Youth team

[Pe├▒a Oxford United]

It doesn't mean that he was maudlin drunk?

[Mally]

It doesn't mean that he was maudlin drunk?

Could be that as well, which is better than a Magdalen drunk I suppose, eh Yeovil?

[Mooro]

Did anyone manage to make it down there on Saturday?

Glad Merry turned up to see them, hopefully he will be able to ensure that they are given as much ongoing support (post-graduation) as possible despite any reluctance on jimbos part.

Smith has a habit of not speaking particularly encouragingly about our own youth players, given his many comments along the lines of &quotlook at what we had on the bench&quot earlier in the season, so it does not surprise me if he uttered something else along the lines you quote.

Hopefully though, he can be persuaded to keep at least some of them on the books once they graduate so that they at least are still here when they do become good enough to play in the first team..(as I'm sure some of this lot will).

Still, in the mean time, congrats to all concerned - winning the title with a quarter of the games still to play, and failing to win only twice all season (both draws) is quite a feat, even before the standard of opposition club is considered.

[Mooro]

Boris - Are you going to be there tonight to watch the battle of the reserve league minnows

[boris]

Indeed I am.

See you there?

[Mooro]

Should be, weather permitting...might even try being on time for kickoff for once...

[Snake]

I've heard a rumour that we won tonight, but surely this is not true?

[Mooro]

I've heard a rumour that we won tonight, but surely this is not true?

Indeed we did, despite not having a single outfield player with more than one senior start, losing Franklin after 20 mins and Beechers getting a bash on the head with about 20 mins to go.

We are still bottom of the league I think, but that is excusable when pitching our youth team against teams often containing players pushing for first team places at Championship sides. I also get the impression that we have actually played better than results have shown too.

As for individuals, Boris has covered much of the story in his report, but of those with first team hopes, Coombs was busy in midfield, Gunn generally solid except for a couple of misdirected clearances and even Kennett used the extra space to some effect.
Judgement on Beechers will probably be very dependent on what you were looking for.
His detractors will probably point at his shows of frustration and a few scuffed crosses, while his supporters will point at his energy and shows of skill (although again he saved his best run til the start of the second half while Smith was still in the clubhouse). Overall, I'd say his desire to impress probably worked against him as he probably felt he had to have a stormer to impress the boss and let frustration get to him a bit when he made a couple of mistakes. In terms of Wednesday, playing 87 minutes last night and getting a major bang on the head should be more than enough to ensure he doesnt make the XVI for Halifax.

However, the people who caught the eye for me were Fisher, a tall if slight 16yr old forward, who played very well, Gonzalez (normally a winger) who came on as sub and did well at left back, Andrew younie who played left wing and James Clark, a first year centreback who is already fitting in well at this level.

Overall though, there is a problem with the reserve situation as it stands, as our first team squad is not big enough to provide regular senior players, the fixtures are not frequent enough to give the junior players enough games to stay match fit, while pitching anywhere between 8&amp10 youth players against Championship reserve sides means there is no experience out there to hold the team together meaning that they can easily get overwhelmed in some games which doesnt help anyone.

It is also worth noting that with a lot of youth team graduating this summer, then unless a number are taken into the senior squad, then we are likely to struggle even more next season. I hope we can find a few answers, but we'll have to see