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FA Youth Cup 2014-15


Eton Blue at the Chelsea Megastore

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This formation isn't working. Colkett and Scott have nowhere to go when they have it.

 

Let's be honest, the keeper and the two centre-halves aren't really up to much and there's no-one in midfield to protect them. Last year we had Christensen, Clarke-Salter, Houghton and Loftus-Cheek in there and this class isn't quite to that standard.

 

Best bet is to outscore Spurs because we have some real attacking talent.

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Clarke-Salter is a big miss. Tomori has had a very poor game. 

 

I'm pretty sure plan B is bring Boga on and let him do the rest.

 

Bring him on for Scott and let Colkett handle all the defence. 

 

I like Clarke-Salter a lot too, probably more than Christensen. Nearly scored after 19 seconds!

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2-0 Spurs. Same story.

 

Ball given away cheaply in midfield, striker gets a free run at the central defenders and they're simply not good enough to stop him. Shame because we've looked better this half but this XI is wildly imbalanced.

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Really impressed with our full-backs ability going forward. Would love DaSilva and Aina to make it here.

 

That is one of our strengths, one wonders why our manager chose to play three at the back in the first half so negating this strength.

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That is one of our strengths, one wonders why our manager chose to play three at the back in the first half so negating this strength.

 

I have no idea and it was a bit of a waste having Abraham on the wing as well. We can definitely score 3 goals in the return leg but I'm not sure we can stop Spurs scoring too.

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Last night was the perfect example of exactly why I disagreed with Dorset's opinion that this is the best crop of youngsters yet. Sorry, but they just don't look to have the same quality as we have had since we beat Villa in the final a few seasons ago.

 

Very disappointing again last night with many of the same players that were beaten by Liverpool in the U 21 game on Monday. Hope they prove me wrong in the second leg but it is going to be a tough task to make the final now.

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Last night was the perfect example of exactly why I disagreed with Dorset's opinion that this is the best crop of youngsters yet. Sorry, but they just don't look to have the same quality as we have had since we beat Villa in the final a few seasons ago.

Very disappointing again last night with many of the same players that were beaten by Liverpool in the U 21 game on Monday. Hope they prove me wrong in the second leg but it is going to be a tough task to make the final now.

Can I join in with the 'told ya sos'?

Got plenty of talent up top, in attacking midfield and at full back but lacking in central defence, midfield and goal. There's no spine to this team of the quality of the last couple of years.

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Can I join in with the 'told ya sos'?

Got plenty of talent up top, in attacking midfield and at full back but lacking in central defence, midfield and goal. There's no spine to this team of the quality of the last couple of years.

 

I never like to criticise the youngsters as we all know they are learning and developing at different stages and they will always suffer from inconsistency (I guess it's the ones who show they are more consistent who will have a better chance of making it).

 

I'm just not convinced with the current crop - not compared to the likes of Josh, Chalobah, Baker etc. We struggled last night and Boga clearly isn't 100% fit but have to say, Sp*rs defended really well and looked dangerous against our iffy defence and keeper.

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I wonder how much impact moving RLC and Christensen had on last nights team, those are 2 of the most influential players we have, along with the loss of the Salter. And those 2 areas we were definitely lacking against Spurs.

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Last night was the perfect example of exactly why I disagreed with Dorset's opinion that this is the best crop of youngsters yet. Sorry, but they just don't look to have the same quality as we have had since we beat Villa in the final a few seasons ago.

 

Very disappointing again last night with many of the same players that were beaten by Liverpool in the U 21 game on Monday. Hope they prove me wrong in the second leg but it is going to be a tough task to make the final now.

 
In my defence, Nibs, I’d point out that we were assessing the current squad of players and comparing crops, therefore I’m still loathe to change my view based on the last two games, the second in my opinion influenced by a few mitigating factors. Firstly, as has already been mentioned, against Spurs we changed system to an unfamiliar back three that didn’t feature first choice central defender Jake Clarke-Salter or Ali Suljic who made such an impressive debut a few weeks earlier, but did include our rampaging full back pairing of Aina and Dasilva - not the cleverest mix in a three-at-the-back set up at the best of times, let alone when you’ve also got to make concessions elsewhere. 
 
And these came in the diamond midfield, where Charlie Colkett was asked to play further forward, thereby foregoing his longer range passing skills from the base - Ruben Sammut simply didn’t compare in the role and was in any case overworked playing in front of that back three. This left us with Kyle Scott in the number 10 position and even though he is a favourite of mine he isn’t best suited so far forward, tucked in behind three greedy strikers all needing to be fed [in away fixtures like this] from much deeper, often on the break. No surprise, then, that he looked somewhat lost, being continually by-passed or out-numbered, and eventually replaced by Casey Palmer, who added to our firepower, but not so you’d notice, as we still lacked a genuine bullet-provider comfortable in the role. 
 
Hence the last quarter introduction of Jeremie Boga [brown removed and Palmer pushed up] albeit he’s still way off full fitness and, I think we can all agree, above the criticism levied on others in the squad at the moment. Indeed, this leads me to the next mitigating circumstance - the need for these kids to sustain a much higher level of fitness now that they are required to play more games in both domestic and European competitions. Solanke, Brown and Abraham looked a bit jaded against Spurs and it would be interesting to know just how many games these strikers have played this season compared with other Youth Cup winners in previous years. Not that they would want to use fitness or burnout as an excuse, because there is still plenty of time to put matters right in the return leg, leading to another ‘factor’ to consider….
 
Quite frankly, my belief (that this current squad of players has all the makings of being the best we have had from the Academy so far) wont be shaken until after I’ve seen the second leg and these lads have an opportunity to prove their worth in similar circumstances to those faced by previous Youth Cup-winning squads. Lest we forget, a two-goal deficit in this competition has been overcome in the past and I’m happy to back these lads to do it again this time around. After that first leg mishmash, I doubt the opposition will have much of a clue as to how we approach the return system-wise and, capable as we are, it would not come as a shock to anyone if we knocked in four or five, given a good show of support and at least two of our three strikers finding form once again. In short, whilst it may still not be enough if the defence proves as porous as it was last week, here’s hoping [striker] form is temporary and class is not just perceived by me, but far more permanent in our 2014/15 Youth Cup squad.      
 
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