Ched Evans

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

He was shit even when we were shit!

[Blue Blood]

He was shit even when we were shit!

Haha. This.

[Goaters 103]

All thats holding him back is his poor first touch, complete lack of pace and poor awareness. Otherwise he's got the lot.

Good luck to Ched, he's playing at the right level for him.

[Ted Hughes]

Very surprised Evans didn't make it tbh. At youth level he looked a bit special.

Agree, he looked fantastic at level, but then again so did Lee Croft.

Lee Croft was one of the best young players I've ever seen & one of the deciding factors which completely changed my opinion of our coaching staff at that level. If they can't teach a player with his natural ability to pass & move they're in the wrong job.

I think we have had some quality raw material at youth level & some of it should have come into the first team squad with a much better idea of how to actually play football. The only players to make it bar Ireland & Johnson it are the athletes.

No wonder Khaldoon ripped it all apart.

[Mike J]

i had such high hopes for Lee Croft. what a shame.

Anyway, good luck to Ched. Glad he is doing well.

[john68]

At the time Lee Croft was coming through, I stopped watching the 1st team for a time and used to follow the reserves closely. We had quite a nimber of young players who should have made it onto the big stage but never reached anywhere near their potential. Lee went from being a 16/17 year old superstar to being a bread and butter, run of the mill player.

At the time, I always felt that he was held back for far too long. Keegan hated playing youth and in the end only gave them their chance when forced to. CIty players of that time were kept at reserve level too long and never tested nor challenged to improve.

We lost a lot of potentially excellent kids.

[Dubciteh]

Thinking about it, ched was probably the only player we got decent money for in recent years 3m wasnt it? Any other player we have sold is usually for well below there market value, we might only get that for RSC and he cost us nearly 20m! We did well out of that deal!

[Mikhail Chigorin]

This season, Adam Clayton has been a regular in the Leeds' midfield and has been producing some steady, albeit not exactly world-beating, performances for them.

He's another one who it seems has found his level, although some of the names we've been talking about might eventually become "late developers" and perhaps surprise us all.

Who knows......

[Ted Hughes]

At the time Lee Croft was coming through, I stopped watching the 1st team for a time and used to follow the reserves closely. We had quite a nimber of young players who should have made it onto the big stage but never reached anywhere near their potential. Lee went from being a 16/17 year old superstar to being a bread and butter, run of the mill player.

At the time, I always felt that he was held back for far too long. Keegan hated playing youth and in the end only gave them their chance when forced to. CIty players of that time were kept at reserve level too long and never tested nor challenged to improve.

We lost a lot of potentially excellent kids.

Imo, since Kiddo went to OT there had always been an almighty great difference in watching a rags youth/reserve team & watching a City one. The City team looked like a bunch of talented kids, often more talented than those in red, running about & occasionally one or two did something brilliant which won us the game. The Utd team looked like Utd, whatever the players.

They all knew how to move, pass, cheat, cross & half of them could take a free kick.

We gave talentd kids to the first team squad who had to be taught the basics in order to fit in. Utd gave their 1st team players, talented or not, who knew exactly what they were supposed to do.

Should have said: I agree Lee Croft was held back & lost interest.

[Blue in North London]

IMO the main reason why Croft didn't make it in the topflight was because he was unfit and he didn't have the technique/skills required. He was simply not good enough

[Blue2]

IMO the main reason why Croft didn't make it in the topflight was because he was unfit and he didn't have the technique/skills required. He was simply not good enough

As a 15 yeard od he was unbelieveably good and had everything to make it, but fitness was a key factor I think. Once he got in the 1st team he always seemed slow, overweight and not physically strong enough.

[Blue Blood]

IMO the main reason why Croft didn't make it in the topflight was because he was unfit and he didn't have the technique/skills required. He was simply not good enough

As a 15 yeard od he was unbelieveably good and had everything to make it, but fitness was a key factor I think. Once he got in the 1st team he always seemed slow, overweight and not physically strong enough.

Always thought that was his main problem myself..

I'f you could have taken the excess from Croft and whacked it on Willo Flood, we could've fixed up two players.

[Dunnylad]

Croft never lasted 90mins even when he dropped to Norwich - mind he was the most capped England youth player & was in the same side as Shrek - mind Dorryl Proffit was around at that time & he was last seen playing non league football

[john68]

Ted,
With regardto Croft, he did play in the reserves for far too long and was unfortunate to be coming through during the Keegan era. I don't think he lost interest, I think playing the same standard of football for so long caused his progress to stagnate.

City seemed to blame the fall from grace of Proffit on the amount of times he was away with England and their differing coaching methods at a tender age.

[Tourebros]

Swap him for De Gea eh? And Silva for Bebe whilst we're at it.

We should have bought a centre back and a wing back or goalie then we would be covered.

[Surrey Sky Blue]

<null>

Ok, thanks

[Grob]

Croft was always more physically advanced than his age group coming through the ranks. That slowed down post 18 and he never kicked on any other aspect of his game when others caught up physically and he started playing against better players.

Evans isnt Premiership standard but doing well in League 1. Always good to see our former youngsters doing well.

[john68]

I saw Croft's development a slightly differently Mate.
I agree he was physically advanced and he did reach a level before his peers. After that though, he was left at the reserve level for a long time and was never given the challenges to push him on. I made a comment at the time that he had been playing against the same 16/17 years olds for too long. When he got his chance, his development had stagnated.
Not sure he would have made it, but too late when given the chance, the damage was done and his level already set.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

IMO the main reason why Croft didn't make it in the topflight was because he was unfit and he didn't have the technique/skills required. He was simply not good enough

As a 15 yeard od he was unbelieveably good and had everything to make it, but fitness was a key factor I think. Once he got in the 1st team he always seemed slow, overweight and not physically strong enough.

Absolutely about the fitness. And lack of real pace. I think I've never seen 20 year old as unfit.

If anything, I think he stopped working hard because he started believing his own hype. Hype we were all building.

[Dubciteh]

Now on loan at St johnstone, that's a heavy fall from grace. He played 28 games for us.