I'm told that Marcus Watson, a defender from California, has signed with the Foxes and is currently training with the club's reserves. A big (listed as 6' 1") 1989, he was part of a U-18 camp in early 2006. I haven't been able to get confirmation from the club yet, but I'm getting this from his coach, Dan Metcalfe, who says Marcus expects to play in the 2008 Dallas Cup with LCFC.
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City For what it's worth our Under 18's are the current champions of England. If he is good enough he will certainly get a chance to play in the first team, we currently have a 17 year old starting and a couple of 20 year olds. On the other hand our Mad Serb of an owner has been through 4 managers since he bought the club and our first team squad has about 40 players in it.
Mods, would you mind please editing the title of this thread so the player's last name is spelled correctly? It is "Watson." Sorry, Marcus!
Earlier this month, the club told me he was still on trial/training. However, there's some chatter on club fansites that indicates that he has British parents and perhaps has signed, or perhaps not. Here's an example: http://talkingballs.co.uk/showthread.php?t=21098
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City Watson played against Spurs earlier this month, and is now with the City team playing in the Dallas Cup's Super Group. So, I guess he's really there now!
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City So if he has British parents, then he must have been born in the USA? Any idea how much of his life has been spent in the US, or if he'd be open to a call-up of any kind? He'd be eligible for the 2009 U-20s by the sounds of it.
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City http://www.lcfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/LatestNews/0,,10274~1267934,00.htmlSome info on City's matches in the Dallas Cup so far. They lost 2-1 at the last minute to CF Monterrey, and beat local club Andromeda SC 1-0. Watson played the full 90 in the second game, but the first doesn't have a roster listed.
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City Marcus is a mixed race kid. He's half white and half african I believe. He actually started his youth club career with Santa Anita Soccer Club in Southern California. He was trained by Clint Greenwood who has trained the likes of Landon Donovan, Max Cream, Christain Jimenez and other professional players. He's from Rancho Cucamonga, California and was a standout youth player who played on many state and regional teams. Im almost certain he's never recieved a call up by any YNT at any level. Very good player. A little but on the arrogant side though... I wish him the best of luck.
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City As mentioned above, Watson was invited to a 2006 U-18 "mega-camp": DEFENDERS (20): Bryan Arguez (Bradenton, Fla.), Sam Arthur (Roswell, Ga.), William Caston (Fort Worth, Texas), Andreas Chronis (Bayside, N.Y.), Johnathan Collier (Fayetteville, Ga.), Kyle Davies (Danville, Calif.), Greg Eckhardt (Orange Park, Fla.), Doug Ferner (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Blair Gavin (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Colin Givens (Troy, Mich.), Erik Johnsen (Seattle, Wash.), Cam Lamming (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), Jeff Leach (Canaan, Conn.), Raphael Martinez (Portage, Ind.), Evan McNiel (Castic, Calif.), Andre Mittoo (Hollywood, Fla.), Ethan Morrow (Surrey, England), Daniel Rodriguez (Oxnard, Calif.), Anthony Wallace (St. Petersburg, Fla.), Marcus Watson (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.); Link: http://ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_280563.html Some pretty good company there.
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City Good company where? I only recognize two names on that list - Arguez and Wallace from the U-20's. And Wallace wasn't even that good.
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City Well, I disagree with you about Wallace. And I would add Davies (Southhampton) and Chronis (AEK) to the "good company" list. Lamming, Eckhardt, Collier and Mittoo are also all very well-regarded young players. You're certainly entitled to think otherwise.
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City Southampton's profile on Davies says he represented the US U-17s at some point. http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/team/?page_id=6587&player_id=130
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City He was on Rongens last u20 team(2007) and seemed to be a lock for the qualifying roster but suffered a long term injury at the pre-qualifying camp.
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City City made the drop to League One today. Players are sure to be leaving. Think Watson will stay or go? He's 18 or 19 now, so it may not be a terrible idea to stay and cement a place in the first team if first-team opportunities are not available anywhere else.
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City I think it will be good for him to stay. I think some players will leave so this may be a good opportunity for him to get into the first team. I don't think it would be a good judge of character to leave the club just because they were relegated since they did bring him over and all.
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City Is this guy confirmed being at Leicester yet? He should stay. They will be back up soon.
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City I looked around Leicester's site and couldn't find anything on Marcus. I'm going to try and keep looking. He wasn't listed in the team profiles and couldn't find anything from the reserve or academy pages.
As mentioned earlier in this thread, Watson played with the club in Dallas Cup and also in other matches in the UK this spring. I am pretty sure he finished the season officially with Leicester City.
Re: Marcus Watston to Leicester City You won't find many details on the academy team. Apart from the Dallas Cup. the last game I can find him playing is Feb 23rd against Cardiff for the Academy. I don't recall him playing any games for the reserves. The retained list should be out soon. Well, as soon as the Mad Serb decides who will be managing us for the first 3 months of next season. I believe Marcus would need to be offered a professional contract to stay - Given his age.
There is a Marcus Watson listed on Hollywood United's roster. Not sure if it is the same kid but I have a feeling that it is. http://www.coastsoccer.org/teams/12059984/8278163-12060041/TEAM.html Sidenote: Eder Robles, formerly of Chivas USA is also on the roster.
It's Watson at Hollywood United. First story on their home page is Watson has been called to u20 camp. Don't have any ideas who else it could possibly be.
Watson recently signed with the Minnesota Thunder of USL1. http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2009/...st-paul-on-saturday-for-final-preseason-game/
Lately the Thunder seem more likely than most USL-1 teams to give younger (as in left college early or didn't go at all) players a shot. Good to see.
It is good to see. I'd like more younger players to explore the USL and vice versa. Especially with the elimination of the reserve division. Half of Minnesota's roster in a '84 or younger. I like to see that. I don't know much about Watson but have heard some favorable things about him. I hope he has a breakout season with Minnesota. 3-yr. contracts are not the norm in the USL so they must think highly of him.