Agyei off to U20 World Cup?

[agreenwood]

Not sure it was mentioned on here, but just read a report in the dreaded Daily Mail from last week that Agyei is likely to be called into the England U20 squad for their World Cup this summer.

Good news if true.

[Claretmatt4]

Very good news. Hope he continues to get minutes here and there. Has he played at the turf yet?

[ClaretTony]

It came out of the blue last week but there is some logic to it - young striker just past 20 getting involved with a Premier League first team. You would expect them to take the opportunity to have a look at him at u20 level.

[ablueclaret]

I fancy he'll be better than Gray in 3 years time.

[boatshed bill]

I fancy he'll be better than Gray in 3 years time.

Why?

[chekhov]

I fancy he'll be better than Gray in 3 years time.

You must have seen a lot of him coming up through the ranks to be able to say that.

[ablueclaret]

Watch how he moves, he has trickery and vision, of course he may go backwards but from what I have seen he has all the attributes a forward needs, but we will see.

[Funkydrummer]

You must have seen a lot of him coming up through the ranks to be able to say that.

Not essential.

[ablueclaret]

There are some players who stand out for a reason, 10 minutes of watching Trevor Steven was enough to know you had a player of class, 20 minutes watching Danny Ings and you knew he had something different, lovely twinkling feet, 30 minutes of watching Ben Mee and you knew you had the complete committed defender. For me Agyei has that something special quality, as to whether he can make use of it, only time will tell

[boatshed bill]

There are some players who stand out for a reason, 10 minutes of watching Trevor Steven was enough to know you had a player of class, 20 minutes watching Danny Ings and you knew he had something different, lovely twinkling feet, 30 minutes of watching Ben Mee and you knew you had the complete committed defender. For me Agyei has that something special quality, as to whether he can make use of it, only time will tell

You could be right about all that, but you don't know how good Gray will be.

[FulledgeClaret]

You could be right about all that, but you don't know how good Gray will be.

Gray won't improve much more, he is just shy of 26 and his pace will slowly leave him in the next few yrs he may improve some aspects (control movement etc) but overall he isn't going to get much better from here on in.

[boatshed bill]

Gray won't improve much more, he is just shy of 26 and his pace will slowly leave him in the next few yrs he may improve some aspects (control movement etc) but overall he isn't going to get much better from here on in.

That's him written off then.
perhaps I'm a little more optimistic, and thinking of other strikers who have arrived at top level football a little late in their careers.
I would like to think that Gray will continue to develop his game.

[ThinLizzy]

For me Agyei has that something special quality, as to whether he can make use of it, only time will tell

He's barely played for the first team. Has he touched the ball yet? Granted, he needs service to do something with it. I am not having a go at the lad, but you've come to the conclusion he has something about him based on what?!
I mean if you see me with a pinny, some eggs and a frying pan you'll probably think 'He's going to fry an egg, or make an omelette'. You're not going to think 'That guy is the next Gordon Ramsey'!

[UpTheBeehole]

He's barely played for the first team. Has he touched the ball yet? Granted, he needs service to do something with it. I am not having a go at the lad, but you've come to the conclusion he has something about him based on what?!
I mean if you see me with a pinny, some eggs and a frying pan you'll probably think 'He's going to fry an egg, or make an omelette'. You're not going to think 'That guy is the next Gordon Ramsey'!

If you want a chef analogy then this is the same as a top hotel sampling the food of a young chef at a small bistro a few years ago, so they offered him a commis chef role in their kitchen. The hotel placed him at a smaller establishment as sous chef and he did well. The top chefs and sous chef at the hotel haven't all been available recently, so he's been acting up, after proving a good commis chef. He could lead service by the summer possibly.

[quoonbeatz]

i stood next to agyei outside the turf last year. he's a big lad.

he'd just been to the chippy.

[Sidney1st]

i stood next to agyei outside the turf last year. he's a big lad.

he'd just been to the chippy.

What did he order?

[quoonbeatz]

chips

[quoonbeatz]

might have had a sausage as well actually.

[Sidney1st]

No pie?

I'm disappointed.

[Lord Beamish]

He's obviously not acclimatising to Northern Life because he didn't order Gravy with his Chips.

He'll be off down South at the first whiff of a Saveloy.
Mark my words.

[BurningBeard]

No gravy at the chippy, and what's a saveloy?

[TheFamilyCat]

No gravy at the chippy, and what's a saveloy?

It's that posh hotel that they have in London.

[Burnleyareback2]

I fancy he'll be better than Gray in 3 years time.

In the Edgar "role"

[cblantfanclub]

Lost count of the number of people who told me Ashley Hoskins was better than Trevor Steven and that was after more than 10 mins. so please stop talking rubbish.
Young players very often do not develop how you would expect - especially after watching for 10 mins.
I'm afraid this just goes to show that your opinions are suspect at best.

[HiroshimaClaret]

There are some players who stand out for a reason, 10 minutes of watching Trevor Steven was enough to know you had a player of class, 20 minutes watching Danny Ings and you knew he had something different, lovely twinkling feet, 30 minutes of watching Ben Mee and you knew you had the complete committed defender. For me Agyei has that something special quality, as to whether he can make use of it, only time will tell

I hope you`re right, ABC! Trevor Steven!!!!! I was too young to truly appreciate his talent (8-10 at the time) but was star-struck when I saw him at Clitheroe Castle and it took all my nerve to ask him for his autograph.

I used to think Neil Grewcock was a superstar too!!!!!!!!!!! For what it`s worth, I agree with you wholeheartedly regards Tarkowski...looks to have it!

This thread has also reminded me of seeing a 19 or 20 year old Trevor Sinclair playing for Blackpool reserves on the Turf. I KNEW then after watching the game he would be a fantastic player.

[Socrates]

I hope you`re right, ABC! Trevor Steven!!!!! I was too young to truly appreciate his talent (8-10 at the time) but was star-struck when I saw him at Clitheroe Castle and it took all my nerve to ask him for his autograph.

I used to think Neil Grewcock was a superstar too!!!!!!!!!!! For what it`s worth, I agree with you wholeheartedly regards Tarkowski...looks to have it!

This thread has also reminded me of seeing a 19 or 20 year old Trevor Sinclair playing for Blackpool reserves on the Turf. I KNEW then after watching the game he would be a fantastic player.

Trevor Sinclair made his Blackpool debut at 16 and had played over a hundred times for them when he moved to QPR just before his 20th birthday.

You may want to have a think about your post.

[ablueclaret]

Well if you couldn't see that Steven was exceptionally gifted after watching a few minutes of him you must not have been a great judge of a player.
That he never went on to be the player he could have been appeared down to a certain lack of self belief at the highest level, footballing ability will only get you so far. Much more limited players often go further by dint of imposing themselves on the game. Wilkins was the classic example of a much more limited player who managed to get more time at the top for reasons other than his footballing prowess. Steven was a class above him.

[HiroshimaClaret]

Trevor Sinclair made his Blackpool debut at 16 and had played over a hundred times for them when he moved to QPR just before his 20th birthday.

You may want to have a think about your post.

Fair enough, Socrates...sorry. I was miles out with the age...must`ve been 16 that night but my basic point still stands. The night he played for the Tangerines` reserves against us (saw lots of reserve games back then and he was about the best of the upcoming opposition), he stood out a country mile and I knew he was going to be a good `un. Possibly at the time, Paul Smith was looking a VERY good prospect for us but again, dates/ages could be wrong.

[Socrates]

Paul Smith was 13 when Sinclair made his Blackpool debut.

He didn't join Burnley until 1992 when Sinclair was an established first team player at Blackpool.

[HiroshimaClaret]

Paul Smith was 13 when Sinclair made his Blackpool debut.

He didn't join Burnley until 1992 when Sinclair was an established first team player at Blackpool.

I thought my wife was 22 when I started dating her. Is it time to check the birth certificate??????