Reading vs Exeter City Matchday Thread

[Rosencrantz]

I was drawing the point that the point you drew was factually incorrect. Let me help with your struggle: if you pick on one player, then it's always the player who's not developing. If you look at the sum of players and the only one who's improved at all is the one who got away for a few weeks, the landscape zoomed out view is that there's not a lot of development happening.

It wasn't factually incorrect though was it? Both Sonny and Harry started the season aged 18 and have turned 19 during this season. Neither will be 20 until next season. Along with Pedro, they are in the "first year pro" age group. If you look at Josh Key, Joel Randall, Jack Sparkes and Alex Hartridge they were all out on loan at that stage of their careers. Josh, Joel and Alex didn't have their breakthrough season until the COVID season when they were 20 turning 21 during that season. Jack was 19 turning 20. The only player that got established earlier was Archie. So the bulk of players break through in their third season as pro, occasionally earlier. MT made a big thing of trying to get academy players ready earlier on the back of this. Probably why so many of our second year trainee's have been out on loan last season and this.

I think that was the point being attempted to be put across. The only academy player in our squad of that age range as you point out is Cheick. He looks a better player to me since he has come back into the side.

 

[Rosencrantz]

"Made worse" will lead us back into quibbling over the responsibility of the player vs coaching staff, when it's the big picture that I think reveals the problem... but Kite and Hartridge have both gone backwards. Borges also seems to have pulled up fewer trees at Dorchester than might have been expected, as far as I'm led to believe... Ive obviously not been watching Dorchester.

Joel Randall had several loan moves, hardly any of them could be deemed successful, yet he came good when he got a chance. Ben Seymour was excellent out on his loan spells. Sometimes things happen that way.

 

[edwin_price]

It wasn't factually incorrect though was it?

He said weve no 19-20 year olds, and there's two, so yes it was.

 

[edwin_price]

Joel Randall had several loan moves, hardly any of them could be deemed successful, yet he came good when he got a chance. Ben Seymour was excellent out on his loan spells. Sometimes things happen that way.

Yes, quibble quibble quibble, let's talk about specific individuals. Who's got better in the year he's been manager? Of any age, but particularly younger players, lets say 24 or under. Who's improved? We have about 12 - 15 of them on the books, so someone's got to have. Give me your list of players you think have really developed in the past year.

 

[STURTZ]

Agree with your second paragraph but not your first.

Remember Matt Grimes? Tisdale basically set our whole team up in a way that aided his development. And it worked. The tactics a young player plays under in their formative years has a massive effect on their personal development.

Grimes was given a first team spot 'cause we were skint, under a transfer embargo and we needed to sell him quick. Pretty obvious to anybody that he was different gravy and would succeed whoever managed him.

 

[Snoop Fog]

Which players would you say he's made worse?

James Scott was p!ss poor when we first signed him but after some GC coaching he's absolute utter dog sh!te.

 

[gui]

Cole is a dangerous fraud imo. Does a very good impression of a footballer but has zero appetite to actually tackle or track back. For someone billed as a free kick specialist he takes terrible corners and his passing is abysmal.

Absolute nonsense .
He’s one of our best players .

 

[STURTZ]

Sinisalo has improved a lot if you were daft enough to be taken in by the "showreel"!
Players will always look better in clubs that are doing well rather than struggling clubs like us.
No this thread is turning into yet another desperate search for a stick to beat Caldwell with, apart of course from the outrageous naming of Perkins as a sub or the scandalous inclusion of Diabate as a forward!

 

[Mid Devon Grecian]

Debating with you is always a surreal experience

Of course I don't think inconsistency is coached into him. But the way GC's set our team up this year, with no defensive cover in midfield, a philosophy of ponderous possession in our own half as well as the opposition's, and (in the main) total reliance on a clean sheet if we're to have a chance of getting even a single point from a game, have been contributors to Hartridge's continued defensive brain farts.

And no, I wasn't there yesterday, but I watched it all live on iFollow.

GC giving Jules license to roam is also leaving Hartridge exposed

 

[Egg]

Remember Matt Grimes? Tisdale basically set our whole team up in a way that aided his development. And it worked. The tactics a young player plays under in their formative years has a massive effect on their personal development.

Certainly, Tis never tired of reveling in this story; whether there's any truth in it is another matter entirely. Reasonably sure Matt Grimes would have shone in any lower-league team regardless of how it was set up.