Garner and Branthwaite taste U21 Euros triumph

In 1982 only Adrian Heath and Steve McMahon were part of the Euro U21 squad.

Gary Stevens

1984 Squad

Women's World Cup was also facing a blackout until ITV/BBC managed a last-minute deal in June. Have we finally reached the point where football can't just rely on jacking up prices every year to justify outrageous wages for players and to line the pockets of FIFA and UEFA officials?

Game is very stop-start with lots of cynical fouls and playacting. No Gordon…

Red card for one of the Spanish coaches, and Ashley Cole.

Dreadful advert for the future of European football…

Garner as always, looking comfortable on the ball and doing his bit tracking back too.

Penalty save last minute by the England keeper. One-nil England. 😀

Garner has got great energy, and had a decent game imo, and if that pitch invasion was a bad advert for the future of European football Michael, then I think the penalty that Spain were awarded, is very, very worrying for the future of football in general.

With so many yellow cards for minor infringements nowadays, not being helped by a lot of cynical and shameful play-acting, from the players of both teams, then I also think it's time to review the card system.

I think it would make sense bringing in a sin-bin, to help the ref, because most of the players are that obsessed with cheating nowadays, that it can't be an easy game to referee.

Big praise for Lee Carsley, massive achievement.

Always loved Lee as a player and from everything read, a great human being, and now a proven coach. 👏 👍 💙

Great Everton connections beyond Garner. Branthwaite made the squad but is, understandably, behind the excellent Colwill for the left-footed centre-back slot.

Gordon was named player of the tournament, in a tournament that featured the likes of Mudryk and Tonali (and many other famous / high value players). And of course the manager is Lee Carsley.

I say 'the whole team' as the Newcastle fans are having a meltdown on Twitter as Everton congratulated Garner Branthwaite and Lee Carsley forgetting to mention Gordon, who one said had won more than Everton had – given that the last time these frauds won anything major, the Queen Mother was in her 20s – so hasn't Gordon won more than them? 🤷 Cheeky scumbags. 😡😡

As we've been having age debates elsewhere, two young Everton players aged 22 and 21.

We have two young full-backs and Godfrey is hardly past it for a centre-back. Now some would debate his ability, but that's a different discussion.

McNeil and Onana. Young players with potential. Even Calvert-Lewin at 26 isn't close to his forward pension just yet. Demarai Gray's jet-powered boots still have life in them for a few years.

Depending on where you pull your data from, our squad average age is 25.

I don't think it's a question of age. It is about ability, fitness, attitude and desire. I don't care how old or young someone is. On other threads, I've cited Paul Power. We could also point to the popular, but then almost 30-year-old Kevin Campbell. Others have called out David Weir (played for Everton until he was 37) and Richard Gough.

Okay, not great times, but perspective, especially where we've been these past seasons.

I don't care too much for age. For me, it's about how good the player is and willing to give for Everton.

I'll be interested in whether Cannon and some of the other youngsters are involved next season.

I had a look and realised I have had glimpses of Cannon. Short-lived ones. He came on as a late substitute in the "4 days that was Bournemouth" debacle last season. Not enough to judge him, but many seem to rate him.

My Preston friend rates Cannon very highly. Ten times better than Gordon, he reckons.

I've seen post after post on other threads telling me not only how utterly useless the Everton Academy is, but the entire academy system at Premier League clubs stinks to high heaven.

Yet what have we here? An England squad made up of England players who have each and every one come through the English system of academy football, have just beaten off all-comers to take a prestigious European trophy – without a goal conceded!

And most of those participating have played Premier League football including two of them having spent significant time in the Everton Academy.

Tell me again how the whole system is broken and needs to be restructured? Actually no. Please don't. I've heard it plenty of times but I just don't believe it.

Great achievement by the young England team.

But will it transpire into success? Most successful English teams at the highest level are still predominantly populated by foreign imports.

England are improving, but not quite there just yet.

John @24. Lets hope we see more of Tom. And see you pre-season? If not, Fulham home.

I presume you watch the Academy teams in action. Can you honestly say you enjoy watching these performances if you do?

‘Since 2015, they have been runners-up at European under-17 level in 2017, winners at European under-19 level in 2017 and 2022, winners of the Under-20 World Cup in 2017 and now winners of the European Under-21 Championship, with high hopes for the Under-17 World Cup in Indonesia later in the year.'

They being England.

The senior team have reached a Euros final and World Cup semi-final in the same period.

Your cunningly worded question would seem to relate to something other than 'success' … namely 'entertainment'.

I would not say the U21s – neither Everton nor England – play anything even remotely resembling entertaining football. I try to watch our U21s but lose interest after about 3 minutes on average. And as my comments above may suggest, I wasn't that impressed with this game and couldn't get past half-time.

But that's not to detract from the issue of their 'success'. Everton U21s held their own for an upper mid-table finish in PL2 last season. Mind you, when they actually won it – twice – a few years back under Unsworth, he was given all manner of shite by the cognoscenti on here, so I probably should just don the proverbial tin hat and go sit in the corner.

I'm with you on the entertainment side of the argument, I only saw about 70 minutes of the England v Spain game, and nothing of the other England games, it looked to me that Carsley was copying his old manager, Moyes, with his style of play, keep it tight and nick one.

As for the Academy games, you get the same impression as me from watching them so leave the tin hat off and stand up straight.

As for Unsworth's teams he did play quite a few over age players, well over age, when he won those titles and a cup as well if my memory serves me right.

The academy system is slowly beginning to work for the chosen few (in a result's business) but I still think they start bringing in kids way too young (taking the love out of the game for many when it should still just be about enjoyment).

But this isn't going to change because football has become a massive business, and they are all chasing anyone who shows a bit of talent, because they could be worth a lot of money one day.

I only watched the final and thought England were the better team, and although we have also really narrowed the gap at senior level, I sometimes think that England still lack a little something at times?

It's only fine margins now, but sometimes I wish we could be as physical as the French because I think they play with a lot of power nowadays.

Nonetheless kudos to James Garner and to an extent Jarrad too although I wasn't over-impressed with him in the game he played in.

The U21 games are infinitely more enjoyable than the first team right now.

Possibly, Debs, I wouldn't argue too much about the merits of each team except to say I think Sean Dyche and his coaches did very well to keep Everton in the Premier League with such a threadbare squad last season – and they face the same fight to keep us next season.

Liverpool do well by snatching up and comers like Brewster, Ibe, Elliot, Carvalho, Solanke, Gordon and others from other academies – but probably don't produce a high volume (although Jones and Alexander-Arnold are obviously very good).

I maintain my view therefore that both Everton and our neighbours could do much better given the catchment area – which you'd expect to be at least as good as the area Man City and Man Utd are (mostly) getting their raw talent from.

Interestingly, of the whole U21 squad, it's only Branthwaite that didn't come through the academy system – and most are associated with top-flight or yo-yo club academies.

What the academy system does seem poor at is providing a reliable supply of decent if unspectacular Premier League standard players. For that sort of player, it seems better to hunt in the lower leagues and abroad.

Perhaps that is because it is so hard to get a game in the Premier League, the likes of Lundstram, Forshaw and Robinson (who all became Premier League players after cutting their teeth at a lower level) can't be risked for the crucial first 50 or so games they need. Instead, Premier League clubs buy-in those sorts of players (ie, young but experienced) rather than giving a chance to someone who might be very hit and miss for 18 months and still not work out.

I get the impression the old reserve league was probably better at developing these sorts of players. The loan system is, of sorts, replacing that as a way to give 18- to 22-year-olds plenty of games outside of the pressure cooker of the Premier League.