bigmick wrote:I agree there are good players out there, and I brought it up not because I think they are the answer to all our problems, but simply because these days we don't even seem to bother looking. Those players you've mentioned are all good players S@int, but even more recently than those we've been much more reluctant to take a punt on untired British based players that w ehave foreign ones it seems to me.
Gareth Bale was checked out by the World and his brother it seems to me before Spurs took apunt on him. My guess is that at the very least they won't lose money on him. Theo Walcott now looks liek he's going to make a footballer, and if they can persuade him to sign a contract will be a good player for them for many years. We could have had both, but to the best of my knowledge it wasn't Rick Parry who pulled the plug, it was the managers reluctance to take a punt on them. I'm not criticising Rafa over those two decisions as they were marginal calls, but we do seem a touch reluctant to buy local, or promote local sometimes.
Leeds have got a kid now who the vultures are circling over. I've not seen him play but he might be worth a look, while there are always prospects in the relegated teams. I know people always counter with such and such is not good enough for a big club, but in all fairness many of the players who pull on a red shirt from time to time aren't good enough either.
One team has improved out of all recognition this season and it isn't us. They probably won't win the league, but they are within a couple of points of us right now. They're categorically proving as far as i can see that it is possible to build a very decent team if you buy sensibly (Luke Young, Ashley Young, Brad Freidel, Zak Knight, Curtis Davis, Steve sidwell etc etc). They may not be as glamourous as some of our players, but there at least two of those mentioned who would absolutely walk into our first team tomorrow. If you have a team built in such a way who has a decent game plan and a togetherness which good managers engender, you can go a long way.
I agree Mick, my point was really about more established players than the young kids though mate. Players that have a few seasons under their belts.
I think a lot of clubs just dismiss them now if they are not 17 or 18 years old ...... " if they haven't made it by now they never will" type of thing.
Yet some of these players could do a job for us, certainly a better job than some of the overpaid "international stars " that we pay a fortune for, who think they have made it once they arrive at a big club and get the big fancy house and car. (The Diouf/ Diao type)
I think if nothing else they may bring a determination to succeed and a memory of what real life is like to the squad. Obviously you need scouts who know what to look for (good players were always hard to find, contrary to rumours) and at least you wouldn't be gambling on how they settle in a new country, learn the language and whether they can cope with the rough and tumble of English football.
Maybe because we have had Foreign Managers, foreign coaches, foreign scouts etc they tend to look to where they know, but I don't believe good players are no longer out there. Maybe the Beardsley's ( Carlisle 104 games) and the David Platts (Crewe 134 games) are still as rare as ever, but we will never know unless we look.
