Wycombe Wanderers V Swindon Town FC - Official Matchday Thread

[RobertT]

I'd argue only the last two games was there any sustained periods of reverting away from lumping the ball.  each to their own.

The switch wasn't that one - he had a brief period where Richards dropped deep, that's when we had the lucky break  (it was indeed a lump that wasn't defended), however we then bunched all three up top with Woollery in the middle of the three.  We didn't set up to Counter, we set up to hit it long which is very different.  It gave the midfield no chance of catching-up, and they rarely tried, as well as Taylor sitting more.

I am also not arguing that Flitcroft is at "fault" as such.  Some people can argue against my view that what he does is good for the team.  I am saying I do not like or believe it to be the best approach for the team based on their individual strengths.  That is up to him, he clearly isn't going to change and I am under no illusions my view has any weight or is even well shared.  I'd clearly prefer a different Manager with a different approach, I'll likely not change that view.  My belief is that the team as individuals are at least Play Off level, maybe top three.  You can argue that without him recruiting them we wouldn't be in the position to get into that race, which is fair.  I then believe he makes them worse as a collective than they can achieve if organised differently.  I don't believe that the impact is sufficient to take us below the Play Off line.

[Reg Smeeton]

Like Landalo you mean Reg?

Iandolo came as an 18 year old from Maidstone... he'd been a youth player there and previously at Gills.

A young player, but not through our set up.

[pauld]

Well Elsnik is 19 and Mayo 20.  Iandolo is 20 and had a few games. 

Sorry, should probably have said unproven youngsters i.e. lads coming out of our youth set-up

[horlock07]

Is the problem that there's nothing coming up or that Flitcroft just doesn't like playing youngsters?

He got all a lather about Twine in pre-season so not sure whats changed there.... where is Andy Caton when you need him....

[horlock07]

We've been shit at bringing youths through for 20 years, so that's nothing new (3 lads this century have been at Swindon on their 15th birthday and gone on to make 12 or more league starts for the club - Thompson x 2 and Pook).

Jutkiewicz?

[Reg Smeeton]

Jutkiewicz?

Not at Town, came from Soton just a little later. The picking up kids at say 15/16 who have come through other set ups and been rejected is a decent strategy.

[horlock07]

Not at Town, came from Soton just a little later. The picking up kids at say 15/16 who have come through other set ups and been rejected is a decent strategy.

Lukas was at Swindon when he was 15 as per the original question I was answering.....

[Reg Smeeton]

Lukas was at Swindon when he was 15 as per the original question I was answering.....

Ferret gave a very specific date, I'd imagine Lucas turned up a couple of days after his 15th birthday.

The problem with the Lucas/ Sean Morrison type strategy, is the lack of reserve games. I remember watching him play for the striffs and it was obvious he had something just because he was so big, it enabled him to cope with men's football.

[BambooToTheFuture]

Not at Town, came from Soton just a little later. The picking up kids at say 15/16 who have come through other set ups and been rejected is a decent strategy.

What about Theo Walcott... soapy tit wank I think we need to also look at Towns part in how we "developed" the player. Walcott we didn't but was a kid in our system. I don't think we can take any credit for the players development though. Whereas Jutkiewicz (15), we certainly developed him into a pro. Ben Tozer (17) is probably 50/50 between ourselves and Plymouth. Billy Bodin (16) is doing pretty well, and we definitely developed him.

It's all fair in saying they started at Town but likewise it's how long is spent turning them into a good pro. Much like when we picked up Sean Morrison (16) too, we certainly developed him and turned him into a decent pro, even if his "career" started at Plymouth.

[Reg Smeeton]

What about Theo Walcott... soapy tit wank I think we need to also look at Towns part in how we "developed" the player. Walcott we didn't but was a kid in our system. I don't think we can take any credit for the players development though. Whereas Jutkiewicz (15), we certainly developed him into a pro. Ben Tozer (17) is probably 50/50 between ourselves and Plymouth. Billy Bodin (16) is doing pretty well, and we definitely developed him.

It's all fair in saying they started at Town but likewise it's how long is spent turning them into a good pro. Much like when we picked up Sean Morrison (16) too, we certainly developed him and turned him into a decent pro, even if his "career" started at Plymouth.

And your point is  

[joteddyred]

If we don't go up I'm not sure he's (Flitcroft) going to be here. Harsh, but such is the way of the football world.

I don't agree it would be harsh.  I'm pretty sure he was given a clear remit to get us promoted.

Players that are on loan won't be here next season and Taylor and Richards will be 37 and 36.  Yet another significant rebuild will be needed.  If Flitcroft isn't able to get us promoted this season, I'm not sure next season will be any different.

[BambooToTheFuture]

And your point is  

Ferret said we've been shit at developing players over the last 20 years. The 15th Birthday thing is pretty irrelevant and my point is, we have developed a fair few players into decent pro footballers making some kind of career in the game. We could probably argue the case for Aden Flint and other non league players who didn't play in a pro youth set up, but we certainly gave Flint the resources needed to set him up as a pro player. We gave him his chance and he duly took it. Probably the reason he chose us over Colchester.

We've probably been shit at developing players in the last 3 or 4 years but we won't really know as most of those "youths" aren't going to get a chance under Flitcroft. Anyone who was sniffing a chance of first team involvement last season, hasn't got a chance. Despite 2 or 3 being promising.

DF could easily have used them in the "Who gives a Fuck Cup"* but he hasn't and has only really used young loanees. Ian is the exception to the rule. I don't believe all our youth players are that crap, that they aren't worth 10/15 mins to show DF if they can handle it. They won't though because as far as it looks, for this season, it isn't DF's policy or priority.

Having said all that, the actual squad does have the right kind of mix of youth and experience. Just not quite performing to the optimum.

[ferret]

I don't agree it would be harsh.  I'm pretty sure he was given a clear remit to get us promoted.

Players that are on loan won't be here next season and Taylor and Richards will be 37 and 36.  Yet another significant rebuild will be needed.  If Flitcroft isn't able to get us promoted this season, I'm not sure next season will be any different.

I don't think Taylor and Richards are the type that we'll need to shift. Right, they'll have another year on the clock. But Taylor's fantastic left foot isn't going to deteriorate on the beach. Nor is Richards' nose for a goal. They've both proved their fitness and their will to win, and I wouldn't want to dismiss them on the basis of a number.

We've been let down by a lot in the 35+ bracket over the years. But I'd say these guys are the best 2 players that we own, and I hope they're here for a long time.

[Benzel]

I agree, pure power and accuracy its unmatched for me.

Made me think of Igoe at home vs Bradford although he was a bit closer.

Sent from my SM-G930F

[ferret]

Ferret said we've been shit at developing players over the last 20 years. The 15th Birthday thing is pretty irrelevant and my point is, we have developed a fair few players into decent pro footballers making some kind of career in the game. We could probably argue the case for Aden Flint and other non league players who didn't play in a pro youth set up, but we certainly gave Flint the resources needed to set him up as a pro player. We gave him his chance and he duly took it. Probably the reason he chose us over Colchester.

We've probably been shit at developing players in the last 3 or 4 years but we won't really know as most of those "youths" aren't going to get a chance under Flitcroft. Anyone who was sniffing a chance of first team involvement last season, hasn't got a chance. Despite 2 or 3 being promising.

DF could easily have used them in the "Who gives a Fuck Cup"* but he hasn't and has only really used young loanees. Ian is the exception to the rule. I don't believe all our youth players are that crap, that they aren't worth 10/15 mins to show DF if they can handle it. They won't though because as far as it looks, for this season, it isn't DF's policy or priority.

Having said all that, the actual squad does have the right kind of mix of youth and experience. Just not quite performing to the optimum.

We've been good at developing players signed from bigger clubs (Cox, Ritchie, Luongo etc), as well as players signed from smaller clubs (Austin, Gladwin, Flint etc). Big ticks in both boxes.

But I still think that, considering the size of the town, and the geography (with no big clubs nearby), we've made a terrible mess of developing our own local youngsters, over a very long period of time. And that isn't something which we should just dismiss.