Subject: U17 national team

Not to be outdone by BF, I'll share some thoughts on the U17 national team. The first XI at the moment looks like this:
Emanuel Frendon (Reds from Merseyside, ex-Trueblue)
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Sebastian Battlett (Ceara Sporting Club, ex-Colah)
William Wemyss (Ssangyong Utd, ex-Trueblue)
Morgan McCarron (Colah Creek)
Chris Oxenham (Prestige)
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Jordan Mullen (PFK Babily Utd, ex-Trueblue)
Noah Brown (Colah Creek)
Samuel Willcocks (FC loppi team, ex-Trueblue)
Dawson Stanton (FC Cistici, ex-Parra Power)
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Johan Ranoš (Beta's)
Luke Burton (Feodosia, ex-Trueblue)

All have been chosen as the best players in their respective positions but all are 17 now so have at best one year in this team. So I intend to also select a shadow team of 16yos:
Jacob Baker (Barbalicious)
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Joseph Cox (Knights)
Harry Madgwick (FC Whitewolf, ex-Trueblue)
Hugh Tyler (Beta's)
Joshua Dwyer (FC Kangaroo)
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Daniel Pegrum (Parramatta Power)
Tanner Constable (Beta's)
Scott McGrath (Beta's)
Rafael Cannell (Highland Terriers)
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Daniel Roberts (Trueblue Utd)
George Schofield (Rudderz)

A couple of these players have been chosen on skill because they are not far off the 17yos but most have been chosen on quality in the hope that by the time next season comes around, they will be the best players in each position and carrying some international experience and chemistry.

I will use the 16yos as reserves wherever possible but obviously I will need to select other 17yos to help cover. Players under consideration for those spots are:
Keepers - Ace Keast , Luke Laidlaw , Caleb Waters
Defenders - Dustin McGrath , Timothy Olson , Thomas Powell
Midfielders - Stephen Little , Sebastian O´Brien , Dawson Osborne , Donald Stephenson
Forwards - Eric Hyland , Thomas Rochford

Johan Ranos should have been Martin Balks

Forgot to mention, I'm starting to scout 15yos now. If anyone gets a good youngster, and by that I mean average quality at least 70 (I'm not concerned about actual skills at this point), let me know so I can add him to the scouting list.

Michael Davison looks like a very promiseing striker
I also know my brother got a centre midfielder yesterday Toby Bulley

Yeh Toby Bulley is a very promising centre mid, best Australian player i've ever got and in the first week of the season!

Yep, got the report on Davison today. He looks very good. Bulley is next cab off the rank and there also appear to have been good first week pulls at the Spitfires, Rudderz and Sydney Park

Keast (keeper) and Roberts (Striker) are both getting Firxt XI spots and am building up their experience.

Dwyer will be one out of two that will keeps playing as much as possible in a first team as a CD so let me know in case u have some specific plans as he is UNI(R&L) and can be UNI/UNI by increasing speed ahead..

I got the impression you were training him as a wing defender since you're already training his speed higher. I had him pencilled in as a right wing defender.

That said, his qualities are very good to be either a central or wing defender. Although his current skills are worse than the other 16yo defenders, his qualities are the best and that's why I've selected him.

If you decide to train him as a central defender, I'd appreciate it if you kept his speed skill a bit ahead of the rest so he can still play wing defence if needed.

As people may have noticed, I have selected the 22 players I mentioned at the start of this thread for my startup squad. Our first two games are friendlies against Indonesia and Finland and I intend to give every player at least half a game across those two matches. That will help me determine where the weaknesses are in the first team squad and where the strengths are in the 16yo shadow team before I start picking extra reserves.

Sweet

Daniel Roberts scored his first professional goal tonight in stunning fashion, pulling off a Rooney-esque kick to beat the keeper from out wide. The kids got moves and is ready to show 'em.

he would be a good kiddo, just look after him
..neither hamburgers or low-fat yoghurts, real proteins, real steak!
..so excited to have a first "grown" player in nomination of NT

Only the finest T-Bones for Roberts

Good result, this game brings back memories from last years World Cup qualifier against Columbia. Was interesting to see mcGrath got the same match rating as the 17 year old centre midfielders, same with Tyler except he got the same rating as one of them. Well done

I'm quite happy with our first up effort, a 2:2 draw with Indonesia. We were leading 2-0 at half-time and could easily have won but I gave six 16yos a run in the second half and let the opposition back into the game.

Our keeper Emanuel Frendon was very strong. When you compare our player ratings with the teams we'll be up against in world cup qualifying, he was on par or better than virtually all of them.

Our outfielders aren't so strong and it appears at this stage, we're the 7th strongest team in the group so we'll have quite a bit of work ahead of us to qualify.

Two of the 16yos we tried last night, midfielder Scott McGrath and defender Hugh Tyler, performed at a standard sufficient to be considered for regular first team duties so that was pleasing as well.

My main area of concern is William Wemyss at left centre defender. Of our six best candidates for centre defender, five are right footed and Sebastian Battlett, the only left footer, is better suited to wing defence.

My options are to alternate Wemyss and Tyler, thereby reducing energy loss over the season or to play a right footer in the position. I'll probably experiment with both over coming weeks.

Our next match is against Finland and will be much tougher.