Jump to content
  • Sign up for free and receive a month's subscription

    You are viewing this page as a guest. That means you are either a member who has not logged in, or you have not yet registered with us. Signing up for an account only takes a minute and it means you will no longer see this annoying box! It will also allow you to get involved with our friendly(ish!) community and take part in the discussions on our forums. And because we're feeling generous, if you sign up for a free account we will give you a month's free trial access to our subscriber only content with no obligation to commit. Register an account and then send a private message to @dave u and he'll hook you up with a subscription.

Youth Team/Cup


old skool tom
 Share

Recommended Posts

11 minutes ago, Halcyon Days said:

How does a 19yr old Scouser with obvious football talent end up in Yorkshire?

We were heavily linked with a move for him when he was making his way through the ranks at Wigan.

 

According to an article on HITC from a year or so ago, apparently, ourselves and Everton rejected the lad before he joined Wigan's academy, so I can only assume that those rejections may have been in his mind when Leeds came along and snatched him up last year.

Quote

“I’ve had eight years here, but before I joined the club, I was rejected three or four times by local teams like Liverpool and Everton,” said Gelhardt. “The experience I’ve had at Wigan on the way up the age groups has been really good, but I’ve had to work very hard for it.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Dynamite said:

We were heavily linked with a move for him when he was making his way through the ranks at Wigan.

 

According to an article on HITC from a year or so ago, apparently, ourselves and Everton rejected the lad before he joined Wigan's academy, so I can only assume that those rejections may have been in his mind when Leeds came along and snatched him up last year.

Cheers for that, totally bypassed me this story having never heard of the kid. Be interesting to see how his career develops.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Halcyon Days said:

Cheers for that, totally bypassed me this story having never heard of the kid. Be interesting to see how his career develops.

I recall seeing him play for Wigan against us in an FA Youth Cup game a couple of years back and he was one of the smallest players on the pitch, but also one of the best, certainly the best player for Wigan at the very least.

 

So, I can only assume that he'd been rejected previously on the basis of his size for his age group.

 

He's ~5'9" now, so again, not the biggest, but the lad has ability and has been a prolific goalscorer at the youth levels.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Dynamite said:

I recall seeing him play for Wigan against us in an FA Youth Cup game a couple of years back and he was one of the smallest players on the pitch, but also one of the best, certainly the best player for Wigan at the very least.

 

So, I can only assume that he'd been rejected previously on the basis of his size for his age group.

 

He's ~5'9" now, so again, not the biggest, but the lad has ability and has been a prolific goalscorer at the youth levels.

Shame that, nothing better than a local lad coming through the ranks who can put the ball in the back of the net. It’s been too long! We must have used all our luck up with Owen and Fowler.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just searched this thread back and found posts from AiG when he was posting about a Premier League Cup game at the back end of 2019. 

 

On 06/10/2019 at 15:27, alles ist gut said:

2-1

Gelhardt with a solo goal after a 30-yard run, gives Kelleher no chance.

 

On 06/10/2019 at 16:22, alles ist gut said:

3-2

Gelhardt cuts inside Gallacher and his shot beats Kelleher at the near post.

This was around the time we were being heavily linked with a move for him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Halcyon Days said:

Obviously got talent the lad, arses at Kirkby and Finch Farm academies must be twitching a bit.

Happens plenty. Players are dismissed as they are very small for their age yet have the talent and heart that bigger players don't, but for a number of years, size mattered most. Unfortunately for Gelhardt, he may well have fallen foul to size bias when he was a kid.

 

I still think that there's a preference for bigger lads at the youth level, but there are a number of smaller players coming through our ranks now, so I hope that this is a sign that the Academy is now looking at ability and character over their physical size when kids are coming into the Academy.

 

One such small player in and around the 18s this season is Tommy Pilling - one to keep an eye on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, sir roger said:

From our youth games I have seen over the past few years he was probably ditched because he was too big.

Yes, that's the way it looks to me, the coaches seem to like nimble youngsters with quick feet and ball skills. That looks good on the eye but doesn't often translate into into the 'finished article' at the more advanced stages.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share


×
×
  • Create New...