How improved are our youngsters?

[Concrete John]

For me:-

Clark: has ability on the ball, but being a ball playing defender is no use if you can't acually defend.  Losing faith in him and I'd start Baker right now ahead of him.  Longterm, possibly a useful squad player on the bench as could cover CB, LB and DCM.
Baker: like the kid, but he's injury prone.  Certainly one to keep, though.
Bennett: got high hopes for him next season.
Lowton: whoever said lack of pace abobe is right - too often get's beaten on the outside.  But I do think he's decent and should improve, with the lack of pace possibly being compensated for by learning to take up a better starting position.
Albrighton: needs to move on.
Delph: I would have said 'see Albrighton' a few months ago, but he's started to pick up.
Bannan: biggest problem is finding his best position.  OK for a squad player, but if we need to move one or two on to bring better in, I wouldn't be crying if he's one of them.
Herd: if he's OK sticking around as a squad player on low wages, then fine.
Bowery: too soon to judge. 
Benteke: star man!
Weimann: brilliant!
Westwood: like him a lot, but needs to play alongside a good strong DCM to get the best out of his talents.
Guzan: see Benteke and Weimann

[Mister E]

Here's my pen'worth:

Clark: has done well defensively in the RoI side and needs a more solid player alongside him at VP. Worth keeping and should develop into a regular and dependable CB.
Baker: his distribution is lousy and he dives in too much. But has promise. Keep.
Bennett: too early to judge - I think he may develop into a useful wing-back / LMF player. Keep, but we need another good LB in the squad.
Lowton: Not as effusive about him as some, but he has done okay. I think he may end up as a CB.
Albrighton: All the early promise seems to have drained away and he needs a move to resurrect his career.
Delph: I think we'll see a real resurgence in him over the next 15 months - a possible must-pick player.
Bannan: A squad player, for those games where we can be expansive.
Herd: I like him and have always felt that his abilities have been under-rated on here. A very useful squad player in DMF  and at RB.
Bowery: Too early to say.
Benteke: No need to comment!
Weimann: A star.
Westwood: I rate Westie highly  - a must-pick player.
Guzan: Thank goodness Lambert re-signed him.

Sylla: perhaps too early to say but potentially a clever purchase.
Lichaj: probably not quite good enough to warrant keeping.

A lot of the decisions on some of the question-marks above will depend on Lambert's view of the youngsters coming through - the likes of Johnson, Carruthers, Williams, Siegrist, Stieber, Burke, Grealish, etc.

[tomd2103]

Here's my pen'worth:

Clark: has done well defensively in the RoI side and needs a more solid player alongside him at VP. Worth keeping and should develop into a regular and dependable CB.

Probably needs a solid CB and LB either side of him to help him out.  I would still like to see another established CB brought in to challenge for his place. 

[PaulWinch again]

Clark hasn't learned from his error against Citeh, he just did a very similar thing against Austria.

[SoccerHQ]

Was about to say Clark looks better at international level as it's more slower paced and about reading the game which he does o.k...and then he pisses about with the ball again.

[Irish villain]

Clark howler tonight. Was very disappointed, my confidence in him has taken a big hit. Too many mistakes.

[paul_e]

Clark howler tonight. Was very disappointed, my confidence in him has taken a big hit. Too many mistakes.

Clark is in desperate need of a break for a game or 2 but we just can't afford to give him one, Lowton is the same.

[Concrete John]

Clark howler tonight. Was very disappointed, my confidence in him has taken a big hit. Too many mistakes.

Clark is in desperate need of a break for a game or 2 but we just can't afford to give him one, Lowton is the same.

If 'need of a break' is new speak for 'should be dropped', then I agree!

[Billy Walker]

In Clark's defence, he didn't put a foot wrong (as far as I could see) after the mistake. Mentally he's tough.  There's a few rough edges to his game that need smoothing though, I admit.

[peter w]

So much so that he was taken off after 70 odd minutes.

[hartman_1982]

So much so that he was taken off after 70 odd minutes.

*taken off injured.

[PaulWinch again]

Baker continues to make cataclysmic errors and it doesn't matter how well he plays the rest of the game, you cannot afford to lunge in like he does in the box.

[PaulWinch again]

Baker and Clark will never amount to anything if they don't learn from mistakes. It was clear the Ireland game the Clark hasn't learnt from his idiotic mistake against Man City. Baker clearly hasn't learnt you can't lunge in in the area.

[john in oz]

baker has a right foot that he can't use,should not be playing at centre half,maybe left back in the reserves

[Mortimer's Bear]

baker has a right foot that he can't use,should not be playing at centre half,maybe left back in the reserves

I think he's improving to be fair.