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Eggbert Nobacon 2:51 Tue Jan 24
Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

if it was done I missed it -


“I was asked in the pre-match press conference about the possibility of more young players going out on loan and the chances of Toni Martinez breaking into the first-team squad.

“Will he (Toni) be good enough? You never know. He should be good enough. He has scored a lot of goals but it is very hard to judge players from different levels and different leagues.

“Last year I saw British clubs putting young players in and I am asking are they putting them based on training and then I found out they have a policy of 15 games so they send them on loan for a year or too and then if they are good, they take them back and put them in the team.

“For me that is the key. The U23s is really good for young players but the stage comes when the players should go. Is it one season, two seasons….

“We have all been there. Even the big players like Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand, you should play and live with the people who are feeding their families out of those Saturdays and Sundays and that is the key. We send them and look at them.

“We then decide if he is good enough and put him in a game or he is not good enough, let’s release him or sell him.

“Frank and Rio both went out on loan. Rio was great in training but he didn’t get a chance ahead of myself, Marc Rieper and Julian Dicks.

“He went to Bournemouth and that is what Harry Kane did and many others like that. That is why Josh Cullen is on loan and Reece Burke is on loan. Marcus Browne has gone into the Championship and that is the way for me.

“Reece Oxford had a situation with the contract and now it is signed, but he also didn’t train for six weeks because of injury, but now he is back and it is too late for a loan. He might get a chance here.

“The plan with Reece is he has a great future with us and he should be in West Ham if he is centre-back three or four, but not five. If that is the case he should go out on loan for one year to emerge and improve and then come back and play. That is the very simple philosophy but definitely the best one.”

Trevor B 8:27 Wed Jan 25
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

Side

Burke picked up an injury after a couple of games for Wigan which kept him out for about 3+ weeks, then had a more serious one in nov/dec that required him returning to us for an operation and rehab. he has been selected for every game that he has been fit for.

Side of Ham 11:51 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

WHUDeano, there's a very good reason Slav hasn't introduced Oxford and Burke for starters they've both had their injuries with one barely making it into the struggling Wigan team.Another reason is we still haven't had a settled defence ALL season until that is the case they should left well away from the shitfest as they wouldn't be getting bloodied they would be getting bled out.

Now is the time to settle our defence and stop shipping goals so we can push on.If by March there is a real settled back line then we can start giving these raw talents some games to see IF they have progressed.

WHUDeano 10:59 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

I like Slav but there is no reason at all not to give one of the Reece's a go now. We are as far from the top 5 as the bottom 3 - blood the youngsters - if he can't give them a try now, then he never will..this season we've played a centre midiefld in centre defence and a right winger everywhere. No faith in the youngsters at all, why give Oxford a contract?

tnb 10:06 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

And of course Browne has been on the bench a bit too. Then again so has Gordon (why do I want to give him a double-barreles name, did he have one when he came to.us?) and I can't see that happening.

tnb 10:03 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

Side,

I'd agree with that, although Don't Tell 'em Pike also seems to be highly rated and of course we still have Samuelsen who I am yet to be convinced by but at the end of the day he is a current senior international in our u23s and we haven't got many of them. Was surprised Page went mind you as the word was he was highly rated too so who knows. All of them as you say seem a few years off really challenging - Burke and Oxford probably top of the list, followed by the rest and then Quina who is probably 3 or 4 years off at the least.

franksfat&slow&wank 9:54 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

V has a point re tore, Pedro and Antonio however no manager get everything right

JustAFatKevinDavies 9:26 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

I think you're an autistic Terminator, from planet Bayesian, sent from the future to disagree with all earthlings

Alex V 9:16 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

Appreciate the kind words, thanks.

LAF 9:10 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

Alex V - I'm a fan. Makes considered comments unlike many shoot from the hip, lonely brain cells on here. Fair play to you, Alex V. Keeping the IQ of WHO up a notch or two.

Vexed 8:19 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

I don't know why anyone wastes their time arguing with Alex V. Changes his mind every five minutes, generally to make sure he has a contrary view to the popular view held on the thread. An inverse Steve P if you like.

He's either a very good windup merchant or an absolute kook. Either way file under 'waste of time' along with any of Texas Mong's drivel.

Side of Ham 7:12 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

threesixty, the club i think can only rely on their instincts on who they think will come through and it looks like to me that of our current youth Oxford, Burke, Cullen, Quina and Martinez look like they can step up. It also looks like to me that these players in the next couple of seasons will feature at some stage.

Everton & Southampton as far as i can see drip feed theirs into the team and we as of yet haven't had the chance for the latest crop due to their ages. I think Barkley, Stones, Coleman and Davies have all been introduced in consecutive seasons (not all at once) and Southampton have been even more fortunate to be able to sell a youth product and replace them with another great youth product.Not many clubs have this fortune and Southampton stand out as one of a very few clubs with the great longterm youth policy.

Since Bilic's appointment the club have gone out and bought youth and upgraded our U23's massively to add to a promising current crop.This says to me the club are going to be introducing youth into the team in the next 3/4 seasons.

Another thing to look at is who do you think we've let down on the opportunity front, as personally i don't think Oxford is ready and although he looks the part i think physically for a centre half he needs to just bulk out with age or be very dominating in his style that is why Stones has done well as he's just massively domineering in his style and confident on the ball.Oxford has these attributes too he just needs a bit more natural physical development to get him in the 1st team and then kick on but for now this season it's a no for me.

Scraper 6:35 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

their their

threesixty 6:33 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

Fonte is to cover ogbonna who isnt going to play for the rest of the season. At the end of the season either Collins or Ogbonna will leave (more likely Ogbonna). So Fonte is the replacement "old dude" in the squad for the next few years. (Which is an upgrade really, although I like Collins' spirit).

As for the youth policy. The issue for me is that every other season we flirt with relegation and cant afford to risk youth. And we have just a bit more money than bournemouths etc.. to not HAVE to play youth.

So we are stuck with out progression and it kind of becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. We cant afford the names or the big names wont come to us to make our club a better team. And we're not good enough to foster a youth policy where we give a youth player those 15 games in OUR team,not someone elses.

Oxford was only there at Arsenal because of our injury situation. Thats it. There was no plan. We wouldnt even know about him much if it wasnt for the injuries and if it were later on in the season he would have been at loan somewhere.

I kind of think there needs to be a more agressive policy to actually blood these youngsters into OUR team. Thats why Southampton and Everton consitently do well. There policy seems to use there best up and coming players in their team, come what may.

Surely thats how we should go?

Mr Anon 6:20 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

Every club gets players in that don't work, even the biggest clubs with all their wealth and scouting networks. Yet we're expected to get everything right, or the manager should go. Bizarre

Scraper 6:19 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

FWIW, I'd welcome Alex V (IQ 102) as our next manager. Is there a poll?

Mr Anon 6:17 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

Alex V,

Okay, Bilic sees his players a lot more closely than I do, but I think it's worth flagging up a potential issue.

Glad you can at least make that understatement, you see NOTHING of them in comparison.

Think his judgement is sound, OK, Antonio at right back was a misstep but towards the end he started looking he part, if Moses can do it, Antonio I'm sure with a little more time, and besides he did it as was short of options at that point- surely an indication of faith in the player- hardly lack of judgement.

In regards to Tore- think that's harsh too- got in a player he knew, OK it didn't work- like so many foreign imports, but not as if he didn't realise at earliest opportunity. Was a low risk strategy, didn't pay off, others did. What's the issue?

Bernie 6:12 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

Who should Obiang been picked over last season?

, 6:11 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

If that Slav tract had been edited such that no names were given for me it could have been spoken by most of our current PL managers.

There are always players that are exceptions to the rule such that they can be fast tracked ( Rooney ) or players that develop slower than the normal but what has been said by Bilic is the accepted template everywhere.

Side of Ham 6:08 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

Scott D it's a very simple really for me, Oxford it looks like isn't going to be fully 1st team ready for a season or two Fonte will cover that period and he may get (Oxford) a slow intro to the 1st team or be loaned out.If we sign another CH who is much younger in the next 2 years then i would say they don't think he's going to make it which i'd doubt.

As for only playing youth players that others have developed Fernandez & Byram? They both came from the 1st teams of inferior/lower leagues so they've done the ground work Slav likes.

stewie griffin 6:04 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

"He pretty clearly read Antonio completely wrong, and the consequences of that for the right-back position, squad balance etc were catastrophic. It took him a year to realise Obiang should probably be in our first 11, when I think it was pretty obvious from the start. "

I think that is almost entirely unfair.
Deal with Obiang first, as it's shorter - why should he have been in from the start? We had our best ever Premier League season last season, and he did nothing in his appearances to suggest he should be ahead of those that played. He's an example to every pro though, he was patient, didn't moan, waited for his chance until players lost form & fitness, and took it with both hands. Top man, and good luck to him; its precisely as it should be.

Re. Antonio - with Payet on the left, its fairly clear that Bilic's ideal is to have wingers playing on the 'wrong' wings and coming inside, with attacking full backs providing the width. There's nothing abnormal about this in the modern game, and its a position that logically Antonio should have suited. We also signed Sam Byram to play right back, who is EXTREMELY highly thought of by all at the club, so in actual fact adding another string to Antonio's bow was a way of offering him greater development and first team chances. The player didn't really take to the role, but playing there still played a significant part in our successes last season.

Texas Iron 6:03 Tue Jan 24
Re: Slav on developing young players - Alex V's head will implode

...and don't forget...The Zaza Fiasco...

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