Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: pauliewalnuts on August 09, 2025, 07:11:31 PM
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I'm very impressed. He's also bound to have his own thread soon, so I'll start it.
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I'm very impressed. He's also bound to have his own thread soon, so I'll start it.
What position does he play and who would you compare him to?
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Listed as a Central Midfielder and think he's playing next to Onana.
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He sounds like he should have been a Battle of Britain fighter ace, rather than a modern day footballer.
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I'm very impressed. He's also bound to have his own thread soon, so I'll start it.
What position does he play and who would you compare him to?
He's a defensive mid, which might be why Barrenechea was sold, thinking about it. He's only 18, too.
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I'm very impressed. He's also bound to have his own thread soon, so I'll start it.
What position does he play and who would you compare him to?
He's a defensive mid, which might be why Barrenechea was sold, thinking about it. He's only 18, too.
Yep, him and Bogarde seem to have been promoted to the first team squad, maybe jimoh as well.
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I'm very impressed. He's also bound to have his own thread soon, so I'll start it.
What position does he play and who would you compare him to?
He's a defensive mid, which might be why Barrenechea was sold, thinking about it. He's only 18, too.
Yep, him and Bogarde seem to have been promoted to the first team squad, maybe jimoh as well.
Bit of a stretch to say Bogarde has been promoted. He's a bit more advanced than Hemmings and Jimoh-Aloba. He was around the squad last season. Promoted in the sense that he seems to have taken Diego Carlos's spot.
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I'm very impressed. He's also bound to have his own thread soon, so I'll start it.
What position does he play and who would you compare him to?
He's a defensive mid, which might be why Barrenechea was sold, thinking about it. He's only 18, too.
Yep, him and Bogarde seem to have been promoted to the first team squad, maybe jimoh as well.
Bit of a stretch to say Bogarde has been promoted. He's a bit more advanced than Hemmings and Jimoh-Aloba. He was around the squad last season. Promoted in the sense that he seems to have taken Diego Carlos's spot.
If he’s taken Diego Carlos’ spot … is that different from him being promoted?
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Indeed, to me it looks like Jimoh, Hemmings and maybe 1-2 others will all be around the squad regularly and Bogarde will be cover for Konsa.
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Surprised he’s still going. Good spin bowler for Notts though.
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If he’s taken Diego Carlos’ spot … is that different from him being promoted?
What I mean is that I wouldn't group Bogarde in with Hemmings and Jimoh-Aloba. The latter 2 look like they'll be around the squad. Bogarde is more advanced than those 2 and looks like he'll be a lot more involved than them.
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He looked great in the Youth Cup run, but it's a big step up from U18s to senior football. I didn't see any of today's game, so how did he do, and where did he play?
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From the bits I saw he did OK but switched off a bit and didn't track the runner who crossed for their second goal.
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It’s also nice to see an 18 year old with a name that makes him sound like a 1970s trade union leader.
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Thought Hemmings had a really good game and didn't look out of place at all.
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He did one shimmy and drop of the shoulder that took out 2 players in the 2nd half, Rowe had to pay to get back in the stadium.
I assume he is covering for the injured Barkley atm in the squad, but he looks very comfortable on the ball, be good to have in the squad until January at least.
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It’s also nice to see an 18 year old with a name that makes him sound like a 1970s trade union leader.
he's got a good strike on him
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It’s also nice to see an 18 year old with a name that makes him sound like a 1970s trade union leader.
Middle name is Lawrence as well.
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It’s also nice to see an 18 year old with a name that makes him sound like a 1970s trade union leader.
Middle name is Lawrence as well.
GL Hemmings is definitely the name of a hardware store where you can buy pretty much anything - kitchen stuff, furniture, hammers, small toy section, paraffin, gardening stuff, ..
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Definitely prefer Spitfire pilot!
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I used to know a bloke with the surname Hemmings who was known to all as George, even though it wasn’t his actual name, so each time I see this thread title I have a double take as not only was he bluenose he’s been dead for 3 years.
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Surprised he’s still going. Good spin bowler for Notts though.
Even better as a seam bowler for Warwickshire!
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I made a post about his name but it was deleted. Don't think it was defamatory?
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He sounds like someone who might have drank in the Blind Beggar.
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The Blind Beggar used to be my local. George Hemmings sounds like he drank in the White Horse.
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I went to Whitechapel once years ago. I just remember there being loads of chicken takeaways.
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I made a post about his name but it was deleted. Don't think it was defamatory?
I hit the wrong button.
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It’s also nice to see an 18 year old with a name that makes him sound like a 1970s trade union leader.
Middle name is Lawrence as well.
GL Hemmings is definitely the name of a hardware store where you can buy pretty much anything - kitchen stuff, furniture, hammers, small toy section, paraffin, gardening stuff, ..
....Fork handles or Four Candles.
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Tanswell will have a piece on him next week. https://x.com/J_Tanswell/status/1954447455627477292
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Maybe a candidate to stick around and be part of the Europa squad?
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A 1:10 video of Hemmings vs Marseille....very intelligent for his age.
https://x.com/LeeAVFC1/status/1954438127633727852
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In the highlights vid, he made a couple of good through ball passes which should have been left to run by the front player as the better attacking option but they cotrolled it instead.
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Certainly looks decent, hope he keeps improving.
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Very composed on the ball and looks quite physical for his age.
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Surprised he’s still going. Good spin bowler for Notts though.
Interestingly, we bought this lad from Notts (Forest), IIRC.
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You're right.
I think George was effectively sent on 'gardening leave' for a few months until Villa and Forest agreed what the compensation fee was going to be.
One of the youth team coaches commented on how they expected him to improve a lot after this disruption to his development.
He has!
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I had (ashamed) not heard of him since this pre season.
ITs funny how you hear the names of the leading lights of the youth set up and then one comes out of nowhere.
I felt the same when JJ came on the scene with Dean Smith.
Pity he plays in the most stocked bit of the pitch for us - sure to go on loan somewhere
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Surprised he’s still going. Good spin bowler for Notts though.
Even better as a seam bowler for Warwickshire!
Didn't know he was seamer. Coincidentally I worked with Eddie's son, Tom, in Nottingham about 20 years ago.
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I had (ashamed) not heard of him since this pre season.
ITs funny how you hear the names of the leading lights of the youth set up and then one comes out of nowhere.
I felt the same when JJ came on the scene with Dean Smith.
Pity he plays in the most stocked bit of the pitch for us - sure to be sold to Chelsea and then go on loan somewhere
Fixed.
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GH in pre-season:
https://x.com/avfcthreads/status/1954847665939780050?s=46&t=GdM6cpVxe5IloByNCRheWA
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You can’t be a footballer and be called George Hemmings. I thought this was going to be a thread in off topic about a famous author or something.
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You can’t be a footballer and be called George Hemmings.
You can. Well, you could, I should say, in, say, the 1930s.
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With a name like George Hemmings he really needs to grow a thick moustache.
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Went to the 3 youth games at VP at the end of last season and thought he was outstanding. Positioning, work rate and not afraid to play a pass, but then for me there were 4-5 in that side I can see playing premier league level which is unusual for our youth sides. Hemmings stood out over Jimoh for me simply because of how much he got involved in the game, along with Rowe. Both look bright prospects, be nice to see them make it.
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Went to the 3 youth games at VP at the end of last season and thought he was outstanding. Positioning, work rate and not afraid to play a pass, but then for me there were 4-5 in that side I can see playing premier league level which is unusual for our youth sides. Hemmings stood out over Jimoh for me simply because of how much he got involved in the game, along with Rowe. Both look bright prospects, be nice to see them make it.
Yep, Proctor stood out as well and Burrowes and Routh look very good and have another year at that level.
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With a name like George Hemmings he really needs to grow a thick moustache.
he probably cant yet
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Went to the 3 youth games at VP at the end of last season and thought he was outstanding. Positioning, work rate and not afraid to play a pass, but then for me there were 4-5 in that side I can see playing premier league level which is unusual for our youth sides. Hemmings stood out over Jimoh for me simply because of how much he got involved in the game, along with Rowe. Both look bright prospects, be nice to see them make it.
Yep, Proctor stood out as well and Burrowes and Routh look very good and have another year at that level.
Carroll, Proctor, Burrows, Hemmings, Rowe and Route for me. And the lad who came on with blonde hair who's the nephew of someone at Luton that I've forgotten the name of completely. He was a full back but had huge amounts of energy, Stuart Pearce esque. Yellow boots.
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Went to the 3 youth games at VP at the end of last season and thought he was outstanding. Positioning, work rate and not afraid to play a pass, but then for me there were 4-5 in that side I can see playing premier league level which is unusual for our youth sides. Hemmings stood out over Jimoh for me simply because of how much he got involved in the game, along with Rowe. Both look bright prospects, be nice to see them make it.
Yep, Proctor stood out as well and Burrowes and Routh look very good and have another year at that level.
Carroll, Proctor, Burrows, Hemmings, Rowe and Route for me. And the lad who came on with blonde hair who's the nephew of someone at Luton that I've forgotten the name of completely. He was a full back but had huge amounts of energy, Stuart Pearce esque. Yellow boots.
Yep, the one who put in a couple of big tackles literally seconds after coming on, if I remember rightly? Took literally no time at all to get up to speed with the game!
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Went to the 3 youth games at VP at the end of last season and thought he was outstanding. Positioning, work rate and not afraid to play a pass, but then for me there were 4-5 in that side I can see playing premier league level which is unusual for our youth sides. Hemmings stood out over Jimoh for me simply because of how much he got involved in the game, along with Rowe. Both look bright prospects, be nice to see them make it.
Yep, Proctor stood out as well and Burrowes and Routh look very good and have another year at that level.
Carroll, Proctor, Burrows, Hemmings, Rowe and Route for me. And the lad who came on with blonde hair who's the nephew of someone at Luton that I've forgotten the name of completely. He was a full back but had huge amounts of energy, Stuart Pearce esque. Yellow boots.
Yep, the one who put in a couple of big tackles literally seconds after coming on, if I remember rightly? Took literally no time at all to get up to speed with the game!
And cleared one off the line.
I’m trying to think when it was I was first impressed by Hemmings. It was before that spectacular three-game season finale. Did he play in that cup the under 21’s play in? Or it might have been in the earlier FA Youth cup rounds. I went to the semi-final and I think other games were on YouTube.
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Surprised he’s still going. Good spin bowler for Notts though.
Even better as a seam bowler for Warwickshire!
Didn't know he was seamer. Coincidentally I worked with Eddie's son, Tom, in Nottingham about 20 years ago.
Very interesting. Yes, he changed to an off spinner after he moved to Notts.
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Went to the 3 youth games at VP at the end of last season and thought he was outstanding. Positioning, work rate and not afraid to play a pass, but then for me there were 4-5 in that side I can see playing premier league level which is unusual for our youth sides. Hemmings stood out over Jimoh for me simply because of how much he got involved in the game, along with Rowe. Both look bright prospects, be nice to see them make it.
Yep, Proctor stood out as well and Burrowes and Routh look very good and have another year at that level.
Borland and Hemmings together formed a great central-MF team.
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GH in pre-season:
https://x.com/avfcthreads/status/1954847665939780050?s=46&t=GdM6cpVxe5IloByNCRheWA
Only 18! He looks like seasoned DM in that video
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Him, Rowe (who i thought looked raw but very good) Jimoh should be included in the main squad for Europe as home grown if nothing else - but i can see them actually getting games they look that decent
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Him, Rowe (who i thought looked raw but very good) Jimoh should be included in the main squad for Europe as home grown if nothing else - but i can see them actually getting games they look that decent
Hemmings isn't eligible for that.
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Him, Rowe (who i thought looked raw but very good) Jimoh should be included in the main squad for Europe as home grown if nothing else - but i can see them actually getting games they look that decent
Hemmings isn't eligible for that.
Yep, double checked. All 3 are fine for the B list (which is where they'll be anyway) but Hemmings and Jimoh are a year short of being club-trained but they will be fine for that when it matters. Add Proctor and that's the 4 spaces filled pretty easily in a few years so long as they all keep developing.
The big one coming up is that Bogarde is eligible for the club-trained spot but he's still on the b list this season.
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One plus point - a new debutant.
And we "won" 1-0 while he was on the pitch.
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Didn’t look out of place in that cameo
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Was disappointed he didn't look like an olden days man with a curly moustache, slick-backed hair and hollow cheeks. Hopefully now his debut is out of the way, he will buck his ideas up going forward.
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Unless he is very unlucky with injuries, he is going to be a really good player for us.
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He hails from the Forest part of Notts so maybe tomorrow is a great day to give him more gametime ... hope so.
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Yes, we 'nicked' him from Forest, though he's from Derby.
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Looked decent, IMO. As close as we had to anything positive from today's game. Is he allowed to play on Thursday?
Edit: just checked and he was on the bench for our last European game so I guess he can.
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Excellent close control. Actually looked like he had some of Rogers' moves in his locker. Thought he was Morgan when he went on a couple of runs and fended off tackles. Start him in Turkey and give Youri a rest.
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Yes, the only positive out of the game for us today.
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Hopefully this can be the catalyst for him.
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Really like the look of him.
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Looked decent, IMO. As close as we had to anything positive from today's game. Is he allowed to play on Thursday?
Asked his mum and she said yes as long as he’s in bed by 10.
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Certainly one of the positives today. He looks a very promising player and injuries mean he'll get some opportunities in the next few weeks.
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Definitely earned a start on Thursday. A high point on a bad day at the office, although that’s a rather low bar I must admit.
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He did well when he came on.
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Clearly got enough to get regular cameo appearances. Looks composed and happy to have a go.
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Didn’t look out of place at all - he’ll almost certainly get another chance to show what he’s about on Thursday.
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I'll go well over the top and say I haven't seen a young player look so comfortable coming into senior football since watching a 17-year-old Gareth Barry when we were top of the Prem for four months.
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Injuries are often the opportunity for young players to step up.
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We are overdue a proper academy player breakthrough. One of our own and all that. Smashing.
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Wonder who we'll loan him to tomorrow.
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We are overdue a proper academy player breakthrough. One of our own and all that. Smashing.
Except we took him off Forest.
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We are overdue a proper academy player breakthrough. One of our own and all that. Smashing.
Except we took him off Forest.
Back in the day I used to know all the kids coming though. Clearly I’m out of the loop now.
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Looked assured!
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Wonder who we'll loan him to tomorrow.
Probably West Brom 😕
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Forest were furious about us signing him, I am sure his registration got held up for some reason when he came. He looks a very very decent prospect, but we need to bring him through carefully.
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Yes, Mason Cotcher suffered a delay in his arrival for the same reason.
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emery was praising him yesterday and i think he’ll start tonight
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emery was praising him yesterday and i think he’ll start tonight
There is a history of 18 year olds making good early morning so why not. Come on George show us what you’ve got!
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He will have learnt a lot after that first half. Big boots to fill and nowhere to hide. Plenty more chances to come.
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I don't think he should be singled out, as the whole team was below par in the first half, but he'll have learned a lot about the pressure of top-level football. Got caught with a ball a few times with pressure that I'm sure he's never seen in youth and reserve football. It's a shame for him that he wasn't part of the turnaround, but if this gives him the kick up the bum needed to raise his game, then great. He obviously has plenty of talent, let's see if he can learn from the tonight and step it up next time out...
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That was a tough half of football against a side full of energy and pressing intent, whilst playing for a side which were sluggish and only vaguely interested. It's a lesson for him and I'm sure he'll learn from it.
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That was a tough half of football against a side full of energy and pressing intent, whilst playing for a side which were sluggish and only vaguely interested. It's a lesson for him and I'm sure he'll learn from it.
Yeah, no harm done and good experience for the kid.
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He was targeted tonight, barely given an inch of space by a team who used up most of their energy in the first half.
Will learn loads from tonight and be better for it.
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That was a tough half of football against a side full of energy and pressing intent, whilst playing for a side which were sluggish and only vaguely interested. It's a lesson for him and I'm sure he'll learn from it.
We sold you to Roma according to Keown.
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Great experience for him. Would have been nice to see him in the second half when they'd tired rather than the first when they were impressive but, he'll learn.
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He did well and was put under a lot of pressure, having to receive the ball with no space. Interesting that his teammates kept putting him in that position too. I suspect it was a deliberate ploy to see how he'd cope.
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Or that they've seen him do it in training and been impressed so wanted to try it "in real life".
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They had two players on him every time he had the ball. That's respect. Kid has talent. Looked better going forward than defensively but at his age he can be whatever he wants to be. Mon George.
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They had two players on him every time he had the ball. That's respect. Kid has talent. Looked better going forward than defensively but at his age he can be whatever he wants to be. Mon George.
I think it was more swarming what they saw at the weak link when pressing. All teams do it. If they'd had a teenager making his first start for them, we'd have done similar.
He struggled a bit, but I think that was just the pace of the game and the pressing, rather than any lack of ability. I suspect he's not faced any pressure like that in youth and PL2 games. That's one of the things the kids who go on loan learn quickly, and he's not had that.
He'll be stronger for it, but if we see more of him, I'd like it to be a few sub appearances towards the end of games to give first-choice midfielders a breather and where he's likely to get a bit more time on the ball.
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Somewhat related: There's a good section in the Fozcast episode about youth players coming up into first team squad, where they are no longer the best player on the pitch. Also a bit about how strong every player is at the top level, even if they don't look like it.
From about 14min:
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At Saints, Courtney Lawes and Ludlam’s main objective in training was to humiliate and rough up Pollock.
I doubt our training would have allowed the focus to be on one player, Hemmings, so the difference he experienced would be huge.
He will be better for it in the long run.
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At Saints, Courtney Lawes and Ludlam’s main objective in training was to humiliate and rough up Pollock.
I doubt our training would have allowed the focus to be on one player, Hemmings, so the difference he experienced would be huge.
He will be better for it in the long run.
Apparently they do this with almost all of the academy players for a few weeks. 1 or 2 of the seniors will be tasked with targeting their weaknesses in training to show them how they're going to be singled out by the opposition and make them 'own' their training to fix those problems.
It clearly works because the quality they're bringing through is incredible. Pollock is the gold standard but the likes of Iyogun, Todaro, Hendy, etc are still all high end international quality players and every season there seems to a couple more stepping up.
Of any academy in any sport that's the one I'd be looking to replicate.
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At Saints, Courtney Lawes and Ludlam’s main objective in training was to humiliate and rough up Pollock.
I doubt our training would have allowed the focus to be on one player, Hemmings, so the difference he experienced would be huge.
He will be better for it in the long run.
Are you talking about rugby in the first paragraph? Genuinely don't get any of the references.
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Saints partner with schools like Stowe, providing an expensive education/safety net as well as the chance to be a professional rugby player. That means they attract the top talent in the region.
Given the sums involved, do football clubs do this or is the sport not attractive to elite schools?
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Mings did a sitxh form scholarship at a private school.