Development Squad

[CopenhagenBlade]

Everyone seems to be talking about the Academy lads and how they should be in the 1st team next season but surely the development/Reserve team players should be stepping up and the Academy Lads moving in to the Development Squad?? The only one who has stepped up is Tonne but surely there are a couple more who are ready both pysically and mentally to be playing 1st team football.

Anyone watch any of the games that this squad plays or are they all 'behind closed doors'? Who else is on the edge of a breakthrough?

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

The two Irish lads were highly thought of and playing in the same league Doyle etc came from for Reading. I'd be surprised if McAllister doesn't get a start on Saturday. As I said last week, can't understand how James, Chappel and Roe seem to have slipped down the pecking order seeing as they were all involved pre-season and made the early season squads.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

The two Irish lads were highly thought of and playing in the same league Doyle etc came from for Reading. I'd be surprised if McAllister doesn't get a start on Saturday. As I said last week, can't understand how James, Chappel and Roe seem to have slipped down the pecking order seeing as they were all involved pre-season and made the early season squads.

Oh good, my pet subject again

The Reserves (sorry "The Development Squad") have played a grand total of THREE proper matches in the last four months. They've also played a handful of "behind closed doors" kickabouts but United don't generally publicise those, so it's difficult to know who's playing and how they're getting on.

In terms of the Reserve team matches, Warren, Chappell, Roe, Lokberg, Conneely and Gardos have only been substitutes for those and in some cases unused subs, so I don’t see any of those featuring in the First Team either this season or next. As they’re all around the 20 to 22 age range, I suspect United already know that they’re not good enough and they’ll be quietly offloaded in the Summer. The “boys” that have been playing regularly are Mcallister, James, Tonne and Philliskirk, so they seem most likely to make the step up for the last few matches. We certainly need the sort of pace that Tonne and Philliskirk both apparently possess.

You have to question Adams judgement on this. He said that he’d had to be careful with the Youth Team while they’re still in the Cup but the needs of the First Team should always take precedence. We saw last night that McGuire instantly improved the defence and surely Slew, Tonne or Philliskirk would have been a better “pacy” option than Bent when our collection of painfully slow strikers fail to break through. Who knows if we’d have taken a few more points if he’d been prepared to “gamble” with a few of the young players earlier? Now we'll never know.

 

[Zlatan]

You have to question Adams judgement on this. He said that he’d had to be careful with the Youth Team while they’re still in the Cup but the needs of the First Team should always take precedence.

Does it really matter? We're down anyway.

I'd rather us finish bottom and win the Youth Cup than finish second bottom!

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Does it really matter? We're down anyway. I'd rather us finish bottom and win the Youth Cup than finish second bottom!

Heh? What I'm saying is that he should have played Maguire and Slew weeks ago when we still had a chance of staying up, rather than saving them for The Youth Cup.
Anybody who saw Maguire against Villa and again last night will tell you that he instantly looks a vast improvement over either Collins or Nosworthy.
It wouldn't have been a gamble to play him because we've been desperately poor and making basic errors in defence for weeks. How could he have possibly made things worse?
Likewise up front we have nobody in the first team squad with enough pace to get behind defences. Could Slew (or Philliskirk) really have worried defences any less than Bent?
Personally, I'd rather us have finished fourth bottom and gone out in The Semi Final of the Youth Cup.

 

[lenners]

Can someone explain what happens with reserve team football these days.
Is there no longer a league? Who do they play?

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Can someone explain what happens with reserve team football these days.
Is there no longer a league? Who do they play?

I was confused about that too Len but this tells you all need to know:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_League_(football)

Basically, we're in a league with 7 other teams which means we only get 14 matches in a nine month season.
The obvious thing to do would be to have two divisions of 13 teams each, which would guarantee a more sensible 24 matches.
Possibly with promotion and relegation to make it competitive.