The Newcastle Journal are reporting today that Newcastle United have made a change to their youth policy and will no longer sign players who are under eighteen years of age.
Ben Tozer – didn’t make it at Newcastle
Aaron Spear and Ben Tozer are two examples of Newcastle signing younger players, and at the time they arrived at Newcastle they were highly rated youngsters, but they just didn’t come through, and of course it is safer signing older teenagers, although it’s always a risk with youngsters.
Ben came from Swindon in January of 2008 and the now 22 year-old signed on full time at Northampton Town in the summer of last year, after a loan spell with them, and after his contract was not renewed on Tyneside.
And it seems that 19 year-old Spear is now at Icelandic club IBV.
Graham Carr joined Newcastle after these youngsters were signed, and maybe he would have a better idea of who the best young players are, but it seems like Gael Bigirimana, who has made a fantastic start to his Newcastle career, will be the youngsters that Newcastle will pay out money for to bring them to Tyneside.
Is it just me or is Gael rapidly approaching what Cheick Tiote can do for Newcatsle?Maybe within a year Bigirimana will be a first team starter, and he’s certainly a fantastic signing – thanks Graham.
And the good news on the Youth Academy front is that the club have made all the necessary improvements to qualify for Category One status under the new Elite Player Performance Plan introduced by the Premier League, and who also initiated the new U21 Premier League to try to assist player development at clubs.
It was a blow and an embarrassment that we didn’t make the top category at the first attempt as neighbors Middlesbrough and Sunderland did, but the club have made an excellent recovery – and that’s very good.
Wonder is Newcastle will sign any new players this January – with Haris Vuckic and Dan Gosling both injured last night at Villa Park that will further put a staring on the small Newcastle squad.
Here’s hoping.
54 comments so far
Jail for Ashley
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:26 AM
Comment #1Being caught dogging with Claure Balding is too good for Ashley.
jeff
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:34 AM
Comment #2Hmm Ben Dover had So many potential.
Stupid retart pardew letting him go SMH
Tsunki
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:39 AM
Comment #3Jeff. Troll. Synonymous.
Jail – cheers for the mental image (throws away half eaten banana). 🙁
Tsunki
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:42 AM
Comment #4So is ibiza the new MOR bob? How the mighty have fallen!
wynsleap
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:45 AM
Comment #5Seems a bit strange that directive.
Aren’t our highly rated young goalkeeper Woodman and centre back Satko both below 18 and didn’t Gazza play for us before he was 18?
And here’s me thinking Ashley was a gambler. He’s obviously prepared to let other clubs purchase burgeoning young future talent.
No Rooneys for us then.
jesperfuglsang
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:46 AM
Comment #6Lets wait and see what the prognose is for both Gos and Vuckic (knock on wood)
…I haven’t heard anything from the club stating we won’t buy any players under 18; truth to be told, we just really haven’t bought that many players the last two seasons. That said Ed, I do think you’re right we are rewamping the whole structure of the U21 development team. We need to be a lot better at hatching these youngsters (take another que from Arsenal ;))
catchy in norway
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:47 AM
Comment #7some of these kids dont get a chance really,, some may not be good enough, but others are being left behind,,
i feel sorry for the likes of
romain
Mehdi Abeid
adam cambell
these lads are good enough to play more games, but pardew is holding them back,, in pardews words,, cambell is as good as shola ,,, why dont he get a chance
to a some degree, the xico kid,, to be fair to the lad he moved country at a young age, and got caught up in politics,, we killd his career ,, i dont mind given him 60k a week for doing that to him,, owen toook a lot more
catchy in norway
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:48 AM
Comment #8jesperfuglsang
(take another que from Arsenal )
i,e play them more????????
jesperfuglsang
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:50 AM
Comment #9Catchy…or loan them out more to a suitable team?
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:50 AM
Comment #10Ok, off my fence, sorry about the skid marks, I’ll get the karcher on it later…
Catchy….You feel sorry for Xisco? It wasn’t his fault the amount of money offered, that is a given. However, if he was more concerned about his playing career, he could have taken a pay cut to join another club or simply terminated his own contract. He hasn’t, he chose to collect his wages, which he is entitled to do. The club were foolish to offer it to him without checking him out further. That’s where it starts and stops for me. I can’t feel sorry for Xisco.
Conaldo (The Wizard)
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:51 AM
Comment #11What’s the crack with Ibiza then? Do we like him or should I get my pitchfork and book a flight? 🙂
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:56 AM
Comment #12Wizard….I’m fence sitting so undecided at the minute. I would certainly sharpen the pitchfork though. These things snowball pretty quickly and you don’t wanna be left behind.
tequilamag
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:57 AM
Comment #13Being saddled with a Wonga loan is too good for Ibiza
Graeme
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:58 AM
Comment #14Its a “catch 22” that this under 21 development league is obviously designed to get around.
Managers don’t want to risk young players in EPL where every single point counts so they don’t get games – If they don’t get games, how are they supposed to improve and develop into the next generation of stars??
Loaning them out to the lower divisions is one answer, but does it develop the skill levels required for EPL? Will they learn more skills in Div 1 or 2?
jesperfuglsang
Oct 9, 2012 at 9:58 AM
Comment #15Wizard…Ibiza has gone soft ever since that ‘unwashed girl’ got the best of him 😉
…I have told him to Man Up! ( I even suggested he listen to some the Blue Van)
spitfire_
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:01 AM
Comment #16With the big wonga wonga on the chest… is that mean that we will start to bring players on loan using they fast and screwin loans?
Conaldo (The Wizard)
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:02 AM
Comment #17Ibiza – you know I sharpen my pitchfork every night. Things can change pretty quickly round these parts, need to be prepared. 🙂
Conaldo (The Wizard)
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:07 AM
Comment #18Ibiza – here is an idiots guide to not sitting on the fence.
1. Whenever you don’t care, or have a balanced and reasonable opinion, say “it’s williamsons fault and we are in for 8 years of misery”
2. Whenever you strongly agree or disagree with something, whatever your opinion is, “it’s williamsons fault and we are in for 8 years of misery”.
Also, if you are sitting on a fence whilst actually physically sitting on a fence, do you just get shot there and then or is there some kind of trial. Double fence sitting seems like it would be pretty serious
Santon03
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:08 AM
Comment #19Graeme
I agree with you, but if we play them, there will be unhappy faces on the bench. for example, if AP decided to play adam campbel (AC), who will be sitting on the bench? I don’t think Ba or Cisse or Shola will be too happy. I know they should be supporting and having “the name in front is more important than the name on the back of the shirt” attitude, but that’s not gonna happen.
Also, a lot of people here would prefer we sign another first team players rather than playing youngsters, for example 99% will choose to sign Douglas than play Streete.
AndyMac
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:14 AM
Comment #20“Aaron Spear and Ben Tozer are two examples of Newcastle signing younger players, and at the time they arrived at Newcastle they were highly rated youngsters, but they just didn’t come through”
You’re forgetting the likes of Ranger and Kadar plus Soderberg who also slipped through the net ! In addition to those there were at least another dozen youngsters shown the door at the end of last season so maybe we should be asking questions of the coaching staff ? Perhaps a contributing factor in losing out on Cat 1 status ?
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:14 AM
Comment #21Conaldo…You are indeed wise and worthy of your Wizard title. I just assumed it goes without saying that everything is Williamson’s fault?
9/11 – Williamson
WWII – Williamson
Financial Crisis – Williamson
You can trace it back to the big bang, I bet you know who started that (and incidentally messed it up, but we can touch on that at a later date).
His biggest crime though, as you all know, if costing us a CL place last season, although to be fair, he shares that responsibility with our pub league RB.
Jesper…What’s their new album called? I haven’t listened to it yet, but I have formed an opinion that it is cr*p. End of.
I must admit, this is much easier.
Hey everyone, look outside, you see that colour in the sky – that’s purple. Fact. End of. Now move on gracefully.
Santon03
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:17 AM
Comment #22Note Manure game:
Why the f@#k did AP choose to play with 4-4-2 again? MAnure playing with so many attacking midfields and we have weak CB and only Tiote covering. Sometimes I find AP really irritating. I don’t think he knows other tactics other than 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. Sometimes we like to shot ourself on the foot.
bollance
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:17 AM
Comment #23Another bold move by our club
I disagree to a point with this. Surely the strategy should be to not sign players with no 1st team experience.
If Bigi was 1 year younger then would that mean we would not buy him? Or if he was a year younger and had not yet signed pro contract so we only had to pay minimal compensation.
We should be looking at young players who are now playing in championship an league 1 regardless of being 18 or over.
As long as they are not hyped up and too expensive!
Maybe the reality is that we will only bring in those who we can pick up for next to nothing but already have a good pedigree. So we will look abroad to players like Abeid who are better value.
Santon03
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:18 AM
Comment #24*shoot and any other typo 😛
jesperfuglsang
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:19 AM
Comment #25Ibiza…Would You Change Your Life?
…No, that is the name of the new the Blue Van album 😀 lol (now can we please have the diplomatic Ibiza back who just need to Man Up!)
You are very difficult to get to listning to foreign music aren’t you 😉 (had the problem with you regarding Mew) lol
ElliIceland
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:19 AM
Comment #26Aaron Spear isn´t that good. He plays here in Iceland, is young but not good enough.
catchy in norway
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:19 AM
Comment #27ibiza,, some things he can help himself with,, but come on,, for him to leave newcastle for anywhere, he will have to lose more than half his wage,, probably more than 2/3s,, no,, i wouldnt leave to, he has been left so far behind,, and it is 90% the clubs fault,,,
and sorry but if a kid at 17 is better than a man of 30,, why should the guy of 30 get in the team because he is older???
this is part of my argument,, pardew picks his faves,, and not the players who would do the job better regardless of age
on jonas,, i am not denying he will run all day for you, and that is why i liked him so much,, but when you need that little bit of something extra, like crosses, well those do come from him, but in the form of free kicks, he falls down alot, but this also gives the other team time to regroup,,
no, for me, if he is in the team as a left winger,, we have better options in the squad
jesperfuglsang
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:20 AM
Comment #28*same problem
Rotonda heights
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:21 AM
Comment #29catchy right again.
You don’t wish injury on anyone but Gosling is no loss whatsoever and maybe Pardew will stop dicking about and play people on merit like Abeid.
Graeme
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:22 AM
Comment #30Santon, not really a workable example – Shola is the past, although still capable of a good game every month or so!
Ba and Cisse are the “Present” but are not working as a pair of Strikers. Why not mix it up by playing Adam Campbell, “the future”, with either of them? It gives us something different and could work better than two non-complementary strikers.
A bit like playing Shearer with Bellamy or Supermac with Tudor. Its up to the Manager to get the best options for the “TEAM” and leave the ego’s in the dressing room!!
Conaldo (The Wizard)
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:22 AM
Comment #31Ibiza – I have taught you well young padawan.
catchy in norway
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:22 AM
Comment #32AndyMac
there was also an italian striker that came around the same time
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:26 AM
Comment #33Jesper…For you I would change the world.
No, no more diplomatic Ibizatoon. I will rule with an iron fist (or keyboard – or font -hmmm….will bold wording help my cause???) and people will agree or flee the blog.
With regards to your foreign music comment, that’s one band I haven’t taken to, Blue Van I like and did before you mentioned them. Mew i will revisit at some point, probably wasn’t the best day 😉
So, some advice, wait, I don’t take advice, I blindly form absolute opinions (they may as well be called facts). I will continue to use Smiley faces, winks and such – mainly to confuse people whilst delivering Gaddafis orders.
WWYCD
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:27 AM
Comment #34Is Spears not the lad who got home sick and depressed so we terminated his contract so he could head home? If not who was that?
tequilamag
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:28 AM
Comment #35Catchy if your correct how come he picks Bigi so often?
I don`t think age is the issue with Pardews selection. If a player is ready he will get the chance. If Abeid or Romain is not selected it`s probably because Pardew is making a judgement on whether or not they are ready to be effective in the first team.
catchy in norway
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:29 AM
Comment #36Rotonda heights
i dont even want obertan injured lol
bollance
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:31 AM
Comment #37Andymac
In all prem teams not many come through. How many have come through for us in the past decade? 3 or 4?
Clearing out the youth team is vital to give players like Campbell a path to the first team.
In order to break through there are so many things you need to have goin for you an luck is certainly something which is vital because arguably the most hyped young player we have had in the last few seasons is vuckic and he has been so unlucky with injuries.
I honestly believe if he had not got injured in the championship season he would have been slowly been blooded into the team. But we will never know.
The clearing out of the worse players has also meant we now have another potential star in satka who is 16 and playing centre back for the u21 team. That is some achievement because defenders need to ready physically to play at higher levels and by all accounts he is still a boy. So the lad must have other attributes which overcompensate.
Get used to the clearing out of the youth teams and development squad and the fast tracking of players like satka and Campbell.
Pardew knows what he is doing. Southampton had a golden generation with players like bale, Walcott etc coming through though not sure how much can be credited to pards!
geordiesteve520
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:32 AM
Comment #38I think some of us are misreading this article (or perhaps I am) especially Wynn’s Leap @5. It doesn’t presume that we are going to scrap our youth system, nor stop signing youth players. What it essentially says is that we will stop paying £1m+ for unproven teenage talent based on youth appearances. Will will continue to scout for the best and brightest (hopefully) but now instead of taking them before they’ve played, like Tozer and Spear we will sign after they’ve proved they can handle, like Bigi. Woodman and Satka, as well as the lad from Bristol City (Rolando something) were signed on youth deals so little if any fee was paid to a club they’ve come from, if indeed they were attached to a pro/amateur club.
Just wondering how much we paid for Vuckic and whether that was a transfer fee/compensation deal.
bollance
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:33 AM
Comment #39Wwycd
Yes, that was the reason sighted for him leaving the academy
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Oct 9, 2012 at 10:33 AM
Comment #40Wizard…Taught me? When and what? These are my opinions and I formed them by myself and I am right.
Catchy…..That is what I was trying to say. It is the clubs fault for offering him that much in the first place. He is perfectly in his right to stay and collect this money, but then claims that his playing career has been ruined by Newcastle are incorrect. If he valued his playing career more and not money, he did have a choice. So why should anyone feel sorry for him? As I say, I understand why he hasn’t, perhaps he doubts his own ability and chances of pulling himself back into contention for a decent contract elsewhere?
On Jonas, if you read through my previous posts (I don’t recommend you do, there are a fair few), I am a big fan of Jonas, but not at LW or even LB. He can do a decent enough job for me a CDM, however, we have better players there, so therefore he in theory in no longer a starter. Sad times, but I guess that means we are improving as a squad. No, that can’t be right, we’re going backwards….ahhhh…relegation looms….oh my god…..wheres my brown paper bag. Breathe in, breathe out.