Jose Baxter doing well for Oldham

, 15 January, 21comments  |  Jump to most recent
Since joining Oldham in September, Jose Baxter has scored 11 times in 25 games and he agreed a new 2½-year contract with the Latics on Saturday.

"I think he can play at the top level with the ability he's got," Dickov told BBC Radio Manchester. "One thing he has to do is play games on a consistent basis and he knows he'll get that here."

Baxter made just one top-flight start for Everton and he turned down the offer of a new contract with the Toffees at the end of last season in search of first-team football.

He signed a short-term deal with Oldham a month into the new season and has impressed his manager with the level of his performances.

"I watch a lot of games and I firmly believe that he's one of the top talents outside the Premier League," added former Scotland striker Dickov.

"Jose, his agent and his family deserve a lot of credit as well. Players and agents get a bad name for themselves, but they wanted what was best for Jose and they believe me when I say that this is the best place for him at the minute.

"He appreciates the chance that he's been given and he feels that, with the work we're doing with him, he's improved already. He can only get better."

» Read the full article at BBC Sport



Reader Comments (21)

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Chris Regan
1 Posted 15/01/2013 at 21:55:34
I just found this article (above) on Beeb website. I was disappointed he left as I always thought he needed to go to the lower leagues on loan and then come back, à la Osman. I have a feeling he will do well and come back to haunt us. Still perhaps we can buy him back for £10M in a couple of years time. Or maybe he is just at the right level?.
Kev Johnson
2 Posted 15/01/2013 at 22:18:46
I've just travelled 3 years into the future. I'll tell you what I saw: Ross Barkely was playing for his new club, Bury. Doing alright there, as it happens. On TW we were all remembering when he was a hot prospect and worrying whether he would come back to haunt us, probably in a FA Cup replay at Gigg Lane.

Takes it out of you, time travel...

Patrick Murphy
3 Posted 15/01/2013 at 22:24:30
Never mind Jose and Bury Kev, Did we manage to get CL? Is Moyes still here as manager? Has Jelavic's goal ratio improved? Is BK still the owner? C'mon Kev spill the beans.
Patrick Murphy
4 Posted 15/01/2013 at 22:35:32
We might have to buy him back if this Blue - Royalbluemersey - is correct in his assertions:

http://www.royalbluemersey.com/2013/1/15/3849418/everton-has-a-decision-to-make-and-supporters-wont-like-it

Kev Johnson
5 Posted 15/01/2013 at 22:44:09
Patrick - it was a bit hazy, so I only got glimpses... (Apologies if I get my tenses mixed up in this next bit...)

I didn't see Jelavic in 2016 at all, so make of that what you will.

Moyes was definitely the manager of Borussia Mönchengladbach. I think we all knew that was going to happen.

Bainesy was still with us and now captaining the team, so good news there.

Phil Neville was still with us and - no, hold on, that was just a bad dream.

BK is not the owner. After DM left, he spontaneously combusted one night while sipping a large brandy. Poor Bill.

The new owner? I can't quite make him out, but he seems to be impossibly rich. I expect you want to know who the next manager is. Alas, all I see is a silhouette shrouded in mist...

Derek Thomas
6 Posted 16/01/2013 at 08:13:36
Come on Kev. get your act together, get back to the FUTURE. In this order, DeLorean, Flux Capacitor, 1.21 gigawatts, 88mph.

Off you GOooooo.

Cue burning rubber

Kev Johnson
7 Posted 16/01/2013 at 11:02:01
Hey, Derek - if time travel is so easy, why don't you do it? Let's hear your version of Everton life in 2016.

Even without disrupting the space/time continuum, I can confidently assert that Ferguson and Wenger are on their last legs, so their clubs' cycles will come to an end, precipitating a period of uncertainty. Also, Spain's time at the top will be over soon: tippy-tappy football will no longer rule the world, its place taken by a new style of play in which the 5-5 formation becomes the norm and midfield play ceases to exist.

Steavey Buckley
8 Posted 16/01/2013 at 11:44:38
If my memory serves me right, Baxter did well at Tranmere last season. Came back to Goodison, then fluffed his lines when he came on as substitute. Then he left Everton but could not get a contract anywhere (Crystal Palace appeared not to be interested) until the last minute when Oldham stepped in.

Time will tell if he can play in the Premier League. But it does prove one point: Everton's wannabes are better off on loan until they are ready for the first team squad.

Kev Johnson
9 Posted 16/01/2013 at 12:14:59
Not necessarily, Steavey. Osman and Coleman went out on loan and came back fit for the first team. But others – Duffy, Wallace, Forshaw, Baxter – came back and still weren't good enough for us. Which group will Barkely be in, I wonder?

Vellios is a prime candidate for a loan, I think. I'd really like to see if he can cut the mustard playing in the Championship. Unfortunately, we're short up front so he may not get the chance. The lad needs to play, clearly.

Steavey Buckley
10 Posted 16/01/2013 at 12:22:18
Kev Johnson: Wannabes should stay out on loan until ready for first team action. Hanging around Goodison waiting to be included will not further their careers. And will just end up leaving when their contracts are up.

The sad fact is, it is really difficult to go from apprentice to a regular first team player. Osman is the only player at the moment who has achieved that at present. And he is 31 years of age. States volumes about the futures of young players at Goodison.

Antony Matthews
11 Posted 16/01/2013 at 12:42:13
I hope he plays against the shite in the cup and bags a few for us blues :D
Sam Hoare
12 Posted 16/01/2013 at 12:46:42
Loans are definitely preferential as it's very hard to give young players time in the high pressure cauldron of Premier League football.

If a player proves that he can perform well and consistently in the Championship (such as with Coleman) then higher the chance of them getting a few games.

I would love to see the likes of McAleny, Duffy, Junior and Vellios starting week-in and week-out for clubs in the top half of the Championship. Then we would see what they are really made of. I think there will have to be a few youngsters come through in the next year or so as Neville and Distin can't carry on for ever and we don't have any money to buy people, so...

Kev Johnson
13 Posted 16/01/2013 at 12:56:17
My point is that excelling in the lower leagues only proves that you are good enough to... you guessed it, excel in the lower leagues. Wallace got rave reviews at Tranmere; Bidwell's going down a storm at Brentford – but what does that mean in terms of Premier League football ability? It's hard to know.
Paul Mackie
14 Posted 16/01/2013 at 13:07:16
But if you excel in a lower league then you can at least cut it in the PL and not be a total liability.
Kev Johnson
15 Posted 16/01/2013 at 13:19:25
I think loans are a good idea for our young players, it's just that, as I say, they don't train you up for the Premier League. I know that's obvious in a way, but people are talking like they're a necessary stepping stone and I don't think it works like that because there is a huge jump between the top league and the rest.

As I say, Wallace did well enough at Tranmere to show he could do an OK job for us, but he was still sold. Similarly Baxter, who chose to go because he knew he was nowhere near the team. Gueye (after one or two good games) is in dire need of regular games somewhere, but he stays on the bench. Why?

Like some others on TW, I believe Barkely's development would be better served by "breaking him in" to the Premier League rather than loaning him to a Championship team. Barkely will learn to cope with the pressure by being put in a position where he HAS to cope with the pressure, rather than letting him get used to a lower standard of football.

I think Rodgers (the swine) has done well with Sterling. He gave him a good run of games and now that his form is dipping he's going to take him out of the team for a few weeks, give him a rest then bring him back.

Kevin Gillen
16 Posted 16/01/2013 at 13:41:54
Kev I also think Rodgers is doing a great job with Sterling (and Shelvey) they are the reason the RS are mid-table.
Steavey Buckley
17 Posted 16/01/2013 at 13:30:36
151: Pre-season is a good time to judge whether players who have been out on loan are good enough to be included in the first team squad. If not, send them back or end their contracts, so that they can move on in their footballing lives. Which is comparatively short compared to the rest of their lives...

I don't believe the Under-21 academy is a bridge for first team promotion. Players by the age of 18 or 19 should either be included in the first team squad or sent out on loan.

Andy Peers
18 Posted 16/01/2013 at 13:56:59
Can we loan Neville out until he learns to play football?
Chris Leyland
19 Posted 16/01/2013 at 14:04:13
Andy Peers - maybe whilst Phil is learning to play football on loan he can reflect on his 682 top level appearances, his 59 England caps, his 6 Premier League winners medals, his 3 FA Cup winners medals and his Champions League winners medal and wonder what might have been if he'd been actually ever learnt to play football.
Andy Peers
20 Posted 16/01/2013 at 14:29:50
Chris Leyland – maybe I should've put "until he remembers how to play football, because he sure isn't doing it this season". It was a joke anyway!
Chris Leyland
21 Posted 16/01/2013 at 15:44:26
Andy - I know if was a joke and I agree that his performances this season have been not up to it at times but then neither have several players including Piennar, Jelavic, Heitinga and even Fellani form time to time. The reality is that we win more games than we lose when Neville plays. The likes of Ciaran McGlone will no doubt tell me that these sort of stats are meaningless and prove nothing but as a bare statement of fact it is true. The again we also have contributors to this website who regularly tell us that Osman is not a Premier league level player and is a Championship player at best.

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