Earnshaw was a good striker on his day - but he was a championship-striker. Never was quite good enough in the Premiership
Miscellaneous Reserve/Youth News
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I think we looked at Earnshaw before he went to Cardiff, he was a huge United fan growing up so he’s probably doing cart wheels at the thought of his lad getting to make the step.
Seems rapid, has done or actually still does some track & field too.
Since I'm still a Newbie I can't start a thread, but James Scanlon has got his first senior call-up for Gibraltar. One of 5 new faces.
Goalkeepers
Dayle Coleing (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Bradley Banda (St Joseph's [GIB]), Christian Lopez (FCB Magpies [GIB])
Defenders
Roy Chipolina (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Joseph Chipolina (FCB Magpies [GIB]), Jack Sergeant (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Jayce Olivero (St Joseph's [GIB]), Louie Annesley (Dundalk [ROI]), Ethan Britto (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Bernardo Lopes (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Tayler Carrington (Algeciras [ESP]), Kai Mauro (Atlético Zabal [ESP])
Midfielders
Liam Walker (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Kian Ronan (King's Lynn Town [ENG]), Niels Hartman (Vermont Catamounts [USA]), Evan De Haro (FCB Magpies [GIB]/UCLan Men's [ENG]), Scott Ballantine (FCB Magpies [GIB]), James Scanlon (Manchester United [ENG])
Forwards
Lee Casciaro (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Tjay De Barr (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Ayoub El Hmidi (FCB Magpies [GIB]), Dylan Peacock (Mons Calpe [GIB]), Michael Ruiz (Lynx [GIB]), Jaiden Bartolo (Wealdstone [ENG]), Liam Jessop (Chesterfield [ENG])
Goalkeepers
Dayle Coleing (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Bradley Banda (St Joseph's [GIB]), Christian Lopez (FCB Magpies [GIB])
Defenders
Roy Chipolina (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Joseph Chipolina (FCB Magpies [GIB]), Jack Sergeant (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Jayce Olivero (St Joseph's [GIB]), Louie Annesley (Dundalk [ROI]), Ethan Britto (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Bernardo Lopes (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Tayler Carrington (Algeciras [ESP]), Kai Mauro (Atlético Zabal [ESP])
Midfielders
Liam Walker (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Kian Ronan (King's Lynn Town [ENG]), Niels Hartman (Vermont Catamounts [USA]), Evan De Haro (FCB Magpies [GIB]/UCLan Men's [ENG]), Scott Ballantine (FCB Magpies [GIB]), James Scanlon (Manchester United [ENG])
Forwards
Lee Casciaro (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Tjay De Barr (Lincoln Red Imps [GIB]), Ayoub El Hmidi (FCB Magpies [GIB]), Dylan Peacock (Mons Calpe [GIB]), Michael Ruiz (Lynx [GIB]), Jaiden Bartolo (Wealdstone [ENG]), Liam Jessop (Chesterfield [ENG])
There’s always jokes about players sounding like regens from FM but this takes the gold.
So where does Philippe Mexès fit in here?
Looks pretty explosive!
Looks so dominant at that level. Nice to see he seems to have a mix of really strong physicals with decent dribbling and shooting technique.
There is highlights of that Shenfield School game on the ESFA youtube and it'll be there in full on the live section too somewhere.Looks pretty explosive!
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It seems Gibraltar have already asked their squad to assemble as their domestic league is off a week early and most of their overseas based players are missing from their teams today (except their Dundalk player who played last night and probably flew out today). Wonder if Scanlon has also already flown out as he wasn't with the U18s today.
Its good to see the club making moves like this. Striker was a position that needed addressing. In previous seasons could see him going to Chelsea. He showed composure and a bit of fire which I like.
I wonder if these transfers we appear to be negotiating were initiated before the Ineos deal was announced?
I wonder if these transfers we appear to be negotiating were initiated before the Ineos deal was announced?
Speaking of the U16's - a few weeks ago you could see the U16's playing when we defended a corner in the U18's live coverage - and I noticed one of our centrebacks at that level who looked huge. This puzzled me as we generally never have really big centre-backs. Anyone with an idea who that player was ?
Probably Nathaniel Mapengu or Daniel Armer, depending on if the player you saw was black or white. Both are pretty tall, taller than any of our current U18 CBs.
The transfers do seem to be initiated prior to the arrival of INEOS. But imo INEOS may well have allowed the existing recruitment structure at youth level the scope to challenge for the top talents domestically which wasn't always the case before under the Glazers.
The person who was appointed by John Murtough to oversee recruitment at youth level was a chap called David Harrison who was poached from City and was considered amongst the very best in his role in the country. Harrison has since been promoted to a new role as the head of emerging talent in Europe with Luke Fedorenko replacing him as the head of recruitment. And it seems the reason we had to make the changes was due to Newcastle and Dan Ashworth in particular wanting Harrison as the guy to lead their recruitment revamp as the head of emerging talent worldwide. But we managed to keep him, after it had seemed he was on his way to Newcastle.
And the entire development of the youth structure was led by John Murtough who is behind the hirings of almost every new recruit at youth/development level, either directly or indirectly. Murtough took a lot of stick for hiring Nick Cox over Nicky Butt, but Cox is proving Murtough correct and was a external hire who had the experience of managing a academy. It didn't happen overnight either, and it took several years to revamp things which started at the very young age groups in 2013/14 and now after many years, we're starting to see the work Murtough had started when he first arrived as the Sporting director at youth level.
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Or even Kukonki. You’re right though, all three probably taller than Jackson & Kingdon. Munro seems a bit taller than those two.
He's 12... Not a fan of reporting on someone that young, especially in this sort of manner.
I think he's 13, which I didn't know at the time of posting. Assumed he was 16.
It also seems he's a left back from the short highlights posted above.
Players that young don't always live up to the hype, especially if there's too much too early. Remember Rhain Davis? Fell out of love with the game for a few years but now playing for fun at West Didsbury & Chorlton. Back in the 90s, Sonny Pike had a full on breakdown due to the pressure put on him and quite football entirely.
That's true, but the fight over young talent starts at the very young age groups against local rivals. And since Abu Dhabi have bought City, it's even more important to try and compete with them for talents at all levels, especially at the very young levels where City had been allowed to overtake us due to the neglect of the Glazers and David Gill. Players like Cole Palmer (currently Chelsea) who was a big United fan joined City at u8s level because their scouting at youth level was more aggressive compared to ours circa 2010, and that enabled them to dominate the catchment area when once we were the dominant force.
And as far as Rhain Davis is concerned, his hype started on YouTube when he was 7 years old playing in Australia and was signed by United when he was 9. I would say the 13 year old kid from Bradford has more pedigree due to him playing youth football at under age levels in England and impressing not just the United scouts but also ones from Liverpool. and Brighton. And even though there isn't a guarantee with young talents at 13, 14, 15 years of age, i'd still back a young kid that has come through the system and impressed the scouts over young kids like Rhain Davis and Jean Carlos Chera who were both YouTube sensations before the age of 10.
They did mention yesterday that Thwaites participated in the u-16 game before also appearing with the u-18. They didn't say a word about him scoring two goals..
Last week he was a sub both with the u-21 and u-18. Is he so highly rated?
He did have that spectacular last minute goal (against Derby was it?)
Yeah I do think that there must have been moves made before everything was finalised as it seems we are confirming transfers rather than just rumours. As you say there’s definitely a push towards domestic purchases though which would indicate a culture change in the organisation.
I do remember the name Harrison from our last restructuring but I didn’t know that he had been promoted. Its pleasing that we managed to keep him from Newcastle and also fortuitous that he will now end up under Ashworth. Maybe it’s a coincidence but we do seem to be following the pattern of recruitment, ie under 16 internationals, that both are famed for? I must admit I’m not as knowledgeable with these roles as I maybe should be thus your insight was eye opening.
It’s weird how people criticise Murtough when most haven’t acknowledged the good work that he seems to have done at the club. I do remember the fuss that was made when Butt did leave and while i like former players in the system, it’s better to have the right people for the job. Hopefully we will see the benefits of this with the first team too once everyone is in place. But as you say the hard work can take years to show results, just hope the fans can show support and patience.
We don’t really have a choice as we can’t sign foreign players under the age of 18.
Naturally I hope the young players we’re currently signing become good, but it’s a bit odd for someone to claim a 12-year old being ”highly rated”.
Every single young player that moves to our academy has some form of talent, and I can understand some kind of hype when the player is 16 or older and there’s a bit more than a couple of clips to back that up with.
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True. Being a FM fan im aware that there are restrictions on the signing of talent from abroad, I just don’t remember a time where we pushed for so many from these shores at once.
I wasn’t aware that the youngster was 12 nor was I talking about him in particular but I’m not sure why you would find it odd? I naturally pick out traits when I watch a player, try to minimise criticism and see the potential. If your equating that to hype I’m not sure why. There’s no guarantee what I see will come to fruition.
My excitement comes from what I see as a renewed focus on the academy no particular individuals we are purchasing.
That’s fair, and no it was more perhaps directed at the tweet itself.
There’s absolutely no reason to criticise a 12-year old. Just find it a bit strange to hype any either. Let them be kids without the added pressure & following on social media etc.
We’ve got plenty of time to praise them if they ever make it to our U18s when we will actually watch them play (full matches which in my opinion it takes to even start to evaluate them). To each their own though, that’s just me.
To the last point, I think we’ve signed these young players just as much in the past, not all of them have been with the club since they were nine or ten. It’s just the fan accounts that sometimes go overboard with them based on a couple of nice clips.
Your reaction to sites like these are understandable as there are numerous negative effects associated with them, mostly as you say the effects on the players themselves and the expectations that they can create. This is a industry issue too that needs managing better.
For myself I don’t believe I’ve ever criticised any player under 16 and try not to make judgements until their 18 or 19 as things can change so quickly. However I do give opinions on what I like about their play below these ages and occasionally things I hope they are working to improve. I watch full matches and a player multiple times before I can say what I really think but traits can sometimes stand out straight away. Excitement doesn’t equal hype.
I’m aware of the general purchases we have made over the years it just feels to me more 14-16 than usual. I don’t have the stats though.
The thing is we can’t really watch full matches until they’re in the U18s, which I think is a good thing. Well of course the parents of the players do.
Just personally think it’s not based on enough evidence to give opinions if it’s from a 3-minute youtube video or something. Then again I’m a middle-aged fart.
I’ve seen tournaments for under 18s before and there’s plenty highlights but I see your point and agree.
I definitely believe you can see some traits straight away, but an informed opinion is different and does take time though. Plus I’m as old and farty too mate! Haha
Yeah I’ve seen some U16 tournaments too, Hong Kong last summer for one. Even there it’s sometimes difficult to judge talent with a varying level of opponents. But yes, those are the earliest signs of what’s to come.
According the Gibraltar Chronicle, Ribas asked for players to be released early to prepare for the Nations League playout as there are a lot of new players. Domestic clubs refused but overseas clubs obliged (although Dundalk requested Annesley stay for their Friday game due to injuries) so that would explain why no Scanlon for the U18s yesterday.
I'd just like to say that as far as young talents are concerned, the battle at recruitment level starts much earlier than u18s level and clubs now employ people specifically to identify the best 12 or 13 year olds because for one, it's not costly, and secondly, all it takes is only one player to become first team ready from the whole intake to make the investment well worth it. It's why clubs like City and Chelsea have strong youth teams because their recruitment drive starts at the very early age groups hence they're churning out talent at a consistent rate which they then add to by signing the best 16 year olds in the country.
It's why United appointed people like Stephen Ajewole and Jamahl Jarrett to focus on identifying the best 12 or 13 year olds from down South hence a player like Harry Amass who the aforementioned names had identified as a 12 year old could then be signed at 15/16 years of age. Ajewole and Jarrett both joined us from Man City and Crystal Palace in the last 2 or 3 years and our current head of youth recruitment Luke Fedorenko was previously in charge of identifying the most talented players aged 12 to 15 in the north of England. And if John Murtough had not arrived at the end of 2013 to oversee the improvements at youth level, then I believe a youngster like Kobbie Mainoo would've been snapped up by City. But the difference this time was that Murtough made a attempt to sign the player instead of giving City a free run to snap up the best kids by persuading the parents that United was the right environment for him to develop his game further.
The problem a lot of people (including myself) have when it comes to assessing the game is that they can't separate the emotion, anger and agendas from being objective. The role of a DoF is one that has to be judged over a period of time and he has to be allowed to make the changes at the structural level which will then allow him to support the manager/head coach. So when you walk into a first team structure where Matt Judge is the director of negotiations, Lawlor and Bout are running the recruitment department, no data science strategy at football level and a first team squad that isn't conducive to playing a proactive attacking brand of football and all the responsibility is thrown onto the DoF with the CEO distancing himself from the process, and then the job becomes more difficult under owners who just don't seem to care about being successful on the pitch. So Murtough goes about replacing Matt Judge, the recruitment heads and implementing the club's first data science strategy and also appointing the club Doctor to oversee the medical department after the previous Doctor steps down to take up a job offer elsewhere. But those changes will take time to implement, because the replacements are in other jobs and we're going to have to be patient, but the big problem is that there's a transfer window on the horizon with a new head coach and the recruitment department in a bit of a pickle due to both heads of scouting being sacked.
So from changes being made at first team level to replacements being brought to the club, the time in-between is where some of the big issues have arisen. It's why we had Tom Keane as a temporary transfer negotiator in the summer of 2022, before he was replaced by Matt Hargreaves in the summer of 2023 from Adidas. And the average fan will demand that we quickly sell off players, get everyone on low wages and turn the team into a proactive attacking machine in one or two windows and undo the damage of the last 10 years, quickly. I think we're on the right track and the core fundamentals are in place structurally for Dan Ashworth to succeed backed up by Ratcliffe. I'm not sure what the state is at CEO level, but i'm confident Omar Berrarda will have a positive effect in that regard and we'll the CEO provide the football support that's been missing.
The game earlier illustrated perfectly for me the impact of John Murtough with both his youngsters Garnacho and Mainoo shining in the game.
There was definitely a period where we went from being the place that youngsters would almost automatically sign for to second to the best talents. When Charlie Chapman went from Ipswich to Chelsea is a time I remember as a turning point as he was heavily scouted by us at the time if I remember. The drive has definitely turned to the younger crop as you say and it has to be a positive if we are looking to improve in this area.
Us being able to recruit the people who can help us identify and sign a player like Amass can only be a benefit in the long term especially if we can take them from rivals. I know that Crystal Palace have a good youth system and provide youth internationals at all age levels. If we can tap into that knowledge and potential connections that they have developed then we can hopefully gain advantages. The fact former players chose a rival for their sons does suggest there was a disparity but hopefully that’s evening itself out. You mention Mainoo and I read recently that he was training at City too so your right in that he could have been play for them.
I think the emotional aspect does cloud rational thinking for some at times and also influence expectations. When you have the issues that United had the changes that were needed had to be comprehensive but I didn’t know that Murtough had had so much influence. I’ve been reading more about certain roles in the potential new structure and I’ve realised the importance in talent identification. And also the ability to set a universal culture and overseeing it all. Dan Ashworth described his job a the cog at the centre of the wheel. Bringing it all together.
These changes will as you say take time to implement and the changes in roles and hierarchy of the negotiation team can’t have helped matters when setting criteria by how the conduct business. Although big changes are needed to the squad it will take time but I think we have some potential to work with currently.
I’m hoping that people do have a bit of patience with the process because as you say there’s years of negativity to undue but I too believe we are headed in the right direction. We could have a quality young squad within 2 years or so.
Does anyone know anything about the extent of the J Fletcher and Fitzgerald injuries? Seems strange there's been no details at all about the injuries or when they're expected to return.
The club never publishes details of academy injuries, wisely so. Sometimes fan accounts fish for details via DMs to the players but it seems they have not responded. Again, wisely so.
Perhaps I'm just being really ignorant here but what is the reason exactly? When they're in the U18s they're naturally already in the public eye.
To an extent, sure. But the clubs try to keep some details under wraps, which I think is good. They’re still only 16/17 and get more than enough exposure and attention as it is.
They have some right to privacy and the club is smart in protecting that, in my opinion. They don’t even release details of all first team injuries.
I get the overarching idea and the principle that they already get a lot of media attention, but hiding injury details seems redundant to me. Revealing injury details won't increase any hype around young players, if anything it would subdue it.
There could be some regulations too from the FA about releasing medical information on players under the age of 18.