EDS/Academy Games

[Ted Hughes]

Sounds good, they're through. Who next?

Ajax or Roma, away for some reason. Be better to play Ajax. Roma are well organised & cynical. Ajax will just take us on at football & if they win fair enough.

[blues2win]

We played and beat Roma at theirs in the Group stage didn't we? If Maffeo played on the Right as he should who should play CB?

[Ted Hughes]

Beat them well, but they are sly fuckers.

Callum Humphries is the only other choice unless Kean Bryan moves back there. But he was the best player on the pitch imo, apart from one daft challenge, so we would lose him from midfield.

Maffeo won a lot of stuff there, but he's not a cb & he stretches the oppo when he plays fullback allowing Angelino to get forward other side. Ash Smith Brown just doesn't seem to be quite as clever out wide in that position. Bossaerts isn't good enough.

I think the whole team was less than 50% in football terms today, but they stuck at it, & Iheanacho's injury fucked things up. I don't think it would have gone to pens had he stayed on. Celina would probably have come on & played front mid & played him in.

I like to watch the 'flair' players in games like this & see what they are made of when nothing is going right for the team. Barker & Ambrose for instance ran their balls off. Barker winning balls knocking people about, Ambrose tackling their wide player; Barker even won a few tackles at cb in one instance & sorted the danger out.

It's easy when players of that talent are having a brilliant day, but they show enough on difficult days, to suggest they have a real chance.

[iwasthere2012]

Missed the penalties, but wad hoping Gunn would be the difference.
Not a great performance all around, but job done.
I thought their big guy in the middle...Neubaur....at least that's what it sounded like in commentary, was head and shoulders the best on show tonight. Strong and technically very good.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Beat them well, but they are sly fuckers.

Callum Humphries is the only other choice unless Kean Bryan moves back there. But he was the best player on the pitch imo, apart from one daft challenge, so we would lose him from midfield.

Maffeo won a lot of stuff there, but he's not a cb & he stretches the oppo when he plays fullback allowing Angelino to get forward other side. Ash Smith Brown just doesn't seem to be quite as clever out wide in that position. Bossaerts isn't good enough.

I think the whole team was less than 50% in football terms today, but they stuck at it, & Iheanacho's injury fucked things up. I don't think it would have gone to pens had he stayed on. Celina would probably have come on & played front mid & played him in.

I like to watch the 'flair' players in games like this & see what they are made of when nothing is going right for the team. Barker & Ambrose for instance ran their balls off. Barker winning balls knocking people about, Ambrose tackling their wide player; Barker even won a few tackles at cb in one instance & sorted the danger out.

It's easy when players of that talent are having a brilliant day, but they show enough on difficult days, to suggest they have a real chance.

Tough game that. It was a scrappy opening and we were well off the pace I felt mainly due to a strong physical approach. Plus I thought the ref was a typical fussy european ref and we didn't seem to understand his thinking.

As in a previous match we struggle with Bossaerts at right back ( probably anywhere on the pitch) and it wasn't a great surprise that we settled a bit soon after he went off. I spoke with his parents before the game and they are annoyed ( that means he is ) that he hasn't been playing much and when he does it's out of position. I bit my tongue.

Despite not being at our best I thought we were ok once we settled although not really threatening to score very often.The goal was a bad keeper error for fair play to Byrne for a well hit shot.Barker was largely shackled and seemed to lack a little confidence to really take his man on but he worked hard enough.The disappointment has to be Pozo but to be fair to him he can't play a lone striker role with a a goon up his backside.He just doesn't have any physical strength so they just come straight through him.

Although Ihenacho did very little in the short time he was on he showed enough strength and ability to tell me he has something and we would likely have scored again if he had stayed on.Shame we let the goal in near the end but it allowed Gunn to his stuff and get a headline or two.

[Dameerto]

From what I saw of Bryan they should play him there again - he was switched on from the first whistle.

[Wooders]

City u19 vs Schalke u19 on Eurosport 2 right now

[Douglas Higginbottom]

From what I saw of Bryan they should play him there again - he was switched on from the first whistle.

I think that role is definitely his best position. We just need to find someone else to go center back with Tosin so that Maffeo can play right back.

[twosips]

It was an interesting game that. By interesting i mean largely frustrating of course as Schalke were a bunch of bastards.

I was sat on my tod absolutely freezing my arse off so i was totally focused on the game as it was the only thing that was helping me ignore the wind and you could definitely tell that this was a physically strong Schalke. I thought we were a little disappointing to be honest. I'd expect more from most of our players.

We definitely miss Maffeo when he's at right back but you can tell they play him there cos the alternative is basically playing Bossaerts at CB, where he's infinitely more damaging potentially. I thought all things considering Maffeo and Tosin (fuck spelling that last name) were good. Tosin's seventeen - he's a kid and he's totally new to this level and i think he was good today. Not perfect, no, but good. Likewise, considering he's clearly no centre-back Maffeo basically did a very good impression of Mascherano today. He out-muscled some blokes a stone or two heavier than him through sheer determiation and its great to see. Both are very good footballers.

Ambrose looked exactly like a player does when they come back from a 3/4 week injury. Barker was disappointing, as was Pozo. Both have looked quite out of form in the past few games to me, but there was one small moment where Pozo skipped past a challenge and drilled the ball out to Barker who then smashed the cross bar that showed exactly what they're capable of.

I find Pozo's physicality, or lack of it, a little worrying if im being honest. I'm beginning to worry that he doesn't have the bottle for the physical challenges that he'll get at higher levels. He doesn't look like he's ever gonna be a big lad and he gets knocked down really easily. It could simply be that his confidence has been knocked by being used as basically cannon fodder in his first team appearances, either way it'll be interesting to see if he turns it around.

Bryan was neat and tidy, but not exceptional. Ntcham was poor by his standards - did enjoy the fact that he managed to clear the stadium roof, at both ends, with two long range shots. Impressive feat that. Byrne i thought just flitted in and out. Angelino battled as ever and had some good moments.

I was gutted for Kelechi. I don't think its a bottle thing as he looked well up for coming on and his first touch was sublime - two defenders around him and controlled it perfectly and looked incredibly confident. His first bit of football in ages and it was great. He's quick, has exceptional control and a lot of upper body strength; there's just something about him and it stands out. He tried to stay on and he looked fed up when he came off so i wouldn't worry about his attitude. I thought Smith-Brown had a tidy game and Celina was nice and bright when he came on, without really affecting the game.

Really enjoyed the penalty shoot-out. Piss funny listening to the standing fans behind the goal giving the german lads a hard time, especially the young lad in the gimp mask. He properly shit himself and the crowd definitely definitely had an impact there. I actually really like Gunn too. He's fucking massive.

[Ted Hughes]

It was an interesting game that. By interesting i mean largely frustrating of course as Schalke were a bunch of bastards.

I was sat on my tod absolutely freezing my arse off so i was totally focused on the game as it was the only thing that was helping me ignore the wind and you could definitely tell that this was a physically strong Schalke. I thought we were a little disappointing to be honest. I'd expect more from most of our players.

We definitely miss Maffeo when he's at right back but you can tell they play him there cos the alternative is basically playing Bossaerts at CB, where he's infinitely more damaging potentially. I thought all things considering Maffeo and Tosin (fuck spelling that last name) were good. Tosin's seventeen - he's a kid and he's totally new to this level and i think he was good today. Not perfect, no, but good. Likewise, considering he's clearly no centre-back Maffeo basically did a very good impression of Mascherano today. He out-muscled some blokes a stone or two heavier than him through sheer determiation and its great to see. Both are very good footballers.

Ambrose looked exactly like a player does when they come back from a 3/4 week injury. Barker was disappointing, as was Pozo. Both have looked quite out of form in the past few games to me, but there was one small moment where Pozo skipped past a challenge and drilled the ball out to Barker who then smashed the cross bar that showed exactly what they're capable of.

I find Pozo's physicality, or lack of it, a little worrying if im being honest. I'm beginning to worry that he doesn't have the bottle for the physical challenges that he'll get at higher levels. He doesn't look like he's ever gonna be a big lad and he gets knocked down really easily. It could simply be that his confidence has been knocked by being used as basically cannon fodder in his first team appearances, either way it'll be interesting to see if he turns it around.

Bryan was neat and tidy, but not exceptional. Ntcham was poor by his standards - did enjoy the fact that he managed to clear the stadium roof, at both ends, with two long range shots. Impressive feat that. Byrne i thought just flitted in and out. Angelino battled as ever and had some good moments.

I was gutted for Kelechi. I don't think its a bottle thing as he looked well up for coming on and his first touch was sublime - two defenders around him and controlled it perfectly and looked incredibly confident. His first bit of football in ages and it was great. He's quick, has exceptional control and a lot of upper body strength; there's just something about him and it stands out. He tried to stay on and he looked fed up when he came off so i wouldn't worry about his attitude. I thought Smith-Brown had a tidy game and Celina was nice and bright when he came on, without really affecting the game.

Really enjoyed the penalty shoot-out. Piss funny listening to the standing fans behind the goal giving the german lads a hard time, especially the young lad in the gimp mask. He properly shit himself and the crowd definitely definitely had an impact there. I actually really like Gunn too. He's fucking massive.

I thought Bryan was exceptional. Amongst all those talented passers, I thought they all went a bit like the first team v Barca; picking the wrong options & under/overhitting passes, but Bryan cleaned up & also kept the ball moving beautifully. Best game I've seen him play i think.

Barker has looked fatigued to me over about the last 4 or 5 games. In fact since the last game before he went to Abu Dhabi. But he put a proper shift in, & I really like that.

Pozo has not one cat in hell's chance of making it in the position he is currently playing imo. He either plays off a striker, attacking mid (wide or wide striker at a pinch) or moves to Spain, Italy, Holland imo. When Iheanacho came on, I thought Pozo looked better immediately, then it went pear shaped when Kelechi went off.

I hope Kelechi doesn't have glass ankles or a bottle problem, because imo, he is the biggest potential £100 mil player in the bunch. I think a lot of these lads will make it. Some to be better than those in the first team now. But he is the most likely candidate for potential absolute top 3 world type player imo.

[twosips]

Ah maybe I overlooked Bryan then a bit cos the game was really, really scrappy and it didn't feel like any individual had control at times. I did think he was neat and tidy but maybe i'm doing his (admittedly unglamorous) role a disservice - as he did what he had to do, and he did it well. I do agree that he was the best of the midfield.

Agree regarding Kelechi. He had about three touches and they all screamed potential. It's weird, you can just *tell* when someone has something and he does. Seeing him in person too - he ALWAYS wants the ball. He was calling for it consistently. He looks very fast and darty in person too - bit like Ibe does at Liverpool in that aspect, but with a better football brain.

Pozo was better when he was out on the left, but still not as confident as he has been. He's clearly better when he's facing goal though as opposed to having defenders up his back.

[sheblue]

What happened kelechi?

[Ted Hughes]

What happened kelechi?

Came on. Looked surprisingly sharp for someone who hasn't played a proper game for about a year and a half, landed possibly with his ankle in a funny position, went off as if it could be recurrence of injury, but it possibly isn't.

[Ted Hughes]

Ah maybe I overlooked Bryan then a bit cos the game was really, really scrappy and it didn't feel like any individual had control at times. I did think he was neat and tidy but maybe i'm doing his (admittedly unglamorous) role a disservice - as he did what he had to do, and he did it well. I do agree that he was the best of the midfield.

Agree regarding Kelechi. He had about three touches and they all screamed potential. It's weird, you can just *tell* when someone has something and he does. Seeing him in person too - he ALWAYS wants the ball. He was calling for it consistently. He looks very fast and darty in person too - bit like Ibe does at Liverpool in that aspect, but with a better football brain.

Pozo was better when he was out on the left, but still not as confident as he has been. He's clearly better when he's facing goal though as opposed to having defenders up his back.

I really think that if Kelechi had been fit/available all season, he could have been playing in the Barca game at some point. I think he's that good & if I had a reputation, I would stake it on him making it (provided there is no weird shit we don't know about).

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Ah maybe I overlooked Bryan then a bit cos the game was really, really scrappy and it didn't feel like any individual had control at times. I did think he was neat and tidy but maybe i'm doing his (admittedly unglamorous) role a disservice - as he did what he had to do, and he did it well. I do agree that he was the best of the midfield.

Agree regarding Kelechi. He had about three touches and they all screamed potential. It's weird, you can just *tell* when someone has something and he does. Seeing him in person too - he ALWAYS wants the ball. He was calling for it consistently. He looks very fast and darty in person too - bit like Ibe does at Liverpool in that aspect, but with a better football brain.

Pozo was better when he was out on the left, but still not as confident as he has been. He's clearly better when he's facing goal though as opposed to having defenders up his back.

I really think that if Kelechi had been fit/available all season, he could have been playing in the Barca game at some point. I think he's that good & if I had a reputation, I would stake it on him making it (provided there is no weird shit we don't know about).

Exactly what I think about Kelechi. Seems crazy after only a few minutes today but the difference with him to what Pozo had achieved playing the same role was huge. He should be a shoe in for our squad next season and not just to make up the numbers

[twosips]

He could save us thirty million on a Jovetic replacement

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

Brandon Barker:" I know it's difficult to make it here, one of the biggest and possibly soon to be the best club in the world."

Not bad coming from a lad who comes from a family of Utd fans..

Really. I'm liking this guy the more I hear about him.

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

shocking keeping

Yes, but was his hair nice?

[Wonderwall]

for Me the Schalke #10 and Bryan were the best players on the park (plus Gunn if you include pens). Byrne tried to influence the game but was often bypassed, however, I thought he battled well and kept up the energy levels.

A point of note was Byrnes being first up in the pen shoot-out, the keeper was waiting for him on the spot and the ref was ushering him away but he obviously got a few words in Byrnes ear. Byrne stepped up and confidently beat the keeper and walked away, then remembered he owes the keeper a few choice words and decided to give it to him. Good lad!

[Wonderwall]

I see the U18s won this afternoon with 2 from Celina this afternoon. Is it normal for Celina to play in both teams after playing a part in the 2nd half against Schalke yesterday?

http://www.mcfc.co.uk/News/Match-reports/2015/February/Newcastle-U18s-v-City-U18s

Bersant Celina scored twice for City's Under-18s as Jason Wilcox's side recovered from a goal down to win 2-1.

City now move up to third in the Premier League Academy Group A with just two games remaining and a point from the matches against Derby or Bolton will guarantee a place in the national play-offs.

Lewis Suddick nodded the Magpies ahead on 45 minutes at Little Benton, but Celina slotted home a 53rd-minute penalty to level the scores.

Eight minutes later Celina scored his second from a free-kick to secure the points for Wilcox's side.

More to follow...