Jordan Graham was in Ireland's hands before we picked him - still gives them the upper hand over the 'allegiance' of players. same goes for Grealish.
Not sure if this has been mentioned but Jack Grealish's brother says he's been asked to play with the U17's in a few weeks time?
Yeah he's going I think. Said he hasn't decided who he will choose but will let us now when he does. Personally I feel he wants to represent England, but it depends on how much interest England show. Ireland are very keen in Jack and his Grandad is trying to push him to represent them too, so if England show a passive interest it's going to be hard for Jack not to stay with Ireland. That's just my opinion though.
The squad he's been picked for is the stronger one overall. So that is a statement of how he is rated in a way. We will have to see how it goes.
Ahh that's good then. Hopefully if he's good as people say he will be where he belongs as I think this is only the second time he's been contacted by the FA which is why I felt their interest has been passive.
the "grandad pushing him" is a bit of a throwaway statement. none of us know what is said behind closed family doors tbf. unless you're reading the posts on that Villa forum from his brother.
Talking about the squad left backs , five have been called in this position ,johns,clark,shaw,ormonde-ottewill and the last one smith-brown. However Jasper johns and brandon ormonde-ottewill have had only 1 game (ormonde-ottewill not even a full game....) so they don't really had the opportunity to show their talent.......same goes for adam campbell,gus sow,bradley lewis,kwame thomas........Is good to call new players but i hope the staff don't forget the ones who haven't a real opportunity.
Jasper Johns played in last years Nordics remember, he was one of the players going into the Victory Shield with International experience. Except he got exposed and didn't have a good game imo. It could be that he is a better player further up in midfield, as Everton list him in their Midfielders section on their website. They say he can play left back, but it interesting that they have put him in the Midfield section, maybe it is his stronger position? I agree these players should have been given more of a chance. Kwame Thomas is in this squad btw so he will most likely get a good look at.
I'm wondering why Clark was in the first place. Ali G had a mare against the Jocks. Towards the end of the game when Willis made that great save, the chance occurred because of a pathetic attempt to clear a cross with the wrong foot - he missed it completely. From the resulting corner he missed the ball again.
@zxen, If i'm not wrong even david moli was there (in the nordics) but they still call him ....... i think is better to "forgive" the players of the famous 4-0 defeat to wales.....because everyone (except swift) had a very bad game that day.....houghton,chambers, poyet,facey,hayden,graham,moli were horrible but have recently demonstrated to be very talented players....it looks like jasper johns was the only one to blame..... By the way ,many are changing position , hayden from CM to CH,wilson from LW to CF, ormonde-ottewill from LB to LW ( in the ferroli cup),etc...they still very young so it's normal they haven't found their best position yet i think. ps: don't know how i didn't saw thomas in..
Yes Moli was called up but he was withdrawn. George Willis played in that tournament too if you want to get into specifics. Not sure what you're talking about when saying it's better to "forgive" as I haven't held a grudge against a player based on that game. The only person I blame for that result is Swain for not having our team properly prepared. Yes i'm aware they have been played / selected in different positions. I must say I am surprised they moved Hayden back, I wonder if he has ever played that role for Arsenal. Yeah no harm done , I sometimes do that.
Thought Grealish wouldn't have been called up to the main squad. Very excited to see him get the call up. For the main tournament.. the outfield players, it will probably be DF: Facey, Chambers, Innis, Shaw, Dabo, Houghton MF: Graham, Jebb, Poyet, Wallace, Swift, Rothwell STR: Cole, Robinson, Moli Last striker position maybe between Akpom & Mitchell
Can't see how anyone can figure it out to that extent because Peacock will be tweaking it in his own way. I don't really know why so many 1996 born players have been selected because it's going to mean certain players will miss out on both squads in August.
Well I can't see many of that lot missing out. There may be a one or two but thats it. James Wilson isn't '96 born...December '95. But yeah, very interesting with all the '96 born selections.
These late born players are always so annoying to verify but I wasn't really taking about Wilson. Moreso the players selected for full back roles. Think it's hard to figure out the squad because you have a wide range of options and Peacock is so random at times.
Very true. What I find wierd is that with all these '96 born call-ups, how are players like Ormonde-Ottewill, G. Cole, Pearson, Lipman, Campbell, Sow and the like taking it? Are they looking at it as a snub/slap-in-the-face? In a certain way though I guess its good for the experience for the '96 borns.
I think Peacock is going to have a headache if Grealish does really well in this tournament. Would he call him to the FAIT as a reward? If he isn't called up then I would be surprised if he sticks around for the next U16 batch.
We should be treating this tournament for players that are going to be competing for place in the U17s squad. Not a tournament where we put some under age players in to get experience for the upcoming Victory Shield. If Swain wants some players to be tested before the Victory Shield then we should have a U15 side like most nations.
The funny thing is that at the last Nordic's there were a few 1995 born players that were on standby or pulled out injured but none were really the ones that greatly impressed at U16 level.
Speaking of Moli ^^, he scored a hat-trick today against Preston. LFC U18's have been averaging 7 goals a game in pre-season!