England Under 21 Discussions Thread (2002+ born) #8

Not just viewing figures but an way to get people from other parts of the host country to attend a more local event (2028 an possibly exception to that as all the football will hosted within various cities of California).

 

You can ditch golf and tennis from the Games too for me, along with the football. The Olympics should solely belong to those sports for which winning a medal is the ultimate prize, and not just a chance to pick up a pleasant little bauble before the important stuff begins. The athletes, swimmers, gymnasts etc. train specifically for this one period every 4 years. Why try and steal their thunder?

 

Mixed Team golf is coming to LA which will mix things up.

 

Except it’s not just England who are apathetic about Olympic men’s football. A lot of European countries don’t bother to send a team. Italy haven’t taken part since 2008. Belgium and Holland have featured once between them in the past 70 years. And Uruguay won consecutive gold medals in the 1920s then didn’t come back for another 84 years.

The tournament could be quietly shelved in four years’ time and I suspect nobody would raise much of a protest across the footballing world.

As for England not taking the Nations League seriously, didn’t we reach the finals in two of the first three incarnations of the competition? Two miserable displays against Hungary apart, I’d say we’ve embraced the competition as wholeheartedly as anyone.

 

That’s becuase they haven’t qualified through the relevant Euros U21’s in that time. It’s not because they rejected a place at any recent time.

 

Crystal Palace are also monitoring the situation of Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, 20, and will look to make an offer if the Englishman becomes available. (South London Press)

Newcastle are set to target Chelsea's 22-year-old English winger Noni Madueke if Eddie Howe's side sell Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almiron, 30, to Charlotte FC. (ipaper)

 

Fair one. I guess that restrictive selection process is another major reason why the competition just doesn't hold much significance for fans in a lot of countries. The age limit is a dampener in itself, but if you also can't be sure that all the best teams are taking part, then is there any real value in winning it?

 

I think he will go. Boro just signed Tommy Conway, there's no point staying there. Millwall rumoured as his possible new club.

 

It feels to me that he gets typecast as a bit of an old school target man because of his build, but his main strength is his off the ball movement and he probably lacks the express pace to really take advantage of that. I don't think anything much will happen with him until Boro are certain they can keep hold of Latte Lath during the window, so he may get a late loan move if they do. They got burned a bit losing Akpom late last year, so don't want a repeat scenario.

 

I really want Delap to do well. It’ll be a hard season for him but should be a great experience.

 

Quansah is not good at defending channels. I like him as a player but it's a massive weakness in his game. Seems to get exposed a lot.

 

I thought he was playing pretty well and not an obvious problem for Liverpool compared with maybe other areas.

 

I don't think he played poorly either, my comment was just in relation to Delap breezing past him on that far side. It's something that happened a lot last season and will be a problem if it's not addressed.

 

Yeah I get you there but maybe more of a concern is Jones and Elliot not getting on. Early days I know but signs Slot prefers others by the looks of it. Always a concern with new managers and young English players, I always feel they are easy picks to be left out for some reason.

 

I fancied Jones to start but I guess Slot has been vindicated in the midfield he's started.

We'll have to see how things go for Elliott this season but I've long thought he's in danger of becoming a perpetual squad player at Liverpool and never hitting his ceiling. He always says how much he loves it there but if he doesn't become a regular starter somewhere soon he'll likely never reach his potential. Whether he'd ever push to leave I don't know.

 

Some players are fine with that role. I think he supports Liverpool too.

 

It's hard to see it ever happening for Elliott at Liverpool really. I don't know what the deal with Slot is but certainly in Klopp's team he was always up against it lacking physicality and athleticism and todays team doesn't seem a marked departure. The bar for him to get in and stay in the team seems so much higher than the rest of their squad.

He'd probably be much better off if he went to La Liga or Serie A, though difficult to imagine that happening for a variety of reasons.

 

Well, he’s 21 now so if it doesn’t happen this season and he’s not a player that wants to settle on the bench then next season is really a important year to make a move elsewhere to get more first team football or get left in limbo. Not sure how long his contract is left though but if you’re serious about your career despite supporting that Club you have to be ready to move when the time is right.

 

Yeah, if that's what he wants it's hard to begrudge him. It's his career at the end of the day.

 

I really don't agree with burying players just after one game. A long season, plenty of games, injuries, forms etc.