Would be very disappointing for me if Keane (Michael) and Brady not moving club before the deadline.
The Former United Youth/Reserves Thread
- Thread starter khoazany
- Start date
Especially Brady, can't be wasting away in the Championship.
Why should Keane leave Burnley
Keane is already in the PL.
And to be honest, I wouldn't mind having Brady back as a squad player. He was immense for Ireland in the Euros and qualifiers.
I mean he can do a job for a better club than Burnley.
Brady is good enough but as things stand we don't need him.
Apparently next game we have Keane V Keane (Burnley plays Hull), that is if Will will have his debut.
Tom Thorpe now at Bolton on loan for the season. Rotherham didn't seem to rate him at all. Sure he signed a 2 year deal so will be out of contract by end of loan.
Saidy Janko on loan at Barnsley. Surprising as seemed to be doing ok but for one poor match in CL.
Larnell Cole on loan at Inverness. Fulham not interested in playing him once Rene left. Vermijl moved to Preston on a 3 year deal.
Be interesting to see how Weir and Will Keane do at Hull. Similarly, McNair and Love at Sunderland.
Saidy Janko on loan at Barnsley. Surprising as seemed to be doing ok but for one poor match in CL.
Larnell Cole on loan at Inverness. Fulham not interested in playing him once Rene left. Vermijl moved to Preston on a 3 year deal.
Be interesting to see how Weir and Will Keane do at Hull. Similarly, McNair and Love at Sunderland.
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Michael Keane was one of the lesser heralded of his age group, yet has gone on to have one of the most successful careers to date. This is because we sent him on loan to Leicester when they were in the Championship. He played lots of game in a tight defence and learned his trade alongside an experienced Wes Morgan. This is why loan moves are good for our young players. It's why Borthwick-Jackson and co. might actually stand a chance.
Tom Thorpe was reserve captain at the same time, didn't get a proper loan, and now gets sent on loan to Bolton via Rotherham. He left United having played less than 15 professional football games by the age of 21; a tough (and late) age to enter competitive professional football. Playing football is important and the entire youth system is an uncompetitive shambles.
Tom Thorpe was reserve captain at the same time, didn't get a proper loan, and now gets sent on loan to Bolton via Rotherham. He left United having played less than 15 professional football games by the age of 21; a tough (and late) age to enter competitive professional football. Playing football is important and the entire youth system is an uncompetitive shambles.
Funny thing is I actually can see Rotherham going down and Bolton moving up next season.
Weir Delighted To Join Tigers At Important Time In His Career
New signing James Weir is delighted to have signed for the Tigers at what he knows is an important stage of his career.
21-year-old Weir has spent the last eight years with Manchester United, working his way through the ranks to the point of making his first team debut last season.
But having received a deadline day call from Mike Phelan, he felt the time was right to make a move and try and gain regular first team football, signing a three-year deal at the KCOM Stadium.
“It’s an important time in my career and I think every player of my age wants to try and start playing regular first team football,” said Weir.
“I couldn’t be happier to join Hull and really get my career started. The key thing for me is that I can be a regular part of the first team squad here and I hope I can help as the club continues to move forward.
“I’m just looking forward to cracking on now and getting started here. It will be an exciting time once the international break is over and I can’t wait to meet the rest of the lads.”
One face already familiar to Weir is that of Will Keane, who has also joined the Tigers from Manchester United in the last 24 hours.
“I’ve played with ‘Keano’ a few times and he’s a great player,” added Weir.
“I’m looking forward to linking up with him again.”
In terms of his attributes, Weir says he is a versatile midfielder capable of playing out wide or through the middle.
“I can play in a few positions in midfield, which is a good asset of my game,” Weir continued.
“I can play in the centre, off the striker or on the right or left. Hopefully I can contribute with some goals and assists as I like to be creative, but I also don’t mind putting my foot in when needed.”
Read more here.
New signing James Weir is delighted to have signed for the Tigers at what he knows is an important stage of his career.
21-year-old Weir has spent the last eight years with Manchester United, working his way through the ranks to the point of making his first team debut last season.
But having received a deadline day call from Mike Phelan, he felt the time was right to make a move and try and gain regular first team football, signing a three-year deal at the KCOM Stadium.
“It’s an important time in my career and I think every player of my age wants to try and start playing regular first team football,” said Weir.
“I couldn’t be happier to join Hull and really get my career started. The key thing for me is that I can be a regular part of the first team squad here and I hope I can help as the club continues to move forward.
“I’m just looking forward to cracking on now and getting started here. It will be an exciting time once the international break is over and I can’t wait to meet the rest of the lads.”
One face already familiar to Weir is that of Will Keane, who has also joined the Tigers from Manchester United in the last 24 hours.
“I’ve played with ‘Keano’ a few times and he’s a great player,” added Weir.
“I’m looking forward to linking up with him again.”
In terms of his attributes, Weir says he is a versatile midfielder capable of playing out wide or through the middle.
“I can play in a few positions in midfield, which is a good asset of my game,” Weir continued.
“I can play in the centre, off the striker or on the right or left. Hopefully I can contribute with some goals and assists as I like to be creative, but I also don’t mind putting my foot in when needed.”
Read more here.
Tyler Reid played the full game for Swansea "B" in their opening Checkatrade Trophy fixture (4 1st teamer involved for them) as they lost 0-3 to AFC Wimbledon.
I put together this nifty little list of players that once played for us, in any form, from the last decade.
Updated as of 12/09/2016
2006-07
- Danny Rose - Portsmouth
- David Bellion - Red Star
- David Jones - Sheffield Wednesday
- Kyle Moran - Perth
- Liam Miller - Wilmington Hammerheads FC (American 3rd Tier)
- Luke Steele - Panathinaikos
- Mads Timm - Retired at Lyngby BK
- Mark Howard - Retired at Oklahoma City
- Paul McShane - Reading
- Sylvan Ebanks-Blake - Shrewsbury Town
- Tim Howard - Colorado Rapids
2007-08
- Amâncio Fortes - Zimbru Chisinau
- Febian Brandy - Ubon UMT United
- Floribert Ngalula - BX Brüssel
- Gerard Piqué - Barcelona
- Giuseppe Rossi - Celta Vigo
- Kieron Lee - Sheffield Wednesday
- Kieron Richardson - Free Agent
- Phil Bardsley - Stoke
- Ryan Shawcross - Stoke
2008-09
- Chris Eagles - Acrington Stanley
- Chris Fagan - St. Patricks
- Conor McCormack - Derry City
- Danny Galbraith - York City
- Deniz Mehmet - Falkirk FC
- Dong Fangzhuo - No Idea
- Fraizer Campbell - Crystal Palace
- Gary Woods - Hamilton
- Josh Pritchard - Lysekloster IL (Norway)
- Matt Crooks - Rangers
- Richard Eckersley - Free Agent
2009-10
- Ben Foster - West Brom
- Carlos Tevez - Boca Juniors
- Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid
- Danny Simpson - Leicester City
- Evandro Brandão - Fafe
- Lee Martin - Gillingham
- Rodrigo Possebon - União Recreativa dos Trabalhadores (4th Division team in Brazil, f u Pogatetz)
- Zoran Tosic - CSKA Moscow
2010-11
- Cameron Stewart - Ipswich
- Craig Cathcart - Watford
- David Gray - Hibernian
- Etzaz Hussain - Free Agent
- James Chester - Aston Villa
- Magnus Eikrem - Malmo
- Raheem Hanley - Northampton
- Ron-Robert Zieler - Leicester City
- Sam Hewson - Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar (Icelandic Team)
2011-12
- Danny Drinkwater - Leicester City
- Gabriel Obertain - FC Anzhi Makhachkala
- John O'Shea - Sunderland
- Mame Biram Diouf - Stoke
- Nicky Ajose - Charlton
- Otis Khan - Yeovil Town
- Rafael Leão - Desportivo - United have a partnership with this club
- Ravel Morrison - Lazio
2012-13
- Alberto Massacci - Free Agent
- Dimitar Berbatov - Free Agent
- Joshua King - Bournemouth
- Kenji Gorre - Northampton
- Matty James - Leicester
- Ntumba Massanka - Morecambe
- Oliver Norwood - Brighton
- Sam Hart - Port Vale
- Scott Wootton - MK Dons
- Tomasz Kuszczak - Birmingham City
- Zeki Fryers - Crystal Palace
2013-14
- Dean Santangelo - Zug 94
- Fabio da sliva at Middlesbrough
- Gyliano van Velzen - FC Volendam
- John Cofie - Southport
- Larnell Cole - Inverness Caledonian Thistle
- Luke Hendrie - Kilmarnock FC
- Luke McCullough - Doncaster Rov
- Macauley Wilson - Blackpool
- Mats Møller Dæhli - SC Freiburg
- Michele Fornasier - Pescara
- Nikolas Ioannou - APOEL Nicosia
- Rhain Davis - Altrincham FC - That 'wonderkid' from down under
- Ryan Tunnicliffe - Fulham
2014-15
- Alexander Büttner - Dynamo Moscow
- Anderson - Internacional
- Bebe - SD Eibar
- Benjamin Barber - York City
- Charni Ekangamene - NAC Breda
- Darren Fletcher - West Bromwich Albion
- Davide Petrucci - Çaykur Rizespor
- Federico Macheda - Free Agent
- Jack Barmby - Portland Timbers
- Joe Rothwell - Oxford United
- Marnick Vermijl - Preston North End
- Michael Keane - Burnley
- Pierluigi Gollini - Aston Villa
- Shinji Kagawa - Dortmund
- Tom Lawrence - Ipswich Town
2015-16
- Anders Lindegaard - Preston North End
- Angel Di Maria - PSG
- Angelo Henríquez - Dinamo Zagreb
- Callum Evans - Barnsley
- Javier Hernández - Bayer Leverkusen
- Jonny Evans - West Bromwich Albion
- Jordan Thompson - Raith Rovers
- Liam Grimshaw - Preston North End
- Nani - Valencia
- Rafael - Lyon
- Robin Van Persie - Fenerbahçe
- Ruairi Croskery - Linfield
- Ryan McConnell - Ballinamallard
- Saidy Janko - Barnsley
- Tom Cleverly - Everton
- Tom Thorpe - Bolton Wanderers
2016-17
- Andreas Pereira - Granada (On Loan)
- Ashley Fletcher - West Ham
- Cameron Borthwick-Jackson - Wolverhampton (On Loan)
- Dean Henderson - Grimsby Town (On Loan)
- Donald Love - Sunderland
- George Dorrington - Huddersfield
- Guillermo Varela - Eintracht Frankfurt (On Loan)
- James Wilson - Derby Country (On Loan)
- James Weir - Hull City
- Joel Castro Pereira - Belenenses (On Loan)
- Joe Rothwell - Oxford United
It's incredible how far once talented footballers can drop.
Yeah, or that they weren't good enough to make it here. To think they were part of the fabric of this club in some form in amazing. The education they would have received must have benefited most of them
How did you categorize the players into seasons?Dean Santangelo never played for us.
Never heard of handful of those players...definitely didn't reach U/15-U/16 level.
Looked at youth teams, u18 & under 23 on TransferMarket mate. I guess they still count as they have represented United in some form. Mr. Mujac, what players haven't you heard of?
The Finn trained with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United - where is he now?
https://im.mtv.fi/image/5367182/landscape16_9/1024/576/7669f4e29217a0c9f9efd4aff7c517ff/QT/jami-puustinen-2003-Man Utd.jpg
Former United Head of Youth Dave Bushell and Jami Puustinen in 2003.
Jami Puustinen’s career ended prematurely when the enthusiasm for football waned gradually. Today, he is studying in the open School of Economics, has a day job and works as a junior coach.
The home phone of the Puustinen family rings in Espoo, Finland. The handset is picked up, after which the discussion on the phone goes on for a while. Puustinen’s mother, who picked up the phone, has some news for his 15-year-old son.
- My mom first said that ’you’re not going to believe who was at the other end of the line’, Jami Puustinen, now 28, recalls in an MTV Sport interview 13 years later.
The FC Espoo attacker did not have a clue. The Finnish Youth team regular sure didn’t expect that the successful English Premier League club Manchester United wanted him for a trial.
- I told my mother to stop kidding, Puustinen laughs.
The trial at United went well, after which the club offered Puustinen a three-year contract. Now there was just one problem: the fear of moving away as a teenager.
Puustinen’s mind changed on a weekly basis. He had a hard time deciding whether to leave his childhood home and actually move into an apartment of his own, which was located in a completely different country. Friends, family, school and familiar surroundings would be left behind.
In the end, the promising Finn decided to take the chance. The prospect was too great to not take advantage of, which led the striker to seize the opportunity. After all, he was to become the first ever Finnish player to sign a contract with the Manchester-based club.
- In the end it wasn’t a difficult decision. I had to take into account that I’d be leaving home at such a young age to move to England, Puustinen says.
The future looked bright. At the age of 16, Puustinen got himself into one of the world's most prestigious clubs, where his development would be almost guaranteed. He was touted as the next starting striker of the Finnish National team.
Cristiano Ronaldo trick school
Breaking into the United first team was not the easiest task when the team was filled with quality players, such as the well-known midfielder David Beckham. When Beckham was transferred to Real Madrid, Puustinen witnessed the media circus first-hand. Beckham was replaced by at the time a little less known Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal.
Puustinen never got to make a full United debut, but he trained with the first team every now and then. He considered this a reward for good performances in the reserves.
Puustinen remembers Ronaldo as a player who had an original way to push the the other young players forward.
- If you practiced some kind of a trick and the first team players walked by, Ronaldo would grab the ball and show the same trick, only three times harder. After that, he threw the ball back and said: "Try that," says Puustinen.
Puustinen says that it’s not a miracle that Ronaldo is considered the world's best footballer. Already as a young player, the motivation of the Portuguese player to practice was unbridled.
- The volumes of repetition were out of this world. He was on the pitch alone with the fitness coach both before and after the team practice. No one came even close to Ronaldo when it comes to working on your personal time.
The foreigners at United stuck together quite a lot. Even when hanging out outside of training, Ronaldo's professionalism was obvious.
- We had cards to RedCinemas, where we went to watch movies a a group. We’d buy a Pepsi and some candy, for example. When you look at where each of us are at the moment, I think it’s clear that Ronaldo might’ve eaten a little less candy than the rest of us, Puustinen laughs.
Along with Ronaldo the Finnish striker became friends with the current Barcelona defender Gerard Pique and the forward Giuseppe Rossi, now at Fiorentina.
- Pique came from Spain and Ronaldo from Portugal. Both were quite lighthearted, did a lot of pranks and joked around a lot, Puustinen says.
The return to Finland
After two and a half years in Manchester, 18-year-old Puustinen returned to Finland. The road led to Espoo and FC Honka, with the looming military service on the horizon, as well. During the six seasons at FC Honka, Puustinen scored 38 goals in 123 matches. In 2007 and 2010, he was the team's top scorer in the Finnish Premier League. In 2012 the striker, who was especially known for his acceleration, felt that his career was stagnated. So Puustinen signed a 1+1-year contract with FC Haka.
Now, more than 12 years after Puustinen’s move to Manchester, one may ask: what happened to the great talent, who is still the only Finnish player to have represented Manchester United?
It happens to many promising teenage footballers, the interest and the passion for the sport dies over time. It was the same for Puustinen, but at a much later stage.
He only played for FC Haka for a few months before the decision to retire was made. At the time of signing the contract, there was still hope was to play overseas, but the passion faded gradually. He felt that other things, such as studying, were more important.
- Even during the playing career I was thinking about what I might be interested in. Already then I was into business, Puustinen explains.
Although the decision to retire from football was not an easy one, Puustinen felt that decision had to be made early enough.
- At some point I had to draw the line, for me it was at that stage. For a long time, I’d been considering what I would do with my life.
When Puustinen moved to England in late 2003, he hadn’t completed high school studies. When his career as a footballer was over, he wanted to get a quick completion of secondary education in order to get the chance to apply for college.
- After retiring I racked up the courses in high school rapidly so that I could get it out of the way as quickly as possible.
Currently Puustinen is studying at the Open Aalto University School of Business. He is preparing for entrance exams that take place in spring, this time to read economics at the University of Applied Sciences. He also has a day job in medicine development at Orion.
Football still a big part of life
Puustinen will continue to work in the world of football, too. He works as a youth coach for his home club FC Espoo. The former striker's main task is to train young potential goalscorers.
- It's been nice to work with juniors and, above all, with the attacking players, Puustinen says.
Puustinen assures he’s always enjoyed football to the fullest. He has great gratitude towards his parents, who altruistically drove him to training and back.
- It was a lot of work at a young age and I had a lot of fun. I loved playing football. Under the wing of my parents I was able to focus on just playing, when the laundry was done and the food always ready on the table.
Although his playing career eventually did not go as expected, Puustinen is not bitter. He still obeys his motto, which advises you to do everything as well as possible - whether it is football or something else. When football is concerned, he got to see very close what is required to become the world's best player. When you combine Cristiano Ronaldo's determination and your own passion, the ingredients of success in your civil career are there.
- I've always been the sort of a man, that when you do something, you do your utmost best. I thought to myself that you play football first and study later. I wanted to be good at both, but I felt that I didn’t have what it takes to do both well enough.
//
Sorry for the crappy English and translation.
https://im.mtv.fi/image/5367182/landscape16_9/1024/576/7669f4e29217a0c9f9efd4aff7c517ff/QT/jami-puustinen-2003-Man Utd.jpg
Former United Head of Youth Dave Bushell and Jami Puustinen in 2003.
Jami Puustinen’s career ended prematurely when the enthusiasm for football waned gradually. Today, he is studying in the open School of Economics, has a day job and works as a junior coach.
The home phone of the Puustinen family rings in Espoo, Finland. The handset is picked up, after which the discussion on the phone goes on for a while. Puustinen’s mother, who picked up the phone, has some news for his 15-year-old son.
- My mom first said that ’you’re not going to believe who was at the other end of the line’, Jami Puustinen, now 28, recalls in an MTV Sport interview 13 years later.
The FC Espoo attacker did not have a clue. The Finnish Youth team regular sure didn’t expect that the successful English Premier League club Manchester United wanted him for a trial.
- I told my mother to stop kidding, Puustinen laughs.
The trial at United went well, after which the club offered Puustinen a three-year contract. Now there was just one problem: the fear of moving away as a teenager.
Puustinen’s mind changed on a weekly basis. He had a hard time deciding whether to leave his childhood home and actually move into an apartment of his own, which was located in a completely different country. Friends, family, school and familiar surroundings would be left behind.
In the end, the promising Finn decided to take the chance. The prospect was too great to not take advantage of, which led the striker to seize the opportunity. After all, he was to become the first ever Finnish player to sign a contract with the Manchester-based club.
- In the end it wasn’t a difficult decision. I had to take into account that I’d be leaving home at such a young age to move to England, Puustinen says.
The future looked bright. At the age of 16, Puustinen got himself into one of the world's most prestigious clubs, where his development would be almost guaranteed. He was touted as the next starting striker of the Finnish National team.
Cristiano Ronaldo trick school
Breaking into the United first team was not the easiest task when the team was filled with quality players, such as the well-known midfielder David Beckham. When Beckham was transferred to Real Madrid, Puustinen witnessed the media circus first-hand. Beckham was replaced by at the time a little less known Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal.
Puustinen never got to make a full United debut, but he trained with the first team every now and then. He considered this a reward for good performances in the reserves.
Puustinen remembers Ronaldo as a player who had an original way to push the the other young players forward.
- If you practiced some kind of a trick and the first team players walked by, Ronaldo would grab the ball and show the same trick, only three times harder. After that, he threw the ball back and said: "Try that," says Puustinen.
Puustinen says that it’s not a miracle that Ronaldo is considered the world's best footballer. Already as a young player, the motivation of the Portuguese player to practice was unbridled.
- The volumes of repetition were out of this world. He was on the pitch alone with the fitness coach both before and after the team practice. No one came even close to Ronaldo when it comes to working on your personal time.
The foreigners at United stuck together quite a lot. Even when hanging out outside of training, Ronaldo's professionalism was obvious.
- We had cards to RedCinemas, where we went to watch movies a a group. We’d buy a Pepsi and some candy, for example. When you look at where each of us are at the moment, I think it’s clear that Ronaldo might’ve eaten a little less candy than the rest of us, Puustinen laughs.
Along with Ronaldo the Finnish striker became friends with the current Barcelona defender Gerard Pique and the forward Giuseppe Rossi, now at Fiorentina.
- Pique came from Spain and Ronaldo from Portugal. Both were quite lighthearted, did a lot of pranks and joked around a lot, Puustinen says.
The return to Finland
After two and a half years in Manchester, 18-year-old Puustinen returned to Finland. The road led to Espoo and FC Honka, with the looming military service on the horizon, as well. During the six seasons at FC Honka, Puustinen scored 38 goals in 123 matches. In 2007 and 2010, he was the team's top scorer in the Finnish Premier League. In 2012 the striker, who was especially known for his acceleration, felt that his career was stagnated. So Puustinen signed a 1+1-year contract with FC Haka.
Now, more than 12 years after Puustinen’s move to Manchester, one may ask: what happened to the great talent, who is still the only Finnish player to have represented Manchester United?
It happens to many promising teenage footballers, the interest and the passion for the sport dies over time. It was the same for Puustinen, but at a much later stage.
He only played for FC Haka for a few months before the decision to retire was made. At the time of signing the contract, there was still hope was to play overseas, but the passion faded gradually. He felt that other things, such as studying, were more important.
- Even during the playing career I was thinking about what I might be interested in. Already then I was into business, Puustinen explains.
Although the decision to retire from football was not an easy one, Puustinen felt that decision had to be made early enough.
- At some point I had to draw the line, for me it was at that stage. For a long time, I’d been considering what I would do with my life.
When Puustinen moved to England in late 2003, he hadn’t completed high school studies. When his career as a footballer was over, he wanted to get a quick completion of secondary education in order to get the chance to apply for college.
- After retiring I racked up the courses in high school rapidly so that I could get it out of the way as quickly as possible.
Currently Puustinen is studying at the Open Aalto University School of Business. He is preparing for entrance exams that take place in spring, this time to read economics at the University of Applied Sciences. He also has a day job in medicine development at Orion.
Football still a big part of life
Puustinen will continue to work in the world of football, too. He works as a youth coach for his home club FC Espoo. The former striker's main task is to train young potential goalscorers.
- It's been nice to work with juniors and, above all, with the attacking players, Puustinen says.
Puustinen assures he’s always enjoyed football to the fullest. He has great gratitude towards his parents, who altruistically drove him to training and back.
- It was a lot of work at a young age and I had a lot of fun. I loved playing football. Under the wing of my parents I was able to focus on just playing, when the laundry was done and the food always ready on the table.
Although his playing career eventually did not go as expected, Puustinen is not bitter. He still obeys his motto, which advises you to do everything as well as possible - whether it is football or something else. When football is concerned, he got to see very close what is required to become the world's best player. When you combine Cristiano Ronaldo's determination and your own passion, the ingredients of success in your civil career are there.
- I've always been the sort of a man, that when you do something, you do your utmost best. I thought to myself that you play football first and study later. I wanted to be good at both, but I felt that I didn’t have what it takes to do both well enough.
//
Sorry for the crappy English and translation.
Here’s a Q&A session I did with the above mentioned Jami Puustinen.
Jami Puustinen, now 29, is the only Finnish footballer who has represented Manchester United at any level. The once promising striker retired from football a few years ago. MUSCOF (Manchester United Supporters’ Club of Finland) talked to Puustinen about his life at United (2003-2006).
Q: How closely have you followed United since you left the club in 2006?
A: Until the end of my footballing career, very closely. I used to watch more or less every match with either my dad or some friends. I’ve been a United fan since I was a small kid. For this I owe gratitude to my father who basically raised me wearing a United top. After I quit playing in 2012, the sport took a ”secondary” role in life. The move to ”normal” working and studying life demanded total mental break from football. Recently I’ve been starting to follow United and watch more games again, the biggest reason being a man called Zlatan Ibrahimović!
Q: What kind of a relationship do you have with the club at the moment, would you consider yourself a United fan?
A: I’m still a United fan, and always will be. The fact that I had the honour to play for the crest, made the club even more important to me, personally. My time in Manchester will always be one of my greatest achievements in life, and it will have positive affects for the other aspects of my life, until the day I die. While I watch United regularly, growing older I’ve found myself following some interesting individuals and their games. One of them the above mentioned Zlatan.
Q: Have you visited Old Trafford since you left the club?
A: Unfortunately I haven’t had the opportunity to visit the Theatre of Dreams yet, but I will definitely do it. Luckily I saw approximately 60 games live at the stadium, so I’ve witnessed a fair few Premier League, Champions’ League and cup games at OT.
Q: Are there any familiar player that you played/trained with in the current United squad?
A: I got to train with the first team a few times, and the only player from that era still playing at United is Wayne Rooney. I played a lot of youth games together with Jonny Evans, who recently moved to West Bromwich Albion. Most of my former teammates still play as professionals, but have moved on from United. To mention a couple; Giuseppe Rossi, who’s still banging them in in La Liga, and Barcelona’s rock at the back, Gerard Piqué.
Q: You mentioned you trained with the first team. What kind of feedback did you get from the star players?
A: I did, yeah. There were some scenarios, too, where first team players who were recovering from injuries, played some reserves games with us. The most memorable match for me, that’s easy. Cristiano Ronaldo on the wing, Roy Keane in the middle of the park and Ole Gunnar Solskjær as a striking partner. I scored a hat trick. It was pretty easy though, to be honest. Balls dropping perfectly to my feet, every pass was superb.
Ronaldo was a nice guy, he encouraged and pushed you to do better. If there was a trick that you couldn’t really pull off, Cristiano showed it three times harder. “Can you do that?” Keano and Gary, now they were a bit tougher, the level they demanded both in practice and in games was HIGH. You couldn’t lose the ball, you had to time your run to perfection and finish your chances. If you didn’t, you got a truckload of shit thrown at you. They’d get on your face if you gave only 99% in practice. They gave advice on everything; from passing to timing and direction of your runs etc. Listening to them, you really learned how to play football on a high level. No matter how “tough” they were, they supported you and often joked around with us. When you looked at them, you understood why the level of Premier League is so high.
Q: Any friends plying their trade at other English clubs?
A: A few that I can think of, yes. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake at Shrewsbury, Crystal Palace’s Frazier Campbell, Phil Bardsley and the captain Ryan Shawcross at Stoke. I’m sure there’s a few more in the lower leagues.
Q: Your best friends during your time at United?
A: Us foreign players stuck together quite a lot outside the pitch. So I hung out mostly with Rossi and Piqué, as well as the German Markus Neumayr and Floribert N’Galula, who went on to later play in Finland, too. We also spent a lot of time together with my then roommate Lee Crockett, with whom we still talk every now and then.
Q: Have you stayed in touch with you former teammates?
A: Perhaps once a year we talk on facebook with Crockett, as well as the other guys I mentioned earlier.
Q: How would you compare youth training in England vs Finland? What’s the biggest difference?
A: I’ve always said that in terms of coaching, there’s not a whole lot in there. We have a lot of good academy coaches here in Finland, too, and the style of training is pretty similar as well. The biggest difference is the players you train with. For example at United the team was full of youth internationals from around the world, which made the quality of training extremely high. For me, this is the biggest factor, which helps players develop in a different pace.
Q: What about the games, the biggest difference?
A: Pace and how the tough the game is in England. The ball moves faster and the requirements at youth level are much higher than back home. The quality of opposing players is really high, as well. Already in the U16 games you notice that players get stuck in with no hesitation.
Q: You’ve coached junior players at your home club FC Espoo. Is it something you look to develop yourself at, do you have coaching goals?
A: Not really. I really enjoy working with young people, it’s great if I can help young players to become better footballers. I don’t see coaching as a potential job or anything like that though. If I have time from my studies, I’ll try to do some more coaching. If I must name a goal… I’m happy if I can make one striker become even a little bit better, as a player and as a human being.
Q: In an interview that you gave to MTV Sport you said that Cristiano Ronaldo’s training motivation is something you’ve never seen before?
A: He was one of a kind, no-one got even close, even though all players trained extremely hard, in their own time as well. Ronaldo was like a tireless machine, I’ve never seen anything like it. He stayed on the pitch for ages doing his own things, staff had to literally send him home.
Jami Puustinen, now 29, is the only Finnish footballer who has represented Manchester United at any level. The once promising striker retired from football a few years ago. MUSCOF (Manchester United Supporters’ Club of Finland) talked to Puustinen about his life at United (2003-2006).
Q: How closely have you followed United since you left the club in 2006?
A: Until the end of my footballing career, very closely. I used to watch more or less every match with either my dad or some friends. I’ve been a United fan since I was a small kid. For this I owe gratitude to my father who basically raised me wearing a United top. After I quit playing in 2012, the sport took a ”secondary” role in life. The move to ”normal” working and studying life demanded total mental break from football. Recently I’ve been starting to follow United and watch more games again, the biggest reason being a man called Zlatan Ibrahimović!
Q: What kind of a relationship do you have with the club at the moment, would you consider yourself a United fan?
A: I’m still a United fan, and always will be. The fact that I had the honour to play for the crest, made the club even more important to me, personally. My time in Manchester will always be one of my greatest achievements in life, and it will have positive affects for the other aspects of my life, until the day I die. While I watch United regularly, growing older I’ve found myself following some interesting individuals and their games. One of them the above mentioned Zlatan.
Q: Have you visited Old Trafford since you left the club?
A: Unfortunately I haven’t had the opportunity to visit the Theatre of Dreams yet, but I will definitely do it. Luckily I saw approximately 60 games live at the stadium, so I’ve witnessed a fair few Premier League, Champions’ League and cup games at OT.
Q: Are there any familiar player that you played/trained with in the current United squad?
A: I got to train with the first team a few times, and the only player from that era still playing at United is Wayne Rooney. I played a lot of youth games together with Jonny Evans, who recently moved to West Bromwich Albion. Most of my former teammates still play as professionals, but have moved on from United. To mention a couple; Giuseppe Rossi, who’s still banging them in in La Liga, and Barcelona’s rock at the back, Gerard Piqué.
Q: You mentioned you trained with the first team. What kind of feedback did you get from the star players?
A: I did, yeah. There were some scenarios, too, where first team players who were recovering from injuries, played some reserves games with us. The most memorable match for me, that’s easy. Cristiano Ronaldo on the wing, Roy Keane in the middle of the park and Ole Gunnar Solskjær as a striking partner. I scored a hat trick. It was pretty easy though, to be honest. Balls dropping perfectly to my feet, every pass was superb.
Ronaldo was a nice guy, he encouraged and pushed you to do better. If there was a trick that you couldn’t really pull off, Cristiano showed it three times harder. “Can you do that?” Keano and Gary, now they were a bit tougher, the level they demanded both in practice and in games was HIGH. You couldn’t lose the ball, you had to time your run to perfection and finish your chances. If you didn’t, you got a truckload of shit thrown at you. They’d get on your face if you gave only 99% in practice. They gave advice on everything; from passing to timing and direction of your runs etc. Listening to them, you really learned how to play football on a high level. No matter how “tough” they were, they supported you and often joked around with us. When you looked at them, you understood why the level of Premier League is so high.
Q: Any friends plying their trade at other English clubs?
A: A few that I can think of, yes. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake at Shrewsbury, Crystal Palace’s Frazier Campbell, Phil Bardsley and the captain Ryan Shawcross at Stoke. I’m sure there’s a few more in the lower leagues.
Q: Your best friends during your time at United?
A: Us foreign players stuck together quite a lot outside the pitch. So I hung out mostly with Rossi and Piqué, as well as the German Markus Neumayr and Floribert N’Galula, who went on to later play in Finland, too. We also spent a lot of time together with my then roommate Lee Crockett, with whom we still talk every now and then.
Q: Have you stayed in touch with you former teammates?
A: Perhaps once a year we talk on facebook with Crockett, as well as the other guys I mentioned earlier.
Q: How would you compare youth training in England vs Finland? What’s the biggest difference?
A: I’ve always said that in terms of coaching, there’s not a whole lot in there. We have a lot of good academy coaches here in Finland, too, and the style of training is pretty similar as well. The biggest difference is the players you train with. For example at United the team was full of youth internationals from around the world, which made the quality of training extremely high. For me, this is the biggest factor, which helps players develop in a different pace.
Q: What about the games, the biggest difference?
A: Pace and how the tough the game is in England. The ball moves faster and the requirements at youth level are much higher than back home. The quality of opposing players is really high, as well. Already in the U16 games you notice that players get stuck in with no hesitation.
Q: You’ve coached junior players at your home club FC Espoo. Is it something you look to develop yourself at, do you have coaching goals?
A: Not really. I really enjoy working with young people, it’s great if I can help young players to become better footballers. I don’t see coaching as a potential job or anything like that though. If I have time from my studies, I’ll try to do some more coaching. If I must name a goal… I’m happy if I can make one striker become even a little bit better, as a player and as a human being.
Q: In an interview that you gave to MTV Sport you said that Cristiano Ronaldo’s training motivation is something you’ve never seen before?
A: He was one of a kind, no-one got even close, even though all players trained extremely hard, in their own time as well. Ronaldo was like a tireless machine, I’ve never seen anything like it. He stayed on the pitch for ages doing his own things, staff had to literally send him home.
Q: How often did you meet Sir Alex Ferguson during your time at United?
A: At the beginning much more, when he offered me the contract, which by the way was quite a highlight of a lifetime for a young man. After that I saw him in first team practice. And Sir Alex of course attended a lot of reserves games. During the breaks in practice, Fergie used to give personal advice if he saw something he wanted to be done differently.
Q: What kind of advice was that?
A: Mostly regarding movement or reading the game, tactical instructions. Fysical and technical training was done by other coaches.
Q: How did you see him as a person?
A: Tough but fair. He treated everyone fairly and equally. When you did well, he would heap praise on you. When you didn’t, he’d give feedback in a direct and frank way. He kept the team motivated but also under strict discipline, as the captain of the ship should.
Q: In your opinion, who was the most talented academy player during your United years?
A: That would be Giuseppe Rossi. Excellent forward with two strong feet. We often trained together after team practice and during our ”off-time”. It was also quite easy to see that Gerard Piqué would become something special. I’ve never seen a defender with such ability with the ball. ”G” had better technique most of the attacking players!
Q: Describe how you felt when you wore the legendary red shirt of United for the first time?
A: You simply can’t describe it! It was crazy, mad. You feel so proud of yourself, honoured and privileged when you get to play for the colours of the biggest club in the world. I still get goosebumps and shivers when I think about it! It probably still hasn’t hit me, what I’ve done and where I’ve been. Some day it will.
Q: In the end, what was it that made you quit football?
A: The pressure, constant travelling, media, publicity, issues with coaches… It is exhausting to be a professional athlete, it really is a 24/7 job, you start burning your candle at both ends. It was at a crossroads. I had to make a decision, whether to go back abroad to sign one of the contract offers I had on my table or to start focusing on something else for the first time in my life. Whether to play football for 2-5 years in a foreign club or to apply to a school and begin to financially secure the life future after football.
I had promised myself that I’d take care of school matters, because it would affect the rest of my life. I wanted to pursue my other big goal in life and get to university and study economics, which would lead me towards a job that’d really interest me. Now I’m happy after getting in to the Tampere University, the future looks more secure than it ever did as a footballer. I was still relatively young when I got in to the Uni, so I’ll graduate with good prospects of being able to building a career.
We’ve also been thinking of family matters a lot lately. With this decision I can build a strong foundation to build on. As a footballer you never really get to settle down anywhere, you can’t build anything permanent. You have to be prepared for a constant change and insecurity. Now I can happily continue pursuing that dream and building a strong future for my family.
Q: Did you ever feel that you were close to breaking into the first team at United?
A: When I was a naive, young man, I believed I could do anything! The fact is though, that no matter how good you are, it is a goal tremendously difficult to reach, as for example the story of Gerard Piqué shows us. If ”G” never really made the final breakthrough at United, I must’ve been light years from the first team! I did think I was good enough to play as a professional at a smaller club. United’s first team – let’s be honest, I was nowhere near.
Q: If you could, would you now do something differently when it comes to your time at United?
A: I would definitely enjoy the time more, if I could go back in time. There’s a lot of pressure at academy level, it’s such a demanding environment. You easily forget the beauty of the sport, how much you actually love football. You have limited time to put yourself ahead of your teammates in the pecking order, sometimes that can have a negative affect on your game.
A: At the beginning much more, when he offered me the contract, which by the way was quite a highlight of a lifetime for a young man. After that I saw him in first team practice. And Sir Alex of course attended a lot of reserves games. During the breaks in practice, Fergie used to give personal advice if he saw something he wanted to be done differently.
Q: What kind of advice was that?
A: Mostly regarding movement or reading the game, tactical instructions. Fysical and technical training was done by other coaches.
Q: How did you see him as a person?
A: Tough but fair. He treated everyone fairly and equally. When you did well, he would heap praise on you. When you didn’t, he’d give feedback in a direct and frank way. He kept the team motivated but also under strict discipline, as the captain of the ship should.
Q: In your opinion, who was the most talented academy player during your United years?
A: That would be Giuseppe Rossi. Excellent forward with two strong feet. We often trained together after team practice and during our ”off-time”. It was also quite easy to see that Gerard Piqué would become something special. I’ve never seen a defender with such ability with the ball. ”G” had better technique most of the attacking players!
Q: Describe how you felt when you wore the legendary red shirt of United for the first time?
A: You simply can’t describe it! It was crazy, mad. You feel so proud of yourself, honoured and privileged when you get to play for the colours of the biggest club in the world. I still get goosebumps and shivers when I think about it! It probably still hasn’t hit me, what I’ve done and where I’ve been. Some day it will.
Q: In the end, what was it that made you quit football?
A: The pressure, constant travelling, media, publicity, issues with coaches… It is exhausting to be a professional athlete, it really is a 24/7 job, you start burning your candle at both ends. It was at a crossroads. I had to make a decision, whether to go back abroad to sign one of the contract offers I had on my table or to start focusing on something else for the first time in my life. Whether to play football for 2-5 years in a foreign club or to apply to a school and begin to financially secure the life future after football.
I had promised myself that I’d take care of school matters, because it would affect the rest of my life. I wanted to pursue my other big goal in life and get to university and study economics, which would lead me towards a job that’d really interest me. Now I’m happy after getting in to the Tampere University, the future looks more secure than it ever did as a footballer. I was still relatively young when I got in to the Uni, so I’ll graduate with good prospects of being able to building a career.
We’ve also been thinking of family matters a lot lately. With this decision I can build a strong foundation to build on. As a footballer you never really get to settle down anywhere, you can’t build anything permanent. You have to be prepared for a constant change and insecurity. Now I can happily continue pursuing that dream and building a strong future for my family.
Q: Did you ever feel that you were close to breaking into the first team at United?
A: When I was a naive, young man, I believed I could do anything! The fact is though, that no matter how good you are, it is a goal tremendously difficult to reach, as for example the story of Gerard Piqué shows us. If ”G” never really made the final breakthrough at United, I must’ve been light years from the first team! I did think I was good enough to play as a professional at a smaller club. United’s first team – let’s be honest, I was nowhere near.
Q: If you could, would you now do something differently when it comes to your time at United?
A: I would definitely enjoy the time more, if I could go back in time. There’s a lot of pressure at academy level, it’s such a demanding environment. You easily forget the beauty of the sport, how much you actually love football. You have limited time to put yourself ahead of your teammates in the pecking order, sometimes that can have a negative affect on your game.
Etzaz Hussain has signed for Croatian 2nd division club NK Rudeš on a free transfer.
Just noticed that Nicholas Ioannou is playing as a CM for Cyprus U21 vs TFM’s Holland this afternoon. Ioannou scored and got booked in the 1st half. Apparently he ”plays” for APOEL now in his home country. His third season there has just begun, he’s played 8 league matches during two years. Apart from 26 minutes last May, the last time he played club football was in September 2015.
I thought he looked promising when he first got to u18 level, bad attitude?
Remember he was playing u18 football as a sort of mainstay, as a schoolboy. Played against Chelsea in the youth cup.
thought he was well rated at Molde under Ole..
@top1whoisman great stuff. Just read teh article and Q&A session
Happy to hear that. Didn’t know if anyone would care about a random ex-United academy player. I like how honest he was about his ability, the reasons he quit, his chances of breaking through etc. Also some nice insight into life inside the club for a young player.
Yeah I'm sure there's a bunch of us interested in youth football who enjoy reading that kind of stuff. Interesting perspective - most footballers think they were unlucky etc but he was just honest that he wasn't good enough for United. Smart chap.
Yeah. I met him in 2005, and I thought he was an arrogant bastard (he was 18 at the time, we’re all idiots at that age), but now that I’ve talked to him, I was impressed with his honesty. Of course he’s not in the public eye anymore, so there’s no reason to protect yourself but still a lot of people would go behind injuries etc.
Great interview, excellent questions. Some great insight into the pressures of becoming a professional player. He might not have been the greatest player in our academy but he was at the club at a very special time.
Cheers. That’s true. It must be nice to have made friends with a lot of great players, to have played with Ronaldo etc. I think what most that follow our academy closely remember him of are his penalties.
Not at all...he had lot's of injuries and the staff felt he might not make it so didn't offer him a pro contract. He was also keen to return home too.
Seems Gollini has improved recently after a shaky start for Aston Villa, earned a lot praises from their fans for his performance yesterday against Reading. Hopefully Bruce will give him opportunities instead of getting Johnstone in on January.
Linked with Juventus by the Daily Star, obviously unlikely to amount to much though.
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/fo...illa-Pierluigi-Gollini-Juventus-transfer-news
Linked with Juventus by the Daily Star, obviously unlikely to amount to much though.
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/fo...illa-Pierluigi-Gollini-Juventus-transfer-news
Really great performance from Heaton and Keane, really glad for them.
Ben Pearson was MoTM again yesterday as Preston lost 1-2 to Newcastle. Started the season well.
Apparently James Weir was tracked in the summer by Leicester City:
http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/hull...-this-summer/story-29755826-detail/story.html
http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/hull...-this-summer/story-29755826-detail/story.html
another injury for Will Keane, how unlucky can you be?
Former Manchester United youngster Van Velzen opens up about Pogba, Lingard and Class of 2011
Forward Gyliano van Velzen was part of the famous Man Utd side who won the FA Youth Cup in 2011.
Ever wondered where Paul Pogba got those killer dance moves? Gyliano van Velzen might have had something to do with it.
It may have been an era before the dab, but the lanky duo would spend hours honing their moves in their legendary PlayStation marathons with Adnan Januzaj and Charni Ekangamene.
The camaraderie, the laughs, the skills...it's hardly a surprise that the pair are still in touch on Snapchat.
And watching Pogba now, as the world-record transfer holder, the Dutchman has nothing but admiration for his former team-mate.
"I could see it already," he told M.E.N Sport. "He was very young but how he played was still the same.
"I see him now on the television now and I remember Pogba like he was at 17 years old - only now he's bigger and stronger. I knew Pogba was ready for it. I thought it was very difficult if he had to leave to express himself.
"He did very well at Juventus and now he's back playing and enjoying football. It's good to see him enjoying football and I read up all about him. I'm very happy for him.”
Not since the fabled Class of 92 did United have such an array of talent in one single crop - Sam Johnstone, Michael Keane, Ravel Morrison, Pogba and Jesse Lingard.
Van Velzen, who was the youngest in the squad, had only just turned 17 when United lifted the FA Youth Cup for the first time in eight seasons in 2011.
Born and raised in Amsterdam, the teenager was snapped up by Ajax four years previously but it was not long before he attracted the attention of Europe's elite with his performances for the Netherlands' age-group sides.
One of the major factors that swung the deal United's way was how the club already had a house in mind for the family near the club's training ground at Carrington.
Most would take the gesture for granted but for a close-knit family like the van Velzens, it was a deal breaker.
Ajax cried foul - writing to United chief executive David Gill amid accusations he had been poached - but van Velzen's mind was long made up.
"Of course, Ajax was annoyed that that United were interested in me - I knew that," he said.
"It's United coming to you and they want you to play for them. It's hard to say no. It's one of the biggest clubs in the world so everyone wants to play for them.”
Van Velzen arrived at the club when two pint-sized local lads, Jesse Lingard and Ravel Morrison, were making their mark.
Lingard had joined the club's academy at the age of seven and although incredibly slight, he had the nous to cope with bigger opponents.
"His agility was very good," van Velzen remembers.
"He was always on the move. You couldn't catch him - he was so little. He was very clever.”
Morrison, meanwhile, was signed as a first-year scholar in 2009 and, according to Rio Ferdinand, Sir Alex Ferguson "thought he was the best player he had seen at that age".
"Pogba and him: they were the best players at that time," agrees van Velzen.
"Ravel Morrison could score goals easily - defenders couldn't get the ball off him.
"He was clever as well. But the mentality on the field was different.”
Although he made a number of appearances for the reserves, and had a loan spell at Royal Antwerp, Sir Alex Ferguson let van Velzen go a year later.
The Dutchman would move on to FC Utrecht before joining second division FC Volendam - who are going for promotion this season.
Having watched as his friend, Pogba, left the club to prove himself, van Velzen ultimately has no regrets.
"Everyone is still talking about how I played with Pogba and Jesse Lingard and people like that," he beams.
"I think about United and how it could have been different but it's happened now - I have to move on.”
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...ws/manchester-united-news-van-velzen-12186119
Forward Gyliano van Velzen was part of the famous Man Utd side who won the FA Youth Cup in 2011.
Ever wondered where Paul Pogba got those killer dance moves? Gyliano van Velzen might have had something to do with it.
It may have been an era before the dab, but the lanky duo would spend hours honing their moves in their legendary PlayStation marathons with Adnan Januzaj and Charni Ekangamene.
The camaraderie, the laughs, the skills...it's hardly a surprise that the pair are still in touch on Snapchat.
And watching Pogba now, as the world-record transfer holder, the Dutchman has nothing but admiration for his former team-mate.
"I could see it already," he told M.E.N Sport. "He was very young but how he played was still the same.
"I see him now on the television now and I remember Pogba like he was at 17 years old - only now he's bigger and stronger. I knew Pogba was ready for it. I thought it was very difficult if he had to leave to express himself.
"He did very well at Juventus and now he's back playing and enjoying football. It's good to see him enjoying football and I read up all about him. I'm very happy for him.”
Not since the fabled Class of 92 did United have such an array of talent in one single crop - Sam Johnstone, Michael Keane, Ravel Morrison, Pogba and Jesse Lingard.
Van Velzen, who was the youngest in the squad, had only just turned 17 when United lifted the FA Youth Cup for the first time in eight seasons in 2011.
Born and raised in Amsterdam, the teenager was snapped up by Ajax four years previously but it was not long before he attracted the attention of Europe's elite with his performances for the Netherlands' age-group sides.
One of the major factors that swung the deal United's way was how the club already had a house in mind for the family near the club's training ground at Carrington.
Most would take the gesture for granted but for a close-knit family like the van Velzens, it was a deal breaker.
Ajax cried foul - writing to United chief executive David Gill amid accusations he had been poached - but van Velzen's mind was long made up.
"Of course, Ajax was annoyed that that United were interested in me - I knew that," he said.
"It's United coming to you and they want you to play for them. It's hard to say no. It's one of the biggest clubs in the world so everyone wants to play for them.”
Van Velzen arrived at the club when two pint-sized local lads, Jesse Lingard and Ravel Morrison, were making their mark.
Lingard had joined the club's academy at the age of seven and although incredibly slight, he had the nous to cope with bigger opponents.
"His agility was very good," van Velzen remembers.
"He was always on the move. You couldn't catch him - he was so little. He was very clever.”
Morrison, meanwhile, was signed as a first-year scholar in 2009 and, according to Rio Ferdinand, Sir Alex Ferguson "thought he was the best player he had seen at that age".
"Pogba and him: they were the best players at that time," agrees van Velzen.
"Ravel Morrison could score goals easily - defenders couldn't get the ball off him.
"He was clever as well. But the mentality on the field was different.”
Although he made a number of appearances for the reserves, and had a loan spell at Royal Antwerp, Sir Alex Ferguson let van Velzen go a year later.
The Dutchman would move on to FC Utrecht before joining second division FC Volendam - who are going for promotion this season.
Having watched as his friend, Pogba, left the club to prove himself, van Velzen ultimately has no regrets.
"Everyone is still talking about how I played with Pogba and Jesse Lingard and people like that," he beams.
"I think about United and how it could have been different but it's happened now - I have to move on.”
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...ws/manchester-united-news-van-velzen-12186119
Ollie Rathbone scored 1 goal and was MoTM for Rochdale yesterday. They are sitting 5th in League One. Added him to my "lower league watch".