George Hemmings

[PeterWithe]

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.

[Drummond]

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.

[eamonn]

Or that they've seen him do it in training and been impressed so wanted to try it "in real life".

[cdbearsfan]

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.

[Smithy]

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.

[Garyth]

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:

[Dante Lavelli]

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.

[paul_e]

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.

[eamonn]

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.

[Dante Lavelli]

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?

 

[Sexual Ealing]

Mings did a sitxh form scholarship at a private school.