because they have such good and strong squads both in terms of quality and QUANTITY!

Why are people complaining about us signing this kid? Saying we need 1st team players now is fair enough, but this kid has cost us nothing, and could end up being very very good. I think its great our scouting network has extended that far, and that a very promising youngster has chosen to sign for us. I remember a few years back we tried to sign some 17 year old American (his name escapes me) but he just didn’t think it was worth coming to England to play for Everton... I think he just ended up staying in America. As far as I know he never really made it big, but at least were now an appealing club to sign for thanks to our new facilities and increased profile. This kid could be the next big thing, or he could be the next Michael Branch... either way were not losing anything signing him, and Arsenal have certainly saved a lot of money and got some excellent players doing this kind of thing. I think this is a good signing by Moyes.

@Andy- That was Danny Szetela from the US.

This kid seems like a future golden boy if he is so highly rated in OZ and even Beckham flew him to Madrid etc etc...

As for 8 midfielders or 3 ....if Osman and cahill play the support forward position then we only have arteta and pienaar to fill the 2 wide midfield roles leaving with 2 slots in the middle and no players...plus 4 subs would be 6 players already...

Mark - Thats the guy, well remembered! Anyone know what happened to him?

I would love to add to those doubters out there about Terry Antonis.
I have seen the boy play first hand and I can asure all of you that he is something special.
His father, uncle and I have spent many hours discussing were would be the best senario for Terry. You should be honered to have him and I can guarantee that Terry will play first grade football by the age of 18. He lives, breathes and eats footballs.
There is nothing this kid can?t do, ask David Beckham.

Hi Chris, nice comment about young Terry. I also have seen Terry play over the last 2 years and Yes, he is very good. But Guaranteeing he will play 1st Grade by 18 is a little bit premature and silly. Not sure if you really understand the demands of professional football in Europe. Secondly Everton as a development club may not have been the correct option, eventhough it is good that Tim is there to look after Terry if needed and it is definetely better than staying in Oz. There a few more facts that I would like to pass onto you, but this will be next year. Hope Terry enjoys his stay at Everton.