With City playing their first of two games on their post-season tour of the United States against Toronto tonight, we spoke to City youth football enthusiast Steven McInerney to get the lowdown on the academy prospects who have joined the first team on their travels.
There is particular praise for a certain Spanish full-back, accompanied by some thoughts on how Jose Angel Pozo has struggled this season. In addition to this, Steven also offers his views on Pellegrini’s decision to not include any youth players in the final day clash with Southampton, and the importance of this trip for some of the players.
Is it refreshing to see a good bunch of the youth players travel with the first team, having already seen some of them overlooked for the final Premier League game of the season against Southampton?
It is. There’s no point sugar-coating it – I was incredibly disappointed that at least a couple of the EDS players didn’t make the bench for the Southampton game. Yes, there was a ‘job to be done’, and yes it was possibly a chance to say goodbye, allegedly, to some of the players set to depart, but these kids are the future of our club and even symbolically it would have been huge for one or two of them to make the match day squad. It’d send out a message to all involved within the academy that if they were good enough, they’d be noticed. To be ignored for what was effectively a dead rubber must have a little disheartening, especially considering many other clubs had taken similar opportunities to blood a few. These are very talented young players and they deserve this chance, at very least. I’m looking forward to their involvement in both these games and the pre-season tours.
For you does this suggest that Pellegrini is aware of some of the talents City have at their disposal, but is a bit skeptical to fully weave them into the first team picture?
He most certainly is aware of them – in fact I’ve seen him at a fair few youth games sat alongside Txiki Begiristain and Marwood. It’s his job to know and the club doesn’t spend £200million on a state of the art academy for any developments to be ignored. There’s also the fact that these youth players train day in day out at the same place as the first team. They fully well know of the talent at disposal so it’s hard to fathom why they weren’t selected (for the game against Southampton). Perhaps Pellegrini was acting in the interests of self preservation with his selection – why should he put his job and reputation at risk if there’s a chance that he won’t even be around to reap the benefits? Especially considering his future is supposedly still up in the air. A victory at Southampton after that run would have been a nice way to end the season for him after everything he’d be through. Harsh on the kids if so, but potentially understandable if true.
There’s also the simpler and equally more plausible outlook that maybe yes, he just doesn’t quite trust them yet. I wouldn’t agree, but it’s fair enough. Maybe Txiki and Mark Allen, head of the academy, don’t either. Wilcox and Vieira could be sending out similar messages. As much as it’s frustrating as a fan, I’d be lying if I said I knew exactly what they had planned for each individual and I guess we have to trust the intuition of those at top. Even if I do think that sometimes you don’t know until you actually give them a go. It’s all very good wrapping up a player in cotton wool, but you’ve got to see if they sink or swim at some point. If they do, fine, send them back to the CFA and slowly introduce them over time or send them out on loan until they mature. Nothing much lost or gained – just a slightly nervy fifteen minute debut spell perhaps. It happens. If they don’t sink and they perform…well we’ve just found a new first team player for nothing. Great. Point being, that can’t happen until we make the plunge.
Brandon Barker, Bersant Celina, Thierry Ambrose and George Evans travelled with the first team back in December when the team flew to Abu Dhabi to play Hamburg. With the exception of Ambrose who is injured, they are all back in the fold for this trip. Does that signal to you that Pellegrini has been monitoring the progress of these players?
Their inclusion makes sense. Barker has been a standout player for the academy all season – he went off the boil a little towards the end of the year, but he’s a phenomenal talent. A real match winner on his day. Likewise, Celina had a little bit of a breakthrough this season, excelling first for the u18s and then going on something of a hot streak for the EDS, finding the net on a pretty frequent basis – some of them pretty wonderful too. He’s tailed off a little, naturally given his age, but he’s a bright, confident talent, one that was a huge part of the successful FA Youth Cup run and the club obviously see that potential.
Ambrose would certainly be on the plane if fit – it’s a shame he isn’t as he’s another that might have already gained first team experience with a little luck. Maybe he would have already taken Pozo’s go-to role as the token EDS player on the bench without his injuries – he’s certainly much more of a natural forward anyway. Evans’ inclusion is logical, he’s been at the club a long time and he’s now had first team experience out loan so it gives the club a chance to assess the next step for him up close. Be it with the club or somewhere else eventually.
Seko Fofana is in the squad, having recently returned from a loan spell with Fulham. Is this his big chance to impress Pellegrini before pre-season plans come about?
As I mentioned in my recent loan report, this summer will be an interesting one for him. There’s something there with Seko, he’s just as likely to wallop one in from thirty yards as anyone is, but that hidden talent doesn’t always come out and I’m of the opinion that he’s not quite cut out for City as of yet. That’s not to say he won’t ever be, but I expect him to be sent out again next year as he currently doesn’t possess the required nous or intelligence to be a first team Manchester City player. He’s big, powerful and strong and a very eager runner but it takes more than that to excel for a club like ours. Think Yaya without the composure. But It makes sense that he’s with the first team on this trip, and I’d expect him to be with the first team come July as well – like Evans the club will want to assess how he’s developed after being exposed to what Patrick Vieira endearingly described as ‘man football’. They’ve got nothing to lose but potentially a whole lot to gain from seeing how he reacts alongside players of a much higher quality after his experiences this year. Naturally he’ll want to impress.
His fellow Frenchman Olivier Ntcham also makes the cut. He ended the season strongly with a superb second half display in the 3-1 win over United. What can you tell us about his playing style?
Ntcham is a funny one. He has everything you’d want from a midfielder – he can pass, he can score some pretty spectacular goals and he has energy, power and drive as well as being pacy with a trick or two. A proper old fashioned box-to-box midfielder. Yet somehow he often flatters to deceive – from Yaya Toure to Joey Barton in a heartbeat. It’s frustrating at times and I’m at loss to explain why it happens but like Fofana, there is something there and the club definitely sense that. The important thing in this instance is that he can do it, even if he’s a little up and down – consistency comes with experience. He’s a France u19 international too, formerly a captain at other youth levels, so he comes with good pedigree. He’s clearly talented – United’s midfield couldn’t handle his powerful running last Saturday. He’s a worth a go so maybe playing him alongside more measured and seasoned pros will do him a world of good. He ended the season strongly so this chance is not without merit.
The Spanish trio of Pozo, Maffeo, and Manu Garcia have also been rewarded. Obviously Pozo had a glimpse of first team action in 14/15 but hasn’t actually been the standout player for the EDS this season. Does he need a loan move?
Pozo’s season has been one of immense frustration. It pains me to say this, but he looks lost. He was highly coveted, and just as highly talented, when he first moved to the club. He shone, up-staging the likes of Lopes and Fofana excelling in a relatively free role. Quick minded, intelligent and with the typically exquisite Spanish first touch he looked a real prospect equally at home creating chances as he was finishing them. It seemed for a long time that he would be the great shining beacon of hope for the academy, the first potential star to break through the ranks. But it all’s gone sour recently.
It’s a little sad – he’s had terrible fortune with injuries. Two serious long term spells out during two pretty crucial years of development have hit him hard and he’s lost that initial spark, and if anything the spell in the first team did him more harm than good. He was hugely out of his depth as no. 9. He isn’t by any stretch a centre forward. He has more in common with Samir Nasri than Sergio Aguero and playing him up against 6’3 physically imposing men like Jagielka was a pretty sobering experience for him. Maybe if he’d come into the side with the opportunity to face the goal and create something he’d have made more of an impact, but truth be told he hadn’t really been at his best for the EDS either for a long time. I can’t help but think of Fernando Torres when I think of Pozo, they’re at different stages of their careers obviously but Pozo’s decline reminds me a little of his situation. Injuries and a lack of self-belief have really taken their toll.
Pozo’s still very young, as they all are, and I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t make it somewhere as a professional footballer at least, but if its to be with City then he needs first team football and experience somewhere and he needs it soon. A loan to Spain makes sense as he might even struggle to get games with the EDS next year. Ambrose, Celina, Boadu, Buckley, Nemane and even a few of the very under 16s, notably Paolo Fernandes, will mean he’ll struggle to play regularly at that level.
As for the others, should fans be excited about the duo and how much of an experience could this be for them?
They should be excited. Pablo Maffeo is fantastic. After Kelechi Iheanacho, who would have surely been on this trip too if it wasn’t for the u20 World Cup and his commitments with Nigeria, he’s my dead cert for a future for Manchester City. He’s a simply wonderful defender – strong, composed, lion-hearted and with an incredibly measured style. A leader too. When Vieira plays him at centre-back for the EDS he excels, despite being only eighteen and 5’8. He has absolutely no right to, yet he does. It’s largely down to the fact that he reads the game wonderfully, Cannavaro-like, and he has a hell of a leap for his height and he knows exactly how to use his body weight. When at right-back, his nominal position, he’s just as good. A mini Zabaleta in more than one way, though arguably more technically efficient. He can cross too. I’d have him as the second choice behind Zabaleta next season in a heartbeat and I’m almost certain it wouldn’t faze him either.
Manu Garcia is another magnificent little footballer. Sometimes I forget that he only turned seventeen in January – he’s just so composed. A truly gifted creative midfielder. The Silva comparisons are obvious – they move in the same elegant, graceful way, they even look a little alike from a distance and they’re both blessed with a delightful first touch and an eye for a pass. Like his compatriot, he’s also a tough little fella too. He works hard and never shirks his responsibility – none of them do at the academy level to be fair – but its always a little exciting when you see such a technically efficient player who’s willing to work for the team too. It’s a smart move taking him along with this squad. He’s the kind of player that looks naturally comfortable at any level – he certainly does for the u21s, notably in one game against a very physical Leicester team where his introduction at half time inspired a City victory, scoring the winning goal in the process. The sky really is the limit for Manu. I’d not be surprised if a year from now he’d have already made his debut for the first team. Some people just make life look easy and he’s one of them.
Finally, which player named in the squad do you tip to have the most success in their career?
Pablo Maffeo for all the reasons I listed above. If he’s not vying for City’s captaincy in five years time, or at very least well on his way to becoming something of a cult hero, then something would have gone terribly wrong somewhere.
Thanks to Steven for taking part in this Q&A. You can follow him on twitter @EsteemedKompany. Be sure to also check out his blog for some great content on the EDS and Academy teams.
