MUCH better second half from Huddlestone. Lennon has been poor and unmotivated and Mvuamba doesn't look so shit anymore
21 Games unbeaten, not bad for the U21's 3-0 final score.
No injuries to Hudd or Lennon so all good.
Waste of time
Can't see why this was a waste of time L10, it was for UEFA U21 Championship Qualifier which is always good for the younger players as they will be in the senior squad very soon.
Admittedly Lennon shouldn't be there but everyone seems to forget how old he is.
The French team of 95-96 that won the European U21 Nations Cup went on to win the world cup in 98 with players such as Desailly, Dugarry, Zidane, Makelele et al, so can't be that bad of a starter competition for the youngsters.
I take your point but personally I don't see the value of under 21 teams anymore.
Once upon a time it was great experience for players to play against different types of football and players that they would never usually come across and it furthered their education.
These days all of the top leagues are so cosmopolitan that for most players representing the likes of England find the under 21's a major step down in level to what they are used to playing in week in week out.
Just looking at our own players what could any of them have learned last night? These guys train and play day in day out with the likes of King, Keane and Berbatov etc as well as working with vastly superior coaches than the likes of Stuart Pearce. Which 1 of Englands players other than the 17 yr old left back from Leicester would have gained anything from last night or under 21 football in general?
Players of such a young age playing regularly in the Premiership would be better spending their time learning from their club coaches and getting much required rest that the body needs at that age rather than playing sub standard quality football.
Just my view.
If, as it now looks very likely, they qualify they'll get the experience of playing in an international tournament, which I'd reckon would be better experience than staying at home to play Reading or Bolton or Derby... Experience isn't just about playing against the best players, it's a whole lot of different experiences...
On another note, predictably todays press was all about how Theo the Wonderhorse scored, despite playing like a piece of shit all game... James Milner's two goals got a brief mention at the end... :roll: