Borland for me, I remember reading about getting him but I didn't make the link until reading above.
I expected to be impressed with the GK, I wasn't. Early days mind. I cant say any of them jumped out the way previous players have, maybe thats because they are now 'cogs in a machine'?
Or the opposition was so good that it was a tough match. Sometimes at age group football a superstar stands out because so many others just won’t make it. That pitch was covered in talent so it was harder to spot.
I thought it was a superb game and both teams deserve huge credit.
That's absolutely it. A decade or more ago, youth cup final teams might be made up mostly of players who won't even have a professional career, with one or two on display who stand head and shoulders above the rest. Even in our losing finalists from 15 years ago (Troy Deeney's brother was our captain then), none of them came close to having a top-flight career. I think the best was probably Daniel Johnson with a decade or so in the Championship. The majority never played professionally at all. Compare that to our winning team from four years ago, I think all the starters are still playing professionally, with a few having top-flight careers already.
I think the money in the game these days has made a lot of teams focus on their academies more, and the standard of youth players has leapt up as a result. There are still special players at that level, obviously, but it's MUCH harder to stand out than it was 15-20 years ago. I also think the modern game is such that the VERY good 17 and 18-year-old's won't be in the youth team, they're playing in the first team.
