Leeds V U23s

[Northyorksblade]

And, if I've got it right I can link to my Blog thus....

http://www.ball-sup.blogspot.co.uk

Some great blogs there. And we may even have met overseas watching England cricket, or watching Yorkshire. Or even Bramall Lane. Funny old game this internet anonymity ain't it?

 

[larkymasher]

Right.... Is this thing on?

I got a lot of hits on my Blog which originated from this thread on the Forum. I thought I'd best look at what had been said. And get registered, and learn how to post & yadda yadda. Be gentle.....

So, yeah, I'm in the lucky position of having the time & inclination to trawl around watching SUFC U18/U23/Futures as well as the 1st Team. I've been writing a Blog about games & the Beer & Pubs I encounter along the way. (And some other capers). The Blog started in July 2014.

I was at a Q&A with Travis Binnion (Academy Manager) & he told me (paraphrasing) that they had to find a way of fitting that Central League Cup game away at Fleetwood in some how. It is scheduled for Tues 28 Feb. The day after a home U23 game v Birmingham. That's not a mistake. Travis said something like "we'll send a young side".

Great to have you on here Phil..... The Blogs are great.

Would be a shame though to miss out on a cup final by playing a young side. The 23s have got themselves into a good position this season where a couple of wins against Birmingham could see them in the next round of the Premier League Cup and a win at Fleetwood would put them in to the North Final of the Central Cup. That along side plenty of league games to get in the top two, i would have thought preparing a decent side from now and to the end of the season and sorting fixtures out sensibly would be a great way to develop some of the younger ones.
For Semple, Hallam, Slater, Kelly, Gilmoor, Ty Smith etc it would be a cracking way to put them under a bit of big match pressure.

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

larkymarsher, I agree to some extent. Talent Through Trauma was one of the buzz phrases used at Shirecliffe, when they used to use buzz phrases. It means - put players under pressure - like you say. United binned a lot of 20/21 year olds in 2015-16. In order to bring the next group through. Then, Premier League changes meant that the switch was from U21 to U23 for 2016-17. So, our young lads are "too young" for U21, but now play at U23. And, after a tricky start to the season, they're thriving.

But, I also disagree to some extent. The Central League Cup is low quality & priority. One of the other things they wanted to do was find more games, so that they could give a wider range of youngsters a go. And that is where the Central League Cup fits in. It is NOT a competition we've entered in recent years. It is a STEP DOWN competition for SUFC. What I mean by that is we currently play in what I see as Division 2 of the U23s. I see The Central League as Division 3. The Premier League Cup is a STEP UP competition for SUFC. And will give our kids more of a test. The draw will include some Premier League 2 clubs - like Reading who we play on Monday. They are in the highest U23 league - along with Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal.

I'll sum that up as - it's all good. The young lads are getting games across a range of opposition - most at our level (like v like), some a "step down", some a "step up". Once we have a result from the Reading game on Monday, we'll know whether we're still in with a chance in the Premier League Cup. Binnion can them juggle the Birmingham & Fleetwood squads accordingly.

The link has some of the stuff I feel I learned speaking to Travis Binnion at Shirecliffe.

http://www.ball-sup.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/inside-shirecliffe.html