Has returned to the club. Im not sure how much game time he's had this season but surely he's worth given a chance?? If Scowen had shot 2 Pac he'd have released his 70th album by now.
He's not our player any more mate, signed permanently for Blackpool a bit ago. Embleton's the one on loan.
Yeah i thought they were both on loan. Ffs. I cant believe Embleton is one of their best players and they are better than us .
I think most players we get rid of fall into that category, where would we be if we’d kept Duncan who knows? But he’s 3 light years ahead of what we are stuck with.
We showed Ethan the door and Blackpool picked him up on a free, its a familiar story, he was always behind Dobson in the queue when it came to team selection and it will be interesting to compare their respective worths in a year or two, he has featured in nearly 30 games this season half of them as substitute, but his time will come, as he has had stiff competition this year with Embleton edging it, as Blackpool have blossomed. I happen to think our loss has been Blackpools gain as both of them are as good if not better than Winny or Scowen but its the Sunderland way, Ethan was part of a youth team that included three Robsons, with Tom and Josh, at left and right back who also reached first team level but were discarded Sunderland fashion.
These pair were hardly discarded, more let go for not being good enough. That's why Tommy is currently kicking around the lower leagues of Scotland while Josh is kicking round the lower leagues of Norway as they aren't good enough for lower leagues of England. Ethan hasn't done much either, handful of appearances at Blackpool and not like he's established himself as a guaranteed starter. Not like he's a kid either, he's 24 with less appearances than Diamond and Hume who are both a couple of years younger. Embleton I'm not sure about. Not seen him play much but the way folk spoke about him I thought he was a centre mid but he's been playing on the right of a 4-4-2, so an orthodox winger/right mid. Not sure where he fits into Johnson'spreferred 4-3-3 tbh but I'm sure those who have watched him more than I have can identify his qualities and what position would favour him.
Not sure about that TBF, they've only won two of their last 6 games - both against us when he wasn't eligible to play
Your absolutely correct in everything you say, the only contribution I can make is that I strongly believe that footballing decisions are purely arbitrary and circumstantial, these players mentioned have all impressed me to some degree when I've seen them play, and who knows how they would have developed if the club invested a little more into their contracts. I hope the club does this under the new structure, in the case of Ethan Robson and Duncan Watmore I would have preferred we had given them contract extensions, as we have done with Embleton,.and loaned them out to offset the wages incurred, it could be of huge benefit to both parties at little cost. I would be happy to see more money spent at grass roots that computer desks tbh.
The money spent on computer desks is to facilitate better coaching though. It may well help to bring through younger players. I know someone of more mature years who has done the FA's data analysis course who suggested to me that there is still a place for gut feeling and observation but the data that is produced is of huge assistance in making decisions on players and tactics. Its not just our new owner that's into this. Its not some fad. Every club buys into this. If we're not at the forefront of it, we WILL be left behind.
It’s a shame but since all this new technology started we have never had such boring unadventurous football it makes the 70s Italian teams look like Barcelona, can’t actually remember the last time I really enjoyed a match. Probably under Sam.
Disagree with that a bit. Stats can be used to give an independant impartial look at a players qualities like accurate passing percentages. And just giving a player more time doesn't mean they will get any better, they'll still be not good enough. Watmore is a different case tbf, he was always good enough, just unlucky with injuries. And he probably got a contract sorted above what we could offer in a division above us. Still think there is a place for actual scouting as you can get information from watching a game that you wouldn't get from any data base but using data is an important part of the recruitment process imo.
Yeah, I think to some extent its a bit of a soulless approach and that could maybe translate into how the team plays. Its fairly ubiquitous now though and there are still plenty of teams that I enjoy watching.
