Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:25 pm  

Bullseye wrote:

Send him to us. We'll make a player of him in the championship.

Then he can properly follow the career path I predicted of him a couple of years back, just the mirror of Gaskell.

[Bullseye]

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:30 pm  

It might well be his level.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:57 pm  

Bullseye wrote:

It might well be his level.

Frankly, I think Golding is going the same way.

It's a shame, but he has zero pace or ability the break the line.

Its a good job he has half decent goal line defence really.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Fri Aug 03, 2018 1:15 am  

Moving from centre to second row or vice versa isn't a no-brainer except in a few cases where players have the right build for either role (e.g. early career Ablett). To become really effective as a second row he'll have to train for it in the off season and then play there enough to become good at it. In the olden days that would have meant playing reserve grade for a while, but without that he should be on DR. Sutcliffe's been tried and failed in three different positions and played well over 100 games now. Surely he's burned through chances to use the first team as a training ground?

Golding's played about half as many games, but its time the onus was put on these young players to force themselves into the team rather than the club giving them seemingly endless chances. Part of the problem could be that we've been offering relatively long contracts to unproven young players for a while now, which means the club has to try to get the most out of them regardless of ability. Maybe its time we got more selective with those sorts of offers, or at least put options in the club's favour into them?

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Fri Aug 03, 2018 5:10 am  

For Sutcliffe and other youngsters I think we need to have a career plan for then and given them a chance to succeed. Sutcliffe has been shunted from one position to another based on availability and doing a job for the team. The coaches will probably love that, but it doesn't look great for fans. It's no surprise when he fails to be good in any one position. Same with Ratchford at Warrington. I'd think give him a role, and an off season to work on it, and let him play there all season. Only judge him after that. I'd hope that when we have someone that most people accept has talent, we prioritise getting the most from him before getting a chequebook out

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Fri Aug 03, 2018 5:42 am  

I feel a bit sorry for Sutcliffe and the other youngsters because it doesn't seem like the club was set up to really develop them. From some of Walkers comments when he was deciding to sign his contract, there was a lack of 1-2-1 coaching and more around group sessions. No one, in any career, will develop without a structured training plan and having someone to mentor them through. I think that with the changes we've seen, the club will be stronger in this respect under Kev and with his connection with Rob, we'll see a better pathway for the kids

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Fri Aug 03, 2018 7:07 am  

The problem is that the gap from U19s to first team is huge. We need a pathway to enable players to develop that doesn't involve them playing in the first team the whole time. Thats supposed to be a combination of DR/loans, but we haven't used it in that way properly IMO. I wouldn't argue Sutcliffe (and Golding to an extent) have been mucked around, but at the same time nobody should be given a starting shirt in a position they have barely played, at least at the start of a season.

All I'm saying is that if Sutcliffe wants to be a second row, he should be expected to go and work on his training to get physically right, and then go and prove himself at a lower level before he's given squad number 11.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Fri Aug 03, 2018 7:49 am  

Yes I agree with this.

I personally, unlike others, don’t feel like he has had a chance to prove himself in three different positions. I feel like he had a chance at stand off, in 2016 behind a busted pack in a failing side with first choice half back partner McGuire, injured for most of the season.

Other than that he hasn’t really had a straight run of games in any position. He was at fullback for a hand full of games, injured a lot, a run at centre last year including a pre season this year. But then again this year he’s played centre, stand off and second row as well as being injured. I feel his utility (jack of all trades) has hindered his progression leaving him now a master of no trade.

He’s contracted for one more year I believe so he’ll deff be here next year. It’s poibtless just saying he’s not good enough because he will be playing for us next year. He is an athlete in my opinion, if like you say he had a season to work on back row, not starting, but earning his place in the side then we may see some use out of him.

[Bullseye]

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Fri Aug 03, 2018 8:23 am  

The gap between 19s and SL is massive. It’s hard enough to come into a championship side from the 19s. Our 19s side is currently 4th in the league yet most of those players aren’t yet good enough to get in our first team in League 1. To expect your 19s to come in and excel in SL is unrealistic, especially in a side that’s struggling. You need to bring kids into a stable environment where they get brought on by players who are instilling good habits. Is that happening at Leeds? When the last generation came through there were a lot of quality seasoned professionals around them like McDermott, Furner, Duneman, Senior etc. The current Leeds first team doesn’t have that same quality and the experienced players are on their last legs. You run the risk of repeating Wigan’s failings when they brought through the likes of KevinBrown and Luke Robinson. Too much was expected of them and they failed because they weren’t backed up by a strong side around them.

In my view you need to spend some money and bring in some quality.

[Bullseye]

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Fri Aug 03, 2018 8:26 am  

Also chopping and changing a players club with multiple dual reg and loan deals can do more harm than good. Players have no stability and can get mixed messages from coaches depending where they are. It's hard to get any consistency as you have no time to settle and fit in with your new team if it's a month here or there.

It should be a choice between a season long loan or reserves. Short term loans and D/R are no good IMO.