Gary Gardner - including loan to Coventry

[WALTERS WARRIORS]

Gardner hat trick tonight. How can anyone say he is not ready for his first team debut ? Is it possible for anyone to believe he would not of been better on the right of midfield rather than Hutton last night or anywhere in our midfield ?

It's one thing being good in the u19s; it's a whole different ball game to make it in the Premier League as part of a struggling team.  The lad needs time to develop.

He's out of their league and needs to develop in the First team....and we need him to develop...no pressure then.....but if he's good enough he's old enough

He now has had time to develop. He was given plenty of time after his injury to recuperate. Since then he has gone from strength to strength. He has three games for England U21`S and has simply been outstanding in the reserves. They will either put him on loan (which i think would cause a riot) or start on the bench with a few cameo roles which i am sure he would be better than anything we have in midfield. Gardner is ready ........

[Mister E]

It's interesting that other teams do not seem to have such an issue about "is he old enougb yet?" - I can't be arsed to check all the details, but how old were the following when they debuted and then started holding down a regular slot? -
at the Arse: Fabregas, Wilshere, Walcott, Clichy, Gibbs, Ramsey?
at Everton: Rooney, Rodwell, Gosling, Coleman?
at Manure: Gibson, Cleverley, Fabio / Rafael, Smalling

The question is simple: is GG good enough to make an impact at Premiership level? - if yes, then give him some game-time; if not, put him out on loan in the Championship for regular competitive football.
But don't do nothing!

[Ad@m]

It's interesting that other teams do not seem to have such an issue about "is he old enougb yet?" - I can't be arsed to check all the details, but how old were the following when they debuted and then started holding down a regular slot? -
at the Arse: Fabregas, Wilshere, Walcott, Clichy, Gibbs, Ramsey?
at Everton: Rooney, Rodwell, Gosling, Coleman?
at Manure: Gibson, Cleverley, Fabio / Rafael, Smalling

The question is simple: is GG good enough to make an impact at Premiership level? - if yes, then give him some game-time; if not, put him out on loan in the Championship for regular competitive football.
But don't do nothing!

For all the kids who make it there are at least twice as many who don't.  Just looking at the Villa back catalogue, where are S Moore, L Moore, Hogg, Forrester, etc, etc now?

I don't doubt the kid's good (although I've never seen him play myself) and in other circumstances I'd be all for giving him a taste of the 1st team, but we're struggling at the moment and putting him under pressure to deliver when more seasoned pros around him aren't can have long-term damaging effects.

[Mister E]

The question is simple: is GG good enough to make an impact at Premiership level? - if yes, then give him some game-time; if not, put him out on loan in the Championship for regular competitive football.
But don't do nothing!

For all the kids who make it there are at least twice as many who don't.  Just looking at the Villa back catalogue, where are S Moore, L Moore, Hogg, Forrester, etc, etc now?

I don't doubt the kid's good (although I've never seen him play myself) and in other circumstances I'd be all for giving him a taste of the 1st team, but we're struggling at the moment and putting him under pressure to deliver when more seasoned pros around him aren't can have long-term damaging effects.

Or, it could be the making of him.

Having more seasoned pros in the side is fine if they're motivated, committed and giving leadership. Sometimes, however, the young, spunky player who has the right temperament is a better choice.

Since I do not work with any of the players I cannot make the judgement - I can only go from what I've read and heard about players like GG.

The list of recent Villa duds contains players who were all give a chance and found wanting (unlike Vassell, GA, Albi, BB and Herd) - it sounds to me like itn is now time to see whether GG has what it takes.

My key point was that the club should deploy GG in a role that forces him on to more stretch targets - Championship loan or first team opportunity - rather than do nothing.

[Mazrim]

I think these damaging effects are a myth personally or at least overstated.
As long as the fans give him time and he's used in the role he is accustomed to I see no problems at all.
If you hold him back too long it could be more damaging to his confidence than to throw him in.

When you have an exceptional talent like Gardner (and he's been touted as such since he was under 10), holding them back is pointless. This isn't a player we're not sure of, it's one of the outstanding young players in the country.

And his attitude says to me he will thrive when he does get his chance. He wants the ball, he wants to be involved, he wants to control the game and when the likes of £20m Liverpool big bollocks Jordan Henderson try and take free kicks he tells them to fuck off and sticks them in himself, because he knows he's better than they are and THAT is exactly what we need.

[Risso]

However good Gardner is, he isn't going to be our saviour.  However, he can't be any worse an option than playing a shit rightback in midfield, so chuck hin into the fray I say.  A bit of excitement would be nice.

[N'ZMAV]

I'm confused about Herd. I thought he actually is a midfidler that was forecd into the back four a couple of times. As for Gardner. Surely he'd have done a better job on monday night then Hutton did on the right hand side, even if it's neither of their natural position. Gardner will play a part at some point soon. McLeish will have to start scraping the barrell soon enough, and he'll be forced to use Gardner.

[N'ZMAV]

Younger players have been chucked in at the deep end before and come out of it well. Let's play this kid. If he is going to be a world beater, then lets see it. The very best crop of young players are usually regulars by now.

[Somniloquism]

We can't be playing Gardner on the wing like we did with his brother as it will be a waste. He is better in the centre and you will be negating his shot power and tackling on the wing. I would expect he could be used instead of or in partnership with Herd.

[Mazrim]

There's absolutely no need to use Gardner wide. We have N'Zogbia and Albrighton for that plus other players who can cover there and in a year or two, some very promising options there (Grealish, Graham etc..).

[Mister E]

I think these damaging effects are a myth personally or at least overstated.
As long as the fans give him time and he's used in the role he is accustomed to I see no problems at all.
If you hold him back too long it could be more damaging to his confidence than to throw him in.

When you have an exceptional talent like Gardner (and he's been touted as such since he was under 10), holding them back is pointless. This isn't a player we're not sure of, it's one of the outstanding young players in the country.

And his attitude says to me he will thrive when he does get his chance. He wants the ball, he wants to be involved, he wants to control the game and when the likes of £20m Liverpool big bollocks Jordan Henderson try and take free kicks he tells them to fuck off and sticks them in himself, because he knows he's better than they are and THAT is exactly what we need.

My points exactly.

[Somniloquism]

It's interesting that other teams do not seem to have such an issue about "is he old enougb yet?" - I can't be arsed to check all the details, but how old were the following when they debuted and then started holding down a regular slot? -
at the Arse: Fabregas, Wilshere, Walcott, Clichy, Gibbs, Ramsey?
at Everton: Rooney, Rodwell, Gosling, Coleman?
at Manure: Gibson, Cleverley, Fabio / Rafael, Smalling

The question is simple: is GG good enough to make an impact at Premiership level? - if yes, then give him some game-time; if not, put him out on loan in the Championship for regular competitive football.
But don't do nothing!

For all the kids who make it there are at least twice as many who don't.  Just looking at the Villa back catalogue, where are S Moore, L Moore, Hogg, Forrester, etc, etc now?

I don't doubt the kid's good (although I've never seen him play myself) and in other circumstances I'd be all for giving him a taste of the 1st team, but we're struggling at the moment and putting him under pressure to deliver when more seasoned pros around him aren't can have long-term damaging effects.

Whilst you do have a point, some of the ones listed above and some you didn't list (Osbourne) have had  poor attitudes rather then poor ability at the top level. Stefan and Luke are prime examples. Both thought they had made it and both have plenty of skill. You can't tell me Stefan, at 28, is only good enough for the Southern Prem or the United Counties league.

[Mister E]

BTW, I did write some stuff about GG earlier this year - you may want to read it here: http://bit.ly/nb53ZV; I'd be interested to know whether you agree with the synopsis.

[PeterWithe]

He's Mr September (inset) in the 2012 calendar.

[villajk]

hope we're not considering loaning him out at the moment.