William Henry Foulkes
Big Member
Are players too old to make the transition from u21s to first team?
(I'm discounting u18s for this - it is really about how old are you when you're past it .)
This cropped up in another (DCL) thread and I think it has some merit but I wonder what evidence is? Has anyone made that u21s->first team step up?
One major barrier I think is physicality (and this was mentioned when DCL played at Orient last year, and got muscled out of it by their CBs).
In the development games the u21s will play other u21s; there'll be the odd grown-up thrown in here and there, but by and large the level of physicality will be well below a first team game.
Given this, one obvious place to develop is out on loan. Take a step or two down in technique and a step or three up in physicality, and develop from there.
But does it ever work out like that?
Does anyone ever make it from the u21s to the first team?
And if so what was the route they took?
(I'm discounting u18s for this - it is really about how old are you when you're past it .)
This cropped up in another (DCL) thread and I think it has some merit but I wonder what evidence is? Has anyone made that u21s->first team step up?
One major barrier I think is physicality (and this was mentioned when DCL played at Orient last year, and got muscled out of it by their CBs).
In the development games the u21s will play other u21s; there'll be the odd grown-up thrown in here and there, but by and large the level of physicality will be well below a first team game.
Given this, one obvious place to develop is out on loan. Take a step or two down in technique and a step or three up in physicality, and develop from there.
But does it ever work out like that?
Does anyone ever make it from the u21s to the first team?
And if so what was the route they took?