Team for Newcastle U21s (home)

[mambo3]

You have not got a clue how good the U21 are. But the Clubs and scouts watching do

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgwpqEYfCk4

[SCIAG]

You have not got a clue how good the U21 are. But the Clubs and scouts watching do

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgwpqEYfCk4

To be fair, we can try and compare these players to past graduates to give us an idea. It's just quite hard for us to tell if they are ready for the first team without seeing, for example, Ugwu and Alfie playing alongside each other in training.

PS I'm a massive racist because I credited Tshibola with Ugwu's nutmeg on Bigirimana

[ZacNaloen]

I'm mostly just wondering how much good the loan market does these guys, they need year long loans where they have a chance to impose themselves and that market really seems not to be available. They can only get shorter term loans for some reason.

[ZacNaloen]

U21s currently beating Blackburn 1-0 Samuel goal

[Mike Hunt]

1-1

[SCIAG]

I'm mostly just wondering how much good the loan market does these guys, they need year long loans where they have a chance to impose themselves and that market really seems not to be available. They can only get shorter term loans for some reason.

I think it did 18 year old Karacan a world of good to get 20 games in League 1 over two years.

In fact, all our successful outfield graduates of recent years have only had short term loans. Hamer and McCarthy both had successful year long spells, but also a lot of short term spells.

The problem is when we send them on loan and they barely get any games. For example, Jake Taylor played 30 matches for Exeter (I think a lot were sub appearances) in League 1, but then couldn't break into the Cheltenham or Crawley sides so essentially wasted a year.

[Hoop Blah]

I guess the success of the loan can only really be judged in hindsight, but for those that fail you have wonder if they didn't get enough games because they just weren't good enough and so unlikely to ultimately make it. Or didn't they make it because they wasted valuable learning time sat in the lower leagues with players of lesser ability than back at Reading and so it stunted their progress.

Timing and making the most of your opportunity when it comes along has such an impact for young players careers its really hard to tell.