Ross Barkley to avoid being cup-tied

I hope he is the "real deal" but lets not go overboard about him et.

I thought he was going there for experience. If its sitting in the stands experience then he can come do that for us.

Back at our place the fact that Oscar managed to pinch the ball off him didn't bother me. It can happen to anyone. A Swansea lad was robbed by Oscar in exactly the same manner tonight. What did concern me was the sight of this young man chasing back with the leg speed of a pensioner Afresh teenager who had not had time to get tired..

As a kid he was a quick, sharp wonderboy, Took your breath away. "The future of England." noted Rio Ferdinand. Since then,of course, he has grown quite a few inches, increased in weight and suffered a multiple legbreak. The desire has certainly not diminished. He wants the ball all the time. Let's hope the Leeds experience helps sharpen him up, Mentally and physically. Premiership pace can only come from training and playing with Premiership players.

"Anonymous said...
Very honest assessment. Not sure what it is but Leeds don't seem to turn up against us at Oakwell, or at least in recent years. That's Harewood's best performance in a reds shirt and Dagnall's first league goals for us in the year he's been at the club.

Thought Barkley looked a very exciting prospect, I can see why the Wendies were suicidal when he was recalled, even the ever reliable Dawson and Perkins we're struggling to get near him early in the 2nd half, and had the penalty not come, I think Leeds may have just nicked it, as they certainly came out in the 2nd half the better side."

You could also find many like this when he was at Wednesday. Seems to me some TWers only take notice of his bad reviews and talk up his mistakes something shocking.

I also thought Monday's performance was unacceptable but then the Moyes we know comes out and says he is happy with a point. I see us down to 7/8th very soon the way we are playing: toothless up front, devoid of any creativity in the middle, and suspect at the back.

On a more positive note, it's our second clean sheet in a row. Whooopee!!!!

Looks like the Shite and Arsenal are stepping up and we are stepping down. Half-season wonders. Your time is up, Mr Moyes it's all gone stale and so predictable. Bolton, ahem.....

Am startin to feel too worn down now after so many posts on this matter and probably the same with other posters, the youth at this club are doomed to languish at Finch Farm till kingdom come... Or worse till Osman and Neville retire

I think if a youngster doesnt impress on the training pitch or reserve games its reasonable not to expect him to play in the first team but that logic goes out the window when we see senior players stink the place out every week and not get dropped.

Explain Naismith then.

How would you explain Moyes deciding to play a player who he thought offered less to the team than someone else? Blackmail? Favouritism? Moyes is a consumate professional and if he puts someone out there it is because he thinks that player will contribute in some way to the team getting points.

I think its obvious Moyes favours some players regardless of how they play. Naismith now but theres plenty of examples. Neville in midfield, Anichebe on the wing, Osman on the wing, Cahill's last 18 months, Arteta's last season. Theres been quite a few players who can't play certain positions or players who go through extended periods of lost form and never get dropped.

I honestly believe Moyes decides on his strongest 11 at the start of a season and religiously sticks to it, only injuries not form decide if someone elses plays.

Moyes doesn't like the cocky swaggering type of player most young scouse lads would be. Moyes prefers grafters who keep their heads down and say fuck all. If you don't believe me, name me one player in our current squad or past squads who is a proper leader who shouts and gets stuck in. Where have the flair players been for the last 10 years?

Moyes is a bully who wants it all his own way. Times have changed: you can't treat Premier League footballers like Brain Clough used to do... The kids make one mistake or have a bust-up and they are frozen out then shunted out. Rooney exposed Moyes for what he is. You wont see another kid come through as long as Deadly Dave remains.

Coz you aint getting any under David Moyes, despite the Osman's, neville's and naimsiths of this world getting starts every match

The midfield has been short (note the pun) on strength and ideas when Gibson is not playing. Everton went into the present season lacking another quality midfield player, when the much touted Belgium what's his name was not granted FIFA clearance. Sure Osman can play, when Gibson's about to back up him. But not when Neville is playing, he can hardly pass the ball.

And I can't see that someone is or isn't going to be knocked off the ball, depending on who's "alongside" them. How close do you think Gibson gets to Ossie, ffs!

I have no idea why he favours some players over others, its something only Moyes could answer. I think 99% of supporters wouldn't have Naismith on the pitch but it's Moyes who picks the team and what he see's in him I'll never know.

Simply fact is, based on Osman's performances this season, he needs good players around him playing well, for him to play well as well. At the moment, him and Neville in midfield looks dire.

His fan club - who have witnessed a couple of cameo's, such as when he "ran the show," in a pre-season friendly, and are keen to see more....

...against the judgement of one of the top managers in the country who has observed him a thousand times, and evidently doesn't think he's ready.

Maybe we do have some money after all.

Truth is that Moyes spends his entire time with a dedicated team analyising matches, performances etc and if there are players playing its probably because they are doing things right even if we can't always see them. For example, I see Neville as an extremely limited footballer and yet Moyes nearly always plays him. Not that I put too much faith in stats but our win rates with and without Neville in the team may give an insight.

To start games and dominate top class premier league midfielders, or to come off the bench and offer something a bit different to what we already have in an effort to crack some of the lesser opponents we stall against? One is an obvious no-no (and yet the representation is that this is what people are clamouring for) and the other is a possibility but requires a certain amount of faith in the lad. The poisoned chalice of chasing the game against Chelsea was a desperate throw of the dice and left the lad hanging out to dry, but 20-30 minutes against a cautious Swansea may have been ideal (but we won't ever know because he wasn't available for that one).

DM obviously has more faith in known quantities than he does in fledgling players, only really using the latter when he has no other options. That may be a prudent approach but he does seem to take it to pathological levels. Apart from Rooney (who is near enough unique) can anyone think of a youngster who has been used by Davey who has really performed consistently? Its all been dribs and drabs, with none of them really securing a place in the team on merit until well into their twenties. It can be debated whether it is the potter or the clay, but it does mean there is no real evidence that the manager is particularly proficient at getting young players through the difficult transition from junior to senior football.

Sam et al argue that the manager has no prejudices, that he is simply working on what he sees in training, but unless they are mind-readers they can't really know how much of the way Ross Barkley is being handled is due to Davey's previous experience of young players (once bitten, twice shy kind of thing) compared to what he does in training. The speed that he has integrated into the teams at Wednesday and Leeds doesn't support the lack of maturity, application, or development that get bandied about on this site.

Then we get to statistics that support the manager's reliance on Pip. Great record, but it doesn't necessarily give a good reflection of recent contribution and is completely independent of future performance and what may be achieved by using players who haven't been available throughout the time those statistics are based on.

Moyes has a dedicated team analyising matches, performances ect ..... then picks the same 11.

I also think its ridiculous that we as supporters can't see things that only managers can.