Laird isn't close but Williams who was inferior in ability was ready? McTominay who didn't even stand out at youth level was given a opportunity and the same applies to Lingard who was average to above average in the youth teams was brought through. Lingard is still being indulged even after going into the final year of his contract. Andreas Pereira and Mata were given game time over the likes of Hannibal and Elanga in meaningless warm up games. Amad Diallo could easily have been integrated instead of us signing another player who was best suited to the left, where we were already strong. Which would've meant the money that went to Dortmund could've been spent on midfield.
If we're to be honest, then everything is pointing towards the manager not being good enough to juggle both expectations at the club and also at developing youth. And the simple reason for that is because he's never been a coach and leaves the coaching to our former u18 coach and others, who are all inexperienced at the level we aspire to compete at. So it seems like he's adopted a policy to look for solutions via the transfer market by spending big on players who in some cases don't even suit the way he spoke about playing the game.
I fully believe under a head coach like Luis Enrique or Erik Ten Hag we would've seen quite a few youngsters integrated into the first team. Because both of those coaches are actual coaches on the training ground but most importantly they coach a brand of football that filters out players who aren't of the requisite technical qualities in the build up phase. Both of these head coaches implement a strong zonal and positional game in the quest to impose superiority both in possession and off the ball via applying coordinated pressure. And that's why we see youngsters flourish under such coaches at the highest level and it's not a surprise to see 17 year old Gavi (who hasn't completed a full game at senior level) start in midfield against Italy's strong midfield and not look out of place.
Solskjaer didn't even start our youngsters in pre-season over the likes of Mata and Pereira so i'm not expecting him to change now. But under a different coach like the aforementioned two, I have no doubt our youngsters would've got starts in pre-season/Carabao Cup games, at the very least. I also understand there's a section of our fans who will blindly support the manager no matter what.
There are many things I disagree with in this post.
1. Laird (who I rate) is still untested at first team level. To say that Williams is inferior is an opinion not borne out by any evidence. We all know that moving up to the first team is a massive jump. We also know that some players have peaks, troughs and plateaus...lets see what happens with Williams but a couple of years ago most people were screaming out for him to be given a run. Laird hasn't proved anything as yet. Next season could be a big one for him.
2. Lingard was not an average player in our youth team. He was clearly one of the most important players but his size was a major factor. He succeeded when going out on loan and was a major factor in helping us win trophies when he established himself. His confidence has been shot in recent seasons but his form this year has been good. If you don't rate him that again is your opinion...but as for Ole 'indulging' him. That's not borne out at all.
3. I agree with Pereira and Mata but Hannibal has not pushed on...and Elanga is the closest to really being in contention. As someone else said...the pathway is there but players have to take their chances. If they don't then that is nothing to do with Solskjaer. He has given chances to Chong, Henderson, Greenwood, Williams and Tuanzebe...that's five players. Only one has really cemented a place. With Pogba, McTominay, Rashford and Lingard already in the reckoning, to suggest Solskjaer isn't giving youth players a chance doesn't seem to be factual either.
4. Solskjaer doesn't need to be a youth coach. Fergie wasn't one either. Last season our youth team finished one point behind city so they can't be doing that bad. Our record in the Youth Cup needs to looked at but once again that has nothing to do with the first team manager.
5. Finally, we continually have more youth players in our first team squad than any other English team and up there with the best of teams in the Top 5 leagues across Europe...the latest report from CIES confirms this. So I'm not sure what these 'other managers' are going to do. Just because they are great in Italy doesn't mean anything at all.
Last season there was an average of seven youth players in every single match with numbers regularly reaching nine and ten...that included the likes of Elanga, Mejbri, Shoretire, Mengi, Williams, Tuanzebe...he even made Axel captain on one occasion...Ole is doing ok with youth development. He is under enormous pressure to deliver results and the players need to take their chances when they get it.
That's the way it's always been.
