The Spurs Youth Thread – 2016/2017

[Bus-Conductor]

Have to admit that I'm a little concerned about the club's relationship with our younger players. When Kenny McEvoy bad mouthed the club after leaving saying that he was glad to be out I could just dismiss it as sour grapes, immaturity and spoiled young professional syndrome but when you've got Pritchard saying it as well I start to worry. I can't remember anyone specifically making similar comments before those two but there's something rattling around in the back of my mind that there might have been. I know we don't play as much attention to other clubs politics but their ex-players don't seem to leave on such bad terms. I am not someone who looks for problems with our club, I generally defend it to the hilt but I can't help but feel there's more to it than just a couple of ingrates venting.

What has Pritchard said ?

 

[Bus-Conductor]

This is from Dembele last spring:

“It’s exactly like that,” Dembélé says. “It’s important to have someone who has a strong way of thinking and who can translate it to the team. And if you don’t fit into the team, it’s going to be difficult for you. What he wants is how to press, how to be ready for the team, how to come back, determination.

“If he explains that he expects this and this from a player – for example, he wants a midfielder to press and come back, press and come back – and you are not willing to do it, then you don’t fit into the philosophy. So, I have the feeling that anybody can come into the team and anybody can come out, almost.

“Everybody knows that they can be the best player in the team but if they don’t work, then it’s not going to be good enough. I think that’s the difference. We don’t have superstars. Of course, we have players who can make the difference, like Harry Kane, but even Harry knows: ‘OK, I need to work.’ And you see it. I don’t know another striker who works harder than Harry. This puts him on another level to most other strikers.”

This is how every player gets a chance - including Pritchard.

Amazing how Chadli and Townsend ever got picked ahead of Lamela and Dembele last year then really ? And still doesn't explain why Pritchard didn't get any meaning flu chance with Spurs. The kid can press, does wok hard off the ball.

 

[LexingtonSpurs]

Amazing how Chadli and Townsend ever got picked ahead of Lamela and Dembele last year then really ? And still doesn't explain why Pritchard didn't get any meaning flu chance with Spurs. The kid can press, does wok hard off the ball.

When is the last time you saw him press or work hard off the ball? Poch has no incentive to run off players who would help him win...

 

[mill]

There will be a lot of farmers making sweet love to their livestock this evening...

I'm sorry but I find it terribly offensive that you've described the all farmers sisters from Ipswich as livestock

 

[Vincent30]

Am hoping your snippiness (which is entirely unwarranted) is not aimed at me as I agree with you.

My post was more in fear that you can never know 100% how a player in their early 20s will develop. They may have a year where everything clicks and they become superstars (in an alternate reality, imagine if we'd sold Bale, it's likely he'd still become the same player just a little later). There must be fear pretty much every time you sell a young player who you think, on balance, just won't quite make it or doesn't have the right attitude. You can never know. That's what my "hope we don't regret it" was based on. It's not feasible to keep every single potential prem player on the off chance they might make it. You've got to prioritise.

We've nailed pretty much every single youth player we've sold. Struggling to think of one in recent times we could say we regret in hindsight.

Not aimed at you buddy, with the Bentaleb stuff that is ongoing, Pritch now going, even Ward. Just feel a lot of people (not just you) are making rumblings on here about bad decisions that the club are making, not giving people a chance etc. Once in a while a youth player will leave and it will be a bad decision, because no one can predict the future.

However, it's down to that youth player to prove his attitude to mamangment, to prove in training that he wants this, to show off the field that he is dedicated, i could go on. I'm 99% sure the reason Bentaleb seems to be out of favour and Pritch has been sold is because they haven't applied all the prinicples that the managment wants from its players, and the likes of Winks and Onomah might be showing way more of this compared to Bentaleb and Edwards more than Pritch.

I have total faith in who our club brings forward and who it lets leave, i've said a million times, as fans we only get to see match day Bentaleb or Pritch, we don't see 90% of how these guys perform in training and as people. Anyway, with our young team, Lamela looking like an absolute beast, additions of Janssen (brute) and Wanyama (double brute) i'm bloody excited about this team and seeing the likes of Winks, Onomah, CCV, Edwards and potentially others in and around this team.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

When is the last time you saw him press or work hard off the ball? Porch has no incentive to run off players who would help him win...

For Brentford, every time I saw them, for Spurs youth teams. When was the last time you saw Chadli or Townsend do it ?

I don't think Pritchard was shipped out because he couldn't press or work hard.

 

[Blake Griffin]

kwp played for the u21s yesterday so doesn't seem like he was rested for the inter friendly, not sure about josh. hope both go on loan but i expect they'll stay and play another full season of reserve football :dead:

 

[Goldman]

I hope Onomah stays rather than being loaned out. I thought he was quite impressive pre-season, and I'd like to see him involved more.

KWP needs a loan. We're stacked at RB.

 

[glospur]

For Brentford, every time I saw them, for Spurs youth teams. When was the last time you saw Chadli or Townsend do it ?

I don't think Pritchard was shipped out because he couldn't press or work hard.

Yep, I think it's pretty clear that he left because he wanted more first team games and we just couldn't guarantee them so he wanted to go somewhere where he would just about play every week. That article with those comments from Pritchard is evidence enough of that. No fault on either side, just a player wanting to play knowing that he wouldn't get that here.

 

[WindyCOYS]

For Brentford, every time I saw them, for Spurs youth teams. When was the last time you saw Chadli or Townsend do it ?

I don't think Pritchard was shipped out because he couldn't press or work hard.

I disagree with this - Townsend was more willing to press/work back than Pritchard IMO.

Was often one of his weaknesses for me, but you may remember that I always doubted whether Pritchard had the right level of ability to break through at Spurs.

Slightly off of him to bad mouth the club. Even if you don't think he got enough first team minutes, we got him some fantastic loans and he trained with the first team when he was with us.

 

[alexis]

What has Pritchard said ?

nothing that bad just headlines sensationalizing it

 

[Bus-Conductor]

I disagree with this - Townsend was more willing to press/work back than Pritchard IMO.

Was often one of his weaknesses for me, but you may remember that I always doubted whether Pritchard had the right level of ability to break through at Spurs.

Slightly off of him to bad mouht the club. Even if you don't think he got enough first team minutes, we got him some fantastic loans and he trained with the first team when he was with us.

Sorry Wndy but I completely disagree with the first part. Townsend was utterly atrocious without the ball and Pritchard was actually pretty diligent and if he lost it would invariably try and get it back, unlike Townsend who would often just give up.

We did get him loans, but more to the point, he handled those loans better than most kids we send out on loans, which isn't easy for a "creative" type in the shit kicker leagues.

I don't think he was ever going to be world class but I think how he'd performed on his loans, his all round skill set (technique, tenacity, ability to get his head up and create, eye for goal, dead ball delivery etc) and the fact that he consistently produced meant he'd definitely earned at least the same kind of chance Townsend got. Especially when we have to watch Chadli ambling around or Son tripping over the ball as AM's.

Townsend was a headless chicken who was a liability off the ball and he got about 50 appearances for us, Pritchard got about 15 minutes, hardly seems fair to me.

We've had some ITK that he fell out with Poch. My guess is the West Brom loan was either a symptom or the cause of this falling out, (which would make sense because it was a ludicrous loan) and frankly I don't blame him for being disgruntled with his lack of opportunity.

It doesn't matter if he hadn't turned out to be top drawer, or even good enough to play every week, plenty of players we spend money buying don't either, but at least they haven't waited years and earned a chance the hard way.

 

[nicdic]

Sorry Wndy but I completely disagree with the first part. Townsend was utterly atrocious without the ball and Pritchard was actually pretty diligent and if he lost it would invariably try and get it back, unlike Townsend who would often just give up.

We did get him loans, but more to the point, he handled those loans better than most kids we send out on loans, which isn't easy for a "creative" type in the shit kicker leagues.

I don't think he was ever going to be world class but I think how he'd performed on his loans, his all round skill set (technique, tenacity, ability to get his head up and create, eye for goal, dead ball delivery etc) and the fact that he consistently produced meant he'd definitely earned at least the same kind of chance Townsend got. Especially when we have to watch Chadli ambling around or Son tripping over the ball as AM's.

Townsend was a headless chicken who was a liability off the ball and he got about 50 appearances for us, Pritchard got about 15 minutes, hardly seems fair to me.

We've had some ITK that he fell out with Poch. My guess is the West Brom loan was either a symptom or the cause of this falling out, (which would make sense because it was a ludicrous loan) and frankly I don't blame him for being disgruntled with his lack of opportunity.

It doesn't matter if he hadn't turned out to be top drawer, or even good enough to play every week, plenty of players we spend money buying don't either, but at least they haven't waited years and earned a chance the hard way.

We need to stop this revisionism. He had a chance. Unfortunately it was curtailed by injury and then he couldn't prove himself at West Brom. The fact that he's left and dropped down to the Championship should make it patently clear that he's not good enough.

It's unfortunate that he got an injury just as his chance arrived, and who knows what could have been if it happened differently, but it didn't.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

We need to stop this revisionism. He had a chance. Unfortunately it was curtailed by injury and then he couldn't prove himself at West Brom. The fact that he's left and dropped down to the Championship should make it patently clear that he's not good enough.

It's unfortunate that he got an injury just as his chance arrived, and who knows what could have been if it happened differently, but it didn't.

revisionism?

What chance did he get? If he was fit enough to go on loan to an EPL team he was fit enough to stay here and get some minutes.

He could have even stayed here last year instead of going to Brentford.

We bought Alli based on his form for a League 1 team, so why wouldn't we give Pritchard a chance having done likewise (and in the championship).

Just because he's dropped down to the championship to try and get some regular football does not mean he might not be good enough to play at EPL level, that is a ridiculous thing to say.

 

[Sweech]

revisionism?

What chance did he get? If he was fit enough to go on loan to an EPL team he was fit enough to stay here and get some minutes.

He could have even stayed here last year instead of going to Brentford.

We bought Alli based on his form for a League 1 team, so why wouldn't we give Pritchard a chance having done likewise (and in the championship).

Just because he's dropped down to the championship to try and get some regular football does not mean he might not be good enough to play at EPL level, that is a ridiculous thing to say.

I think he dropped down to the Championship to get starting 11 minutes for himself - An opportunity he was simply not going to get here. Which is something that neither Levy, Pochettino, or himself hold the blame for.

Frankly he's an Eriksen type player, but he's not better than Eriksen. So his opportunities would have come from when we're not using Eriksen and quite frankly his ceiling in the team would likely have been just that as well. I'm pretty sure he wasn't content with that situation and pushed himself out the door just as much as anyone thinks Pochettino pushed him out the door and I can't blame him. At this point in his career he needs starting minutes and he's not better than Alli, Eriksen, or Lamela, so those minutes would have to come from elsewhere.

 

[nicdic]

revisionism?

What chance did he get? If he was fit enough to go on loan to an EPL team he was fit enough to stay here and get some minutes.

He could have even stayed here last year instead of going to Brentford.

We bought Alli based on his form for a League 1 team, so why wouldn't we give Pritchard a chance having done likewise (and in the championship).

Just because he's dropped down to the championship to try and get some regular football does not mean he might not be good enough to play at EPL level, that is a ridiculous thing to say.

He was given a chance, it's just unfortunate he got injured when it came along. He was all set to be involved last season before injury. He would have been kept in the squad based on Championship form from the season before.

Yet now, it's clear his chance had gone. He clearly isn't deserving, because if he was he would have had another opportunity. Whether that's due to his attitude or to his ability, or a mix, we'll never know exactly. But I think the fact that no Premier League teams came in for him, shows either he isn't as good as some thought, or he's got a less than expected mentality.

 

[Cornpattbuck]

revisionism?

What chance did he get? If he was fit enough to go on loan to an EPL team he was fit enough to stay here and get some minutes.

This is an unbelievably naive statement, BC. He would have come back way (!) off the pace of our team that was flying.

Still no idea about the reality of the WBA loan, but Pullis is a notoriously bastard hard trainer and disciplinarian and maybe Pritch had come back a little too tentative from his injury. Tough love?

 

[Cornpattbuck]

revisionism?

We bought Alli based on his form for a League 1 team, so why wouldn't we give Pritchard a chance having done likewise (and in the championship).

You keep, intentionally or otherwise, overlooking that most people here are saying that he probably would have got his chance if it wasn't for that bastard injury and whatever implications came with it.

 

[LexingtonSpurs]

I think the other thing that is lost in these discussions is that Pritchard got his chance. He trained with the first team, and had a chance everyday to impress Poch and the coaches. He did not get the minutes in games some here had hoped, but that is not the same as saying he did not get a chance. You don't get minutes unless/until you prove yourself on the training ground.

Admittedly, supporters don't have access to the training sessions, so we can't pass judgement on how a player is performing - but that is why we have a manager and coaches to make those assessments. It appears that the coaches did not deem Pritchard ready for first team minutes - based on what they saw every day. How Pritchard performed on loan a couple of years ago, or did not perform last spring - has no bearing on what the coaches are seeing in training - this summer.

Again, Poch has no incentive to run players off who can contribute to the success of the team (and his own job security). So, for reasons that may not be clear to us, Poch has assessed that Pritchard is not in his plans - and it is better for everyone that we part ways. Pritchard goes where he can play, we free up training resources for players who will contribute.

 

[Sweech]

I think the other thing that is lost in these discussions is that Pritchard got his chance. He trained with the first team, and had a chance everyday to impress Poch and the coaches. He did not get the minutes in games some here had hoped, but that is not the same as saying he did not get a chance. You don't get minutes unless/until you prove yourself on the training ground.

Admittedly, supporters don't have access to the training sessions, so we can't pass judgement on how a player is performing - but that is why we have a manager and coaches to make those assessments. It appears that the coaches did not deem Pritchard ready for first team minutes - based on what they saw every day. How Pritchard performed on loan a couple of years ago, or did not perform last spring - has no bearing on what the coaches are seeing in training - this summer.

Again, Poch has no incentive to run players off who can contribute to the success of the team (and his own job security). So, for reasons that may not be clear to us, Poch has assessed that Pritchard is not in his plans - and it is better for everyone that we part ways. Pritchard goes where he can play, we free up training resources for players who will contribute.

It seems like some people love the "you sign to train" quote from Pochettino until it applies to a player they like.