Antwoine Hackford

[HarryHaslam]

I love watching the academy sides on a weekend, I don't watch any specific side just have a walk about and so watch many players over the years and if someone catches my eye I like to watch their progress over the years. We have many youngsters that I can see making a breakthrough over the next 5 years or so.

But the next superstar from the Shirecliffe conveyor belt is Antwoine Hackford, a 14 year old striker. Plays for the U15s what a player this boy is and I am going to go on record and say this lad will make his first team appearance aged 16, become our youngest ever player and our youngest ever goal scorer. That is some statement but he is some player.

Any other avid academy watchers have their tips for future stars?

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

I struggle a bit with "future stars". I find it quite easy to judge who is playing well on the day. But, longer term future potential is much harder to guage. That said. I really like the look of Harrison Neal, he's playing U18 Professional Development League most Saturdays.

 

[GreasyChipBeattie]

Go on then, I'll go first.....


That'll be another couple of mill in the kitty then

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Go on then, I'll go first.....
That'll be another couple of mill in the kitty then

Not if someone gets to him before he signs a pro contract

 

[Davalon]

DdeG.

Long way to go for these lads yet.

 

[HarryHaslam]

Not if someone gets to him before he signs a pro contract

Always a worry when there is a major prospect. I would be absolutely astounded if Antwoine Hackford has not already been tapped up by one of the big clubs, he really is that good.

We lost a lad earlier this season to Man Utd, he was of russian or ukraine descent, something like that anyway. An amazing talent who is also heading for the top, Man Utd moved all the family to Manchester and gave his parents jobs one of the parents in his side was telling me, we have lost out big time on that lad because he was amazing.

 

[Stanthemanfan]

I love watching the academy sides on a weekend, I don't watch any specific side just have a walk about and so watch many players over the years and if someone catches my eye I like to watch their progress over the years. We have many youngsters that I can see making a breakthrough over the next 5 years or so.

But the next superstar from the Shirecliffe conveyor belt is Antwoine Hackford, a 14 year old striker. Plays for the U15s what a player this boy is and I am going to go on record and say this lad will make his first team appearance aged 16, become our youngest ever player and our youngest ever goal scorer. That is some statement but he is some player.

Any other avid academy watchers have their tips for future stars?

I know and grew up with his mum
Never seen him play but his mums always on fb with his achievements, he's just got to keep his head down

 

[Northyorksblade]

Antwoine? Really?

 

[Trigger Blade]

Antwoine? Really?

It’s probably patwois.

 

[Topplayersleave]

Go on then, I'll go first.....


That'll be another couple of mill in the kitty then

Beat me to it
If he's good enough he'll be off somewhere big like Bournemouth or Brighton so that they can turn him into a superstar
If he stayed with us and we got to the Premier League he'd still only be somebody that played for that bunch of Northern cloggers

 

[Houston_Blade]

I played against a kid at 14 who was with the Pig academy, Denny was his name, pretty much scored 2 or 3 goals a game for the entire season. He was untacklable and stood out like a sore thumb both height, width and pace wise. He played for Sheffield Rangers the previous season along with a good few other very good juniors but he stood out a mile.

By 16 he was a good player but nothing special. By 17 he’d been released by the pigs and I never came across him again.

I also played against Karl Colley, he was at Middlewood u13’s then signed for Rotherham, he was fucking huge at 12 and 13, he was still huge at 18 but as he got caught up size wise by a good few players he was no longer able to bully his way through a game.

A lot can change in a couple of years when you’re a good young prospect.

 

[Lane Ender]

Antwoine? Really?

Just call him Tony

 

[Topplayersleave]

I played between the age of 11-16 with Trenton Wiggan

At age 11 he was like an 18 year old

By the time we reached 13 he was like 27 or something

You thought that there was nothing on earth that could touch him

We found out that he was pretty ordinary during his spell with United

 

[1066blade]

Antwoine? Really?

When he's in our first team, he'll be plain old Ant!

 

[finlaytheblade]

Size at a young age can always be misleading,in my class at school we had a big kid who had hairs on his chest before he was thirteen couldnt play football but scared other players to death as a centre forward..
D Brookes is a classic example city must have lost patience with him at 15,16 as they released him.It was obvious he was a talented football player who played with his head up with a football intelligence..We gave him time to grow up and he was turning into a great player,premier League come sniffing and he's gone for a good fee but we won't see him at his best.He will make us more money but if he had stayed as Wilder hoped I think we would have had an even better chance of promotion this season.

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

I will allow myself to say, among the Academy/Futures crop I watch regularly, U18 upwards, we don't have many "giants". It tends to be the Centre Backs - Sam Graham & Callum Semple are big 'uns. Modern science & training meant that Callum Semple came back from injury very strong & muscular. Incidentally, so did wing back Jake Bennett - although he's not particularly tall. David Parkhouse is a big battering ram striker. But, Gilmour, Slater, Smith, Hallam are more pocket powerhouses. Norrington-Davies & Stephen Mallon have a bit of height, strong & wiry.

 

[Sid1978]

GLTTL

 

[wavy-blade]

Sell , sell , sell !!!!!

 

[Cerberus Blade]

I love watching the academy sides on a weekend, I don't watch any specific side just have a walk about and so watch many players over the years and if someone catches my eye I like to watch their progress over the years. We have many youngsters that I can see making a breakthrough over the next 5 years or so.

But the next superstar from the Shirecliffe conveyor belt is Antwoine Hackford, a 14 year old striker. Plays for the U15s what a player this boy is and I am going to go on record and say this lad will make his first team appearance aged 16, become our youngest ever player and our youngest ever goal scorer. That is some statement but he is some player.

Any other avid academy watchers have their tips for future stars?

Albert Staniland.

I read about him in a "Lane Line Up" programme roundabout 1972. He was definitely going to be our next big star. I suspect he probably got injured?

How about all those "stars" from that FA Youth Cup Final team? McFadzean, Ironside, Maguire, etc. Only 1 has gone on to make a career out of the game - and by some margin too! Well done Harry. But the rest aren't good enough for professional football or even good enough to stand out at an amateur level.

I hope you're right about Antwoine Hackford. But already, that name is giving me doubts!

 

[JohnDenver]

Antwoine? Really?

I know an Antowin. And a French lad called Antoine.

But I’m not even sure how to pronounce Antwoine...

 

[Feo]

Size at a young age can always be misleading,in my class at school we had a big kid who had hairs on his chest before he was thirteen couldnt play football but scared other players to death as a centre forward..
D Brookes is a classic example city must have lost patience with him at 15,16 as they released him.It was obvious he was a talented football player who played with his head up with a football intelligence..We gave him time to grow up and he was turning into a great player,premier League come sniffing and he's gone for a good fee but we won't see him at his best.He will make us more money but if he had stayed as Wilder hoped I think we would have had an even better chance of promotion this season.

The OP never mentioned size.

 

[HarryHaslam]

The OP never mentioned size.

Correct, not sure why people are mentioning size.

Hackford is not particularly big for his age and certainly doesn’t stand out size wise as though he is ahead of the other lads. What he does have is great technical ability, all round skill and clinical finishing and pace to absolute burn.

 

[Wooden Blade]

Hackford has already come on as a substitute in two recent Under18 games.

Probably the last 14 year old forward who played at that age for the Under 18's was Diego.

 

[Silent Blade]

In the 1970s Ray Storey was supposed to have "everything" when he played for Sheffield schools. Went to Man U and then Tommy Docherty took him to Derby but Ray never made a league appearance

 

[finlaytheblade]

The OP never mentioned size.

Brooks was very small and lightweight when we took him,he's a good size now and will fill out a bit which will give him more strength the only thing that's missing now.

 

[mattbianco1]

I love watching the academy sides on a weekend, I don't watch any specific side just have a walk about and so watch many players over the years and if someone catches my eye I like to watch their progress over the years. We have many youngsters that I can see making a breakthrough over the next 5 years or so.

But the next superstar from the Shirecliffe conveyor belt is Antwoine Hackford, a 14 year old striker. Plays for the U15s what a player this boy is and I am going to go on record and say this lad will make his first team appearance aged 16, become our youngest ever player and our youngest ever goal scorer. That is some statement but he is some player.

Any other avid academy watchers have their tips for future stars?

I said that about Connor Dimaio

 

[Isaw Joeshaw]

Brooks was very small and lightweight when we took him,he's a good size now and will fill out a bit which will give him more strength the only thing that's missing now.

The very flattering article about him in yesterday's Mail says he was only 5 ft. 2 at 16 and now just 5 ft. 6 .

Surely that can't be right ?

 

[finlaytheblade]

The very flattering article about him in yesterday's Mail says he was only 5 ft. 2 at 16 and now just 5 ft. 6 .

Surely that can't be right ?

He was small when we signed him but not that small,he's also more than 5ft6in now more like 5ft 9in

 

[Northyorksblade]

I know an Antowin. And a French lad called Antoine.

But I’m not even sure how to pronounce Antwoine...

I may be wrong, but it seems to me either someone who couldn't spell Antoine, or who wanted their son to have a different name. Either way, I wonder how many times he's had to spell out his name!

 

[Isaw Joeshaw]

I may be wrong, but it seems to me either someone who couldn't spell Antoine, or who wanted their son to have a different name. Either way, I wonder how many times he's had to spell out his name!

There are numerous examples of this .

I once knew a bloke called Derrick . I'm fairly sure he wasn't an oil rig but he was a pigs fan and when it came to discussing football , I might as well have been talking to one .