- Aug 31, 2012
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First, no one is asking Poch to promote every youth player regardless of their ability, attitude etc.
Second, no one is asking Poch to start outstanding youth players (onomah, kwp, edwards etc.) every game.
Third, if you ask 10 youth watchers 10 of them would admit that our youth players still have much to learn.
Fourth, we support Poch and won't swap Poch for any other manager.
I think this must be clarified first before discussion or something like " Onomah is entitled to play games in CM simply because he is an academy player" would be posted again which is totally not constructive to the discussion.
Why do youth watchers think Onomah has the potential to become a first team player for us?
Some youth watchers have been following his development for years and they have seen how he played. Also, some reputable ITKs stated that Onomah was chased by other big clubs especially Citeh before he signed the contract with us, which shows that scouts or managers from top clubs also rate him. Last but not least, winning the U20 World Cup as a key player in the squad shows that he is one of the best in his age group.
What do we expect from Poch?
We would like to see outstanding youth players to become key players for us like Kane did. But undoubtedly, players need to work hard to improve and earn their place just like Kane. But before the youth players are integrated into the first team, giving them some playing time would give them experience and boost of confidence. I have to emphasize that "playing time" is not 90 minutes in the league, but 90 minutes in FA Cup or League Cup, or 20 minutes in the league when we are leading 3-0 for example. I don't think letting Onomah playing aside Wanyama and behind Eriksen for 20 minutes would make us throwing away a 3-goal lead, do you? I support Poch, but regarding the treatment of our youth players I have some doubts. I don't think playing Onomah as a winger would benefit him in any aspects. Also, I don't think loaning Onomah to Villa which plays totally different football to us would benefit him, although this may not be solely Poch's decision. If Onomah and KWP are players of Ajax, Valencia, Lyon or Monaco would they become key players for these clubs after winning the U20 World Cup? I can't answer that as it is solely assumption, but I am sure that these clubs would try their best to integrate them into the first team, perhaps their purpose is to sell them to rich clubs, earning a big profit. But who cares? These clubs developed numerous talents by giving them chances.
It is not about distinct players like Onomah, KWP, Edwards, TOB etc., but our club's reputation when recruiting young talents. We have already lost some talents in recent years (Kirby, Azzaoui etc.). If we fail on the abovementioned players, I am afraid that parents of young talents may hesitate before letting their kid to join us because they would think something like "Spurs do not provide first team exposure to great talents like Onomah/Edwards, maybe there are other clubs that can provide a better career pathway to my kid".
We are financially outplayed by all of our rivals in the league. Promoting decent youth players can let us to focus our limited resources on one or two world-class players. In my opinion this is the easiest way to catch up with our rivals. I am not asking Poch to promote youth for the sake of it, we do have many talents in our academy which can save us a lot of money if they can play a role in the first team, or sell for a profit like we did with Mason, Bentaleb, Carroll, Townsend etc.
Second, no one is asking Poch to start outstanding youth players (onomah, kwp, edwards etc.) every game.
Third, if you ask 10 youth watchers 10 of them would admit that our youth players still have much to learn.
Fourth, we support Poch and won't swap Poch for any other manager.
I think this must be clarified first before discussion or something like " Onomah is entitled to play games in CM simply because he is an academy player" would be posted again which is totally not constructive to the discussion.
Why do youth watchers think Onomah has the potential to become a first team player for us?
Some youth watchers have been following his development for years and they have seen how he played. Also, some reputable ITKs stated that Onomah was chased by other big clubs especially Citeh before he signed the contract with us, which shows that scouts or managers from top clubs also rate him. Last but not least, winning the U20 World Cup as a key player in the squad shows that he is one of the best in his age group.
What do we expect from Poch?
We would like to see outstanding youth players to become key players for us like Kane did. But undoubtedly, players need to work hard to improve and earn their place just like Kane. But before the youth players are integrated into the first team, giving them some playing time would give them experience and boost of confidence. I have to emphasize that "playing time" is not 90 minutes in the league, but 90 minutes in FA Cup or League Cup, or 20 minutes in the league when we are leading 3-0 for example. I don't think letting Onomah playing aside Wanyama and behind Eriksen for 20 minutes would make us throwing away a 3-goal lead, do you? I support Poch, but regarding the treatment of our youth players I have some doubts. I don't think playing Onomah as a winger would benefit him in any aspects. Also, I don't think loaning Onomah to Villa which plays totally different football to us would benefit him, although this may not be solely Poch's decision. If Onomah and KWP are players of Ajax, Valencia, Lyon or Monaco would they become key players for these clubs after winning the U20 World Cup? I can't answer that as it is solely assumption, but I am sure that these clubs would try their best to integrate them into the first team, perhaps their purpose is to sell them to rich clubs, earning a big profit. But who cares? These clubs developed numerous talents by giving them chances.
It is not about distinct players like Onomah, KWP, Edwards, TOB etc., but our club's reputation when recruiting young talents. We have already lost some talents in recent years (Kirby, Azzaoui etc.). If we fail on the abovementioned players, I am afraid that parents of young talents may hesitate before letting their kid to join us because they would think something like "Spurs do not provide first team exposure to great talents like Onomah/Edwards, maybe there are other clubs that can provide a better career pathway to my kid".
We are financially outplayed by all of our rivals in the league. Promoting decent youth players can let us to focus our limited resources on one or two world-class players. In my opinion this is the easiest way to catch up with our rivals. I am not asking Poch to promote youth for the sake of it, we do have many talents in our academy which can save us a lot of money if they can play a role in the first team, or sell for a profit like we did with Mason, Bentaleb, Carroll, Townsend etc.