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Goals :
Own goal
Richards
White (pen)
Richards
Parrott
Bennett
Parrott
Markanday
Clarke
Great to see Rodel Richards make his first start after a lengthy injury, and in good form.
Not on the score sheet but Jamie Bowden with a few assists. But the goals shared around nicely.
And a 9-0 away win is a nice birthday present for coach Matt Wells, especially as before the game we were only one point ahead of Wham who were in 4th place. We remain top of the table with a blinding start of wins with the only points dropped this season being last week's draw at Reading
Own goal
Richards
White (pen)
Richards
Parrott
Bennett
Parrott
Markanday
Clarke
Great to see Rodel Richards make his first start after a lengthy injury, and in good form.
Not on the score sheet but Jamie Bowden with a few assists. But the goals shared around nicely.
And a 9-0 away win is a nice birthday present for coach Matt Wells, especially as before the game we were only one point ahead of Wham who were in 4th place. We remain top of the table with a blinding start of wins with the only points dropped this season being last week's draw at Reading
Goal difference 28-8 or +20 after 6 games.
As a Dutchman I was watching the highlights of Excelsior versus Heerenveen and I noticed Edwards. He played a very good match and was really impressive. I did some searching to find where he's from. Looks like a very talented player to me!
Got tonked 6-0. No great surprise we lost as playing at Goodison we lost (I think) 4-1 for the last 2 years.
Think our problem will have been that we lined up with zillions of CB's and CM's with no obvious outlets so we will have been under pressure all the time.
From that team the line up was probably :
De Bie
Binks Dinzeyi Tangana
Eyoma, Skipp, Marsh, Brown
Oakley-Boothe, Maghoma
Harrison
Binks Dinzeyi Tangana
Eyoma, Skipp, Marsh, Brown
Oakley-Boothe, Maghoma
Harrison
So very narrow with no natural width, no natural creativity in centre midfield and Oakley-Boothe is a CM being played at AM. So very little support for Harrison, other than Maghoma.
With the named squad, probably have been better to have had Roles in place of Marsh (Roles likes to run forward into the box to score) and Patterson to provide some pace and trickery.
I've really no idea what Wayne Burnett thought he was achieving with the original line up.
Difference in quality of the players between u23's and u18's but biggest diffderence could be the difference in coaching between Matt Wells and Wayne Burnett ?
We were never going to win with that defensive line up . Roles has proved in the last 3 or so games that we are a much better attacking all round team when he starts . But we insist on not starting him . Wayne Burnett really has no idea what he is doing , no wonder all our attacking players are leaving or going out on loan , what’s the point in staying to play in a team that has no ambition in going forward and attacking .
Yup there are not too many attacking options left in the u23's with Kazaiah Sterling not fit so far since pre-season, Sam Shashoua and Marcus Edwards out on loan, Keanan Bennetts and Reo Griffiths left, Shilow Tracey gone awol (but like Sissoko questionable quality) - but he still has Jack Roles and Anthony Georgiou plus could call on one or two u18's.
He started off the season with very few attackers involved, and then I thought seemed to have learned for the EFL game against Crawley and last u21 game - but has now reverted to type. I can't see what the players learn from being hammered by through poor team selection. I'm not saying we would necessarily have beaten Everton but I'm sure a better team selection would at least have made more a game of it.
WindyCOYS
The Fighting Cock
Line-up was a mess. Too many players who are too similar, too stodgy, and some who are just not good enough (either 'yet' or personally I think 'never will be').
Roles is certainly one that should have a place amongst this samey side, but also surely someone like Markanday could step up. They trust Maghoma because of his size and athleticism, but he's erratic and inconsistent. Markanday may be smaller but he's a much more consistent performer IMO.
WindyCOYS
The Fighting Cock
Great report of the U18 game from IG Spur on Spurs Community:
I started writing this when I got back, then got bored, but thought it would be good to give a classic breakdown so just finished it, so it may sound a bit rushed
Oluwayemi - I'd argue was largely responsible for the outcome of the game. He made 2 or 3 big saves at 0-0 that West Ham should have put away while we were finding our feet. They score those and it all changes. Made himself big and got out quickly. Also doesn't shut up, barking orders at the defenders telling them where they should be
Tainio - Growing on me, though I still feel he essentially a very basic footballer. Not intending to be too critical but he doesn't look out of place.
Lyons-Foster - As always composed at the back. Comfortable turning either way off the ball out of pressure, causing a few off their players to hit the deck though it was wet. Always looking for the forward pass. The penalty decision was soft. But the build up was great, and exemplifies the type of player he is that he found himself in the box after some one touch passing with others. Dropped the should, the defender dangled a leg I think he caught BLF but his fall was slightly delayed.
White - Incredible how he has transitioned from a no.10 to a DM/CM. Looked fairly solid for a midfield and generally slight guy, excellent at getting himself out of tight situations and quickish feet. Tucked away his penalty cooly.
Cirkin - seems to have really grown not that he is massive but he used to be quite small. Knows how to play the game, supported the attack well, generally calm at the back
Bowden - One of our best players. I have always liked him and but like a lot of the players last year he didn't seem to perform as well as I expected hence not being considered for England, but he was absolute quality today. Skill, very languid still got about, ridiculous compusre, intilligetn and movd the ball quickly when eh needed to and slowed it down on some occasions. The through ball for Parrott's 2nd goal was on the countre got the ball and just helped it through for Parrott. Would like to see a bit more create passing from him, but he is very Carrick like. There were a couple of sublime pieuces of skill from him to beat his man which I didn't expect, like he was having fun, but I guess that is to be expected whatever nil up.
Shashoua - Senior player, very quick in his thought and movement. Influential and helped to make things tick moving the ball quickly and linked up Bowden and Markanday. He is the captain and plays like it to always making himself available
Bennet - didn't have a great game. Beat the fullback a coupe of times but his final ball was lacking. His best moment was early on when he cut in on his right and hit the bar.
Richards - I thought he had a good comeback. I like him. I feel he is a player with a lot of time. He doesn't rush his decisions but is also a quick thinker. There will be times he will receive the ball and you think that he will quickly move it on to the wing, he almost shapes to do it, then out of the corner of his eye he will notice someone in a better position and deceive the defender and pick out a better placed player. Sometimes he can end up playing it too late, but I think it is good trait in general. He misplaced a couple of passes out to Bennet on the counter which was frsutrating but otherwise was good to see him back. He's very brave and will fly into challenges and his second goal was a curler from the edge of the box. He's a player I think would get more recognution from England were his age group not so strong.
Markanday - said a lot about him already, but I think he is our biggest threat. Very nippy, and hard to contain, a constant thorn for the opposition and a real team player. He has a lot of strength considering his size but also knows how to use his body. There is the argument he could be a bit more selfish, when on the edge of the box, as he gets himself into good positions, but he instinctively looks for the man in a better position and will lose his shooting opportunity. Quality player
Parrott - Held the ball up really well. I know he is big and their defence contained a number of u16s but with his facial hair too he looks like an overage player. As I have seen before he has some flair. Missed a sitter in the first half, but put away his 2nd chance, and his 2nd goal was a lovely dink over their keeper. Very promising
Sub
Statham - Did OK when he came on
Pochettino - even at 7-0 up he still never managed to beat a man or try to really do anything. Would love to see what he does in training. Don't want to be too critical of him, but he is very limited.
Clarke - excellent cameo. Wanted to see him start but everyone did so well so can't complain. Refreshing to see him going at the defence and trying to beat them. Could have had a penalty for Parrott's 1st goal as he was taken out by the keeper and the ball ended up rolling to Parrott who just tucked it into an open net. Very positive introduction and not what their defenders would want to see.
Overall it was an excellent game. Their team was very young, 3 of their 4 defenders were u16s, one was an u15 I think, but they are all experienced at this level and play regularly, one or two have also played for the u23s. Better than the 10-1 I saw against Stevenage.
Considering how well we're doing I'd expect a couple of our players to make an England squad.
Bowden, Bennet, Markanday, and Maghoma (who has started to do well for the u23s) may start to find themselves in contention for a call up for a good England age group. I think a reason this team is also doing well, is because it has been fairly uninterrupted. The only regular missing is Maghoma who would used to often play up himself, so generally they all know each others games. Also I think they are all on the same level, there is no outstanding player so they all take responsibility themselves, which contributes to the team dynamic I imagine. They've lost Madueke unfortunately but then it means the work load is spread evenly. Or it could just be down to how Wells has them playing.
Was speaking to an agent and he was very impressed with how we played, like it was a different level. Playing out of tight situations from the back under pressure and finding a man in CM who would attack. Also thought it was funny listening to the parent of a West Ham player say 'ye well Spurs look good, as they are technically better, but I promise you 2nd half we will beat them as they tire and they aren't strong physically' well he called that wrong. Apparently they had beaten us 6 games in a row in lower age groups. Which probably goes to show, how eventually the physicality will level out and technique is what shines. He also commented on how we play well as a team rather than individuals, which is the complete opposite to what I'm used to seeing, and definitely saw a change with this lot. All in all a good game
Oluwayemi - I'd argue was largely responsible for the outcome of the game. He made 2 or 3 big saves at 0-0 that West Ham should have put away while we were finding our feet. They score those and it all changes. Made himself big and got out quickly. Also doesn't shut up, barking orders at the defenders telling them where they should be
Tainio - Growing on me, though I still feel he essentially a very basic footballer. Not intending to be too critical but he doesn't look out of place.
Lyons-Foster - As always composed at the back. Comfortable turning either way off the ball out of pressure, causing a few off their players to hit the deck though it was wet. Always looking for the forward pass. The penalty decision was soft. But the build up was great, and exemplifies the type of player he is that he found himself in the box after some one touch passing with others. Dropped the should, the defender dangled a leg I think he caught BLF but his fall was slightly delayed.
White - Incredible how he has transitioned from a no.10 to a DM/CM. Looked fairly solid for a midfield and generally slight guy, excellent at getting himself out of tight situations and quickish feet. Tucked away his penalty cooly.
Cirkin - seems to have really grown not that he is massive but he used to be quite small. Knows how to play the game, supported the attack well, generally calm at the back
Bowden - One of our best players. I have always liked him and but like a lot of the players last year he didn't seem to perform as well as I expected hence not being considered for England, but he was absolute quality today. Skill, very languid still got about, ridiculous compusre, intilligetn and movd the ball quickly when eh needed to and slowed it down on some occasions. The through ball for Parrott's 2nd goal was on the countre got the ball and just helped it through for Parrott. Would like to see a bit more create passing from him, but he is very Carrick like. There were a couple of sublime pieuces of skill from him to beat his man which I didn't expect, like he was having fun, but I guess that is to be expected whatever nil up.
Shashoua - Senior player, very quick in his thought and movement. Influential and helped to make things tick moving the ball quickly and linked up Bowden and Markanday. He is the captain and plays like it to always making himself available
Bennet - didn't have a great game. Beat the fullback a coupe of times but his final ball was lacking. His best moment was early on when he cut in on his right and hit the bar.
Richards - I thought he had a good comeback. I like him. I feel he is a player with a lot of time. He doesn't rush his decisions but is also a quick thinker. There will be times he will receive the ball and you think that he will quickly move it on to the wing, he almost shapes to do it, then out of the corner of his eye he will notice someone in a better position and deceive the defender and pick out a better placed player. Sometimes he can end up playing it too late, but I think it is good trait in general. He misplaced a couple of passes out to Bennet on the counter which was frsutrating but otherwise was good to see him back. He's very brave and will fly into challenges and his second goal was a curler from the edge of the box. He's a player I think would get more recognution from England were his age group not so strong.
Markanday - said a lot about him already, but I think he is our biggest threat. Very nippy, and hard to contain, a constant thorn for the opposition and a real team player. He has a lot of strength considering his size but also knows how to use his body. There is the argument he could be a bit more selfish, when on the edge of the box, as he gets himself into good positions, but he instinctively looks for the man in a better position and will lose his shooting opportunity. Quality player
Parrott - Held the ball up really well. I know he is big and their defence contained a number of u16s but with his facial hair too he looks like an overage player. As I have seen before he has some flair. Missed a sitter in the first half, but put away his 2nd chance, and his 2nd goal was a lovely dink over their keeper. Very promising
Sub
Statham - Did OK when he came on
Pochettino - even at 7-0 up he still never managed to beat a man or try to really do anything. Would love to see what he does in training. Don't want to be too critical of him, but he is very limited.
Clarke - excellent cameo. Wanted to see him start but everyone did so well so can't complain. Refreshing to see him going at the defence and trying to beat them. Could have had a penalty for Parrott's 1st goal as he was taken out by the keeper and the ball ended up rolling to Parrott who just tucked it into an open net. Very positive introduction and not what their defenders would want to see.
Overall it was an excellent game. Their team was very young, 3 of their 4 defenders were u16s, one was an u15 I think, but they are all experienced at this level and play regularly, one or two have also played for the u23s. Better than the 10-1 I saw against Stevenage.
Considering how well we're doing I'd expect a couple of our players to make an England squad.
Bowden, Bennet, Markanday, and Maghoma (who has started to do well for the u23s) may start to find themselves in contention for a call up for a good England age group. I think a reason this team is also doing well, is because it has been fairly uninterrupted. The only regular missing is Maghoma who would used to often play up himself, so generally they all know each others games. Also I think they are all on the same level, there is no outstanding player so they all take responsibility themselves, which contributes to the team dynamic I imagine. They've lost Madueke unfortunately but then it means the work load is spread evenly. Or it could just be down to how Wells has them playing.
Was speaking to an agent and he was very impressed with how we played, like it was a different level. Playing out of tight situations from the back under pressure and finding a man in CM who would attack. Also thought it was funny listening to the parent of a West Ham player say 'ye well Spurs look good, as they are technically better, but I promise you 2nd half we will beat them as they tire and they aren't strong physically' well he called that wrong. Apparently they had beaten us 6 games in a row in lower age groups. Which probably goes to show, how eventually the physicality will level out and technique is what shines. He also commented on how we play well as a team rather than individuals, which is the complete opposite to what I'm used to seeing, and definitely saw a change with this lot. All in all a good game
Agree with that, but Burnett decided to go with Patterson rather than Markanday, arguably a player with similarish attributes, but put him on the bench rather than in the starting X1 - which is where we both started from, saying that it was set up with almost no chance of winning as it lacked much ability to mount attacks
So not sure its the availability of players that is the issue, its the coach choosing the X1.
Is it a stretch too far to wonder if one of the reasons that Sam Shashoua pushed for a loan and Keanan Bennetts left is because they didn't have much confidence in Burnett coaching attacking players, or is that a step too far ?
The Burnett scenario is very reminiscent of the conversations we used to have when Ehiogu was u23 coach isn’t it.
Hard to gauge whether he’s a victim of circumstance or making poor decisions.
I seem to remember us all scratching our heads at things like Amos being playing at LB and some really uninspiring selections.
Hard to gauge whether he’s a victim of circumstance or making poor decisions.
I seem to remember us all scratching our heads at things like Amos being playing at LB and some really uninspiring selections.
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