Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

The Kids are Alright

David Moyes has an enviable reputation as a manger that likes to give youth a chance. He also has a a youth team that recently won the FA Premier Academy League title at Under-18 level, with several of its key players missing through injury, international duty, or simply because they were/are already playing at reserve team level. These next 2 years will be key in defining whether we have a generation of youngsters capable of driving the club on to the next level AND the right manager to take them there, or it?s just a load of hot air and if one of them breaks through we will all be deliriously happy to have saved £5-15M in transfer funds.

So let?s look at the evidence. First to Moyes?s reputation ? is it well earned?

Under Moyes?s stewardship, there have been a number of young players who have stepped up to first-team level. Rooney was obvious and any manager would have known to bring someone of such talent through the youth ranks, but Osman was not getting a look-in under Smith, was brought through by Moyes and has not looked back. Vaughan and Gosling are no longer with the club for various reasons, but both have found homes in the Premier League, so would have been up to standard had circumstances beyond Moyes?s control not come into play.

Then there is Big Vic, who divides opinion amongst Everton fans. I myself really rate him for what he is. He is never going to be a 20-goal-a-season striker, or a winger with the skill of a Cristiano Ronaldo, but he has never looked off the pace or technically incapable at Premier League level, he is an international footballer and highly rated by his team-mates and by Moyes himself. He is, for me, Premier League standard.

The other two players to have made the grade under Moyesie are Seamus Coleman and Jack Rodwell. I don?t think their Premier League credentials are going to be debated by anyone.

Now let's have a look at the lads who have not made the grade. In the last 6 years, the following youngsters, all of which were spoken about by fans as being potential first-teamers, have been shown the door by Moyes:

• Nick Chadwick,
• Mark Hughes,
• Anthony Gerrard,
• Daniel Fox,
• Patrick Boyle,
• John-Paul Kissock,
• Bjarni Vidarsson,
• Lee Molyneux,
• Scott Spencer,
• John Irving
• Lukas Jutkeiwicz.

Of these, only Fox has since played Premier League football and only he and, possibly Gerrard, look likely to be able to form a career at that level if they manage to win promotion with the right club.
 
I think we can conclude that David Moyes has quite a good success rate at knowing when a lad is up to standard or not. Especially when you think that, in the days before Moyesie, we released Barton and Jagielka, amongst others, while Richard Dunne was deemed not quite good enough and I seem to remember Gavin McCann being released to the Championship and going on to play for England.

So, to the current crop. There is no doubt that we currently have as good a youth team as I can remember us having and there is an awful lot there that could make it. There is also little question that only a handful will make it and the majority won?t. I would like to be able to save this article and look at it again in 2 years. Ideally it won?t make me laugh out loud at how ridiculously inaccurate it is...

Defenders

Shkodran Mustafi (19) ? All the talk when we signed this guy was what a coup it was and he has, so far, really not lived up to his billing. It looks very much like he simply has not settled at the club and I I think that in 2 years he will be a first team regular at a mid-table Bundesliga side. Eventually he could go on to greater heights from there, but I don?t think Everton is going to work out for him.

Shane Duffy (19) ? There is no doubt that Duffy will make it. I have seen him play a few times now and he has always impressed me. I have high hopes for Duffy this season, now he is clear of his injury. I think he is the reason we can afford to let Yobo go without replacing him. When two from Jags, Distin and Heitinga are not available next term, I would feel more than comfortable with Duffy at the back. This is his year!

Eric Dier (17) ? Still only 17 and 6?2?, Dier is a bright prospect for someone. I hope we have agreed a deal in principle to sign the lad full-time from Sporting Lisbon next summer. He looks the part and still has at least 2 years of development time before he hits make-or-break age. Fingers-crossed on this one.

Jake Bidwell (18) ? I watched him play centre-half and captain the Under 18s at Fulham and looked a real no-nonsense type defender. I am not sure he has enough attacking instincts to make a successful left-back and his height could be a factor at centre-half. There is no doubting his ability, though... and at the very-least I could see him going on to be a new Tony Hibbert (except on the left).

Aristote Nsiala (19) ? Nsiala has a 1-year contract and turns 20 this season. I haven?t seen much of him, but he looks like he is one who has earned one more chance at a crack at the first-team, after impressing on loan at Macclesfield Town. If it doesn?t happen for him at Everton this season, I think he will go the way of Anthony Gerrard and build a solid career for himself at Championship level.

Tyias Browning (17) ? This lad has so much potential. He has only just turned 17 and has signed a 2-year contract at the club. Moyes and Co obviously think very highly of him but, as a right back, he is likely to be one of those who will sneak into the first team squad without too much fuss. He is still very young and has a lot of time to come off the rails but, if he continues his development at the current pace, I think he is dead cert for a future in the Premier League and, hopefully, with Everton.

Luke Garbutt (18) ? This is make-or-break time for Luke. I think he certainly has the tools and I am so impressed with his delivery of crosses; what he needs is to establish himself as first choice left-back at reserve level next season, earn a new contract, and then set about the task of displacing the best left-back in Europe from Everton?s first-team. I don?t envy the lad...

Midfielders

Ross Barkley (17) ? This is a massive season for Barkley, as he shows how much of his development he has lost following his year out injured. Cahill and others have raved about him and there is no doubt that the current Everton first-team squad lacks a real box-to-box midfielder, but injuries like the one Ross suffered have ended the careers of players in the past and it is going to take a special talent if he is to recover mentally from this. Good luck, Ross!

Adam Forshaw (19) ? Adam falls into the now-or-never category. He had a great end to last season, scoring a stunner in the mini-derby, making his first-team debut at Wolves and signing a new contract with the club, but it?s all about 2011-12 for Forshaw if he is going to make it at Everton. He turns 20 in October, so, if it hasn?t happened for him by the end of this coming season, I can see him plying his trade at a lower level.

James Wallace (19) ? Two months younger than Forshaw, Wallace has been one identified as having star potential for a couple of seasons. He has been very unlucky with injuries, but has played in Europe for the first team and earned rave reviews on loan at Stockport last season. He will definitely be a pro, but this season alone will determine if that is to be at Everton or not.

John Lundstram (17) ? John signed a 2-year contract this summer and plays alongside Hallam Hope at international level. I am a bit clueless on this lad as I?ve never seen him play. I don?t think we are looking at a first-teamer this year, but he certainly goes into the ?great potential? category.

Magaye Gueye (21) ? I know, I know ? he is not one that has really come through our youth team as such, but he is a young player who was brought to the club ?with potential?. Having seen him play a few first team games, and looking at his U21 record for France, I am confident that Magaye will be in or around our first team by mid-season.

Jose Baxter (19) ? I can?t believe Jose is still only 19. I think a lot of Evertonians, myself included, were ready to write him off into the Billy Kenny category, but he is back earning rave reviews amongst the coaching staff again and it may well be that Moyes and Co have caught him early and put him back on the straight and narrow. I think we will know by the end of this coming season if he is going to make it at Everton or not.

Forwards

Joao Silva (21) ? Joao came with a reputation already formed in Portugal and was very impressive on returning there on loan last season, but he has looked a long way from making the grade at Everton. I think he is another that falls into the category alongside Mustafi as someone who has not settled at the club or in the country. He has another 2 years left on his Everton contract and I don?t think he will see it out.

Apostolos Vellios (19) ? I am actually feeling really positive about Vellios. His progress through the reserves since signing in January was constant and he really impressed me when he played first team minutes last season. He is a lot quicker than he looks like he should be and obviously has an eye for goal. I think this lad could be a bargain of Coleman proportions.

Connor McAleny (18) ? Connor turns 19 next month, so I think he falls into the same category as Wallace, Forshaw and Co as having one more season. He has been on the bench, but not made it onto the pitch and I fear the first team may be a step too far for Connor. On the few occasions I have watched him, his shooting ability has really impressed me, so I have no doubt he will make a career for himself in football.

Hallam Hope (17) ? Hallam has potential, there is no doubt about that. He has just turned 17, so I don?t think we will see him near the first team this season, but he plays a starring role for England Under-17s and appears to be that goal-poacher type that will be successful in any team with a decent supply from midfield. Over the next two years, Moyes will find out about his pace, work-rate and attitude... and those factors will determine his success at Everton.

So who do I think we can rely on for next season? I honestly believe we will see Vellios, Gueye, Barkley and Duffy feature for the first team next season and go on to make the grade. I also think we will see Bidwell and Baxter at some stage. With Rodwell and Coleman having come through in the last couple of years too, it is clear that our youth team has come on leaps and bounds under Moyes.

I don?t think we are looking at a golden generation so much as the fruits of Moyes?s labour in the early years of his tenure finally starting to come to fruition. If we could rely on it to produce 8 first team players every 3 or 4 years, we would be laughing, but realistically one extra squad member a year would be fantastic and will ultimately save us money.

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