Reading about Tre who now appears to have more interests in life than the 4 T`s, (Tre`s Toonspotting Teenage Talent) got me thinking , read a line other day when writer came in with one of your `told you all about it comments`!. Can I suggest a little competetion , entries up to December 15th , and then deposited in the Greenspun Archives by Macbeth , to be opened in a years time, (bit like wot Terry Wogan does really). Seeing as I like delegating , the only basic rule is to pick out three players 20 or under and review them in one year. Softie hopefully will determine current value, purchase value. future value in one year and a panel yet to be announced will choose the `I Told you So`, BB`s champ of the year. List your 3 below ,with age/club/etc.

-- Anonymous, November 05, 2001

Answers

1..Van de Vart,----midfield---Ajax-----aged 18----schoolboy forms-----

2..David Fernandez-forward-Livingstone-20.,Spanish-bought for peanuts

3..Carlos Marinelli -forward--Boro---18?, Argy - Fee Boca Juniors?

-- Anonymous, November 05, 2001

Damon Robson: NUFC. Chopra and Offiong put them away, but he wins it and finds Tommy English for the cross. Our midfield general or Christmas future.

p.s. Buff, don't know if you remember but I did a reserve report when Luca Cominelli was playing for us and he came up against Marinelli. Marinelli was tackled and suffered the indignity of being substituted in tears. Friendly locals shouted various remarks about wee bairns and soft pooftahs but he's obviously moved on since then. Cominelli on the other hand is currently residing in our "Where are they now?" file.

-- Anonymous, November 05, 2001

Already mentioned these on a previous thread...

Van Der Vaart (Ajax) D'Alessandro (River) Bakircioglu (Hammarby) Samba (Millwall)

Ok, so there's more than three!

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

let's stay at home....

David Dunn Prutton (forest kid....wots'isnameanyway???) Nicky Butt

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

Luque of mallorca, better than all of those, or (not so anonymous now) diego tristan of deportivo, but most interesting of all is a 12 year old espanyol junior player nick-named 'oro' (means gold) who trains with the first team and is being tipped to play in la liga before too long. He's 6 foot tall and looks like daniel day lewis. He plays number 10. Prodigy is the word.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

Lomano LuaLua and Shola Ameobi

Show them all lads!

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

OFFIONG!

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

Limiting my choice to players I have actually seen, and excluding players who have already established themselves in their respective Club's 1st teams, (eg, Carrick & Cole at WHU) I'll go with:

1. Gary Caldwell (18) - NUFC

2. Jermaine Defoe (18?) - WHU

3. Jermaine Pennant (17) - Arsenal

I haven't actually seen Jermaine Jenas of Forest play, or it could well have been 'The Three Jermaines'!

My 4th choice would probably have been the big young defender, John(?) O'Shea, at Manure, who looks a very good prospect. I also like the look of Liverpool's young FB, Stephen Wright.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

Nah clarky I remember that Steve Wright when he was a DJ, he was crap at that as well.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

Should have chosen van der Vaart but seems like everybody else got him so these three are my picks:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Ajax - 19 - Swedish
Bojan Djordic - Man U - 19(?) - Swedish
Kim Källström - Häcken - 19 - Swedish


-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

That did cross my mind as I as typing it Gus!

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

I'll go for Guy Dufer a Belgian U-21, don't know how old he is but saw him play for their U21s in Scotland last spring

Also like Defoe at West Ham

I'd love one of our younger players to come thro' but Offiong and Chopra have so much expectation on their shoulder it'll be a struggle for them to be rich and famous in a year, so it'll have to be 20 year old Shola Ameobi for me.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

You can tell Sudden plays Champ Man! :)

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

Heheh - thought the same thing! Speaking of which, playing the old CM, I signed Diego Tristan - this must be a year ago (in real time!) and he did v well for NUFC! As did Salva. I also 'discovered' Shefqi Kuqi - the Finn now playing at Stockport. There's a few cracking Dutch lads coming thru, can't remember any names apart from Van de Vaart and that Vennegoor of Hesselink who was linked with the Mackems in real life.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

Has to be the three Jermaines (Clarky and others have already told us about them)

All three have a lot of potential

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

Jermaine McSporran.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

The register of names in Scotland shows that this was no one in Scotland who had the christian name of Jermaine, or no one was admitting to it anyway

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

Jermaine Measles ?

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

but he'd just rub El(ena)a up the wrong way

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

I've seen two of the Jermaines mentioned above in the flesh. McSporran was added as a joke I assume so will say not more about him - run of the mill Nationwide league player. Defoe is very good but I saw him an a Bournemouth team who were perhaps not able to get the best out of him. No one can shine in a field full of donkeys!

So once again sticking to only those I've seen in the flesh and more to the point, home bred players - none of this fancey dan crap from abroad!:

Anthony Gardner at Spurs. If this lad could get himself fit and get a proper run in the team Sol Campbell would become a distant memory.

Dean Ashton at Crewe - 18 year old striker.

Stphen McPhee - 20 year old striker at Port Vale.

None of these will be huge in 12 months time but I wouldn't mind you looking again in 3 years!!

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

1) Rafael van der Vaart Ajax, 11 february 1983. Predictable but he did get props from me last season as well. The lad is class though and at such a young age is largely responsible for Ajax being League leaders.

2)Abubakari Yakubu Ajax -18 december 1981- Ghanaian midfielder/defender whose come through the Ajax youth system to be a first team regular Mentally strong, technically not quite the finished article but looks v. promising and v. versatile.

3) Theo Janssen Vitesse Arnhem 27 July 1981. Already over a hundred league appearances to his name this short, stocky attacking midfield player has just broken his shin bone after being dropped out of the first-team for disciplinary reasons. Nonetheless if he can come back to the sort of form he showed at the end of last season he is one to watch.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

I have tried to go for players who may make an impact at the world cup so the players I have chosen are all 19 or 20 and are all Argentinian. Fabricio Coloccini central defender of Alaves (on loan I think), Javier Saviola, striker (still not 20!) of Barca and Nicolas Burdisso Right Back at Boca.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

1.

Name: Mourad MEGHNI Current Club: Bologna (Ita) Nationality: France Date of Birth: 16/04/84 Position: Central/Right-sided Attacking Midfielder Previous Clubs: Cannes (Fra) International Status: U-16 international Height/Weight: 1.80/72 Comments: Considered as one of the biggest promises in French football if not the biggest one. A graduate of the famous ‘C lairfontaine?football academy, Meghni was picked up by Bologna last year. The Algerian-born sensation is inevitably now compared to another Algerian-born player playing for France, the world’s greatest player probably, Zinedine Zidane. And indeed, Meghni reminds of Zidane in many aspects of his game. Unlike most players in their position (i.e Aimar, J.Cole, Ortega) both Zidane and Meghni are built quite well built and are not too frail. Also, more importantly probably, both of them have bags of skill. They are not too fast but have great ball-skills, quick feet, amazing vision, fantastic distribution, defence-splitting passes and are regular goal-scorers. The two of them are exquisite finishers and have great ability in 1- vs-1 situations. They thrive on counter-attacks but can operate equally well when the game’s moving slowly. Unlike Zidane, Meghni is actually quite potent in the air. He does show some reluctance to get stuck in but I guess you can expect that from that sort of player. Meghni is capable of the spectacular and his arsenal of tricks and touches is quite astounding. He can score from anywhere. Delicate chips, outside-the-box crackers, tap-ins are all part of his diverse arsenal. Meghni has the potential to be one of the leading players in the world in 7 years or so.

2.

Name: Jermaine PENNANT Current Club: Arsenal (Eng) Nationality: England Date of Birth: 15/01/83 Position: Right-sided Winger Previous Clubs: Notts County (Eng) International Status: U-21 international Height/Weight: 1.73/64 Comments: Pennant is a breath-taking prospect set to take the English Premier-League by storm. The Jamaican-born starlet is considered to be one of the finest prospects in England. Pennant first made a name for himself 2 years ago when he completed a 1.5 million pounds move from Notts County to Arsenal at the tender age of 15. Only a year or so later he became the youngest-ever player to play for Arsenal’s first team when he put on the Gunners?shirt against Middlesborough in the Worthington Cup. Pennant is a lightning-fast right-winger who possesses all the skills needed in order to become a great wide player: fantastic dribbling skills, trickery, vision, excellent crossing ability and a cracking shot. Pennant has come up through the England youth scheme promptly. Only last year he was playing for England’s U-16 team and today he’s already a member of the U-21 squad. Pennant is a player always looking to go forward and take players on. Alongside all the previously mentioned skills Pennant is also an excellent set-piece taker, both direct and in-direct. Pennant has helped Arsenal win the prestigious FA Youth Cup in 1999\2000 and in 2000/2001. He is expected to be an active member of the Arsenal first team in the 2001/2002 season. I will not be too surprised to see him make his senior England debut in a year or two. With talent like Pennant’s I wouldn’t be surprised if David Beckham will get the chance to finally live his centre-midfield dreams sooner rather than later.

3.

Name: Djibril CISSE Current Club: AJ Auxerre (Fra) Nationality: France Date of Birth: 12/08/81 Position: Striker Previous Clubs: None International Status: U-20 international Height/Weight: 1.83/78 Comments: Possibly the hottest young striker in Europe at the moment, Cisse has made a name for himself in the last few months. After completing a fantastic first full senior season with his team AJ Auxerre (25 appearances/8 goals) Cisse impressed during 2001’s Toulon Tournament (fantastic scissor-kick being one of the highlights) and during the U-20 World Cup in Argentina (5 appearances/6 goals, was awarded the Bronze Ball as the 3rd most impressive player in the tournament after Argentineans Javier Saviola and Andres D’A llesandro). A player of true class, Cisse is seen as the next star in the French production line which has previously nurtured the skills of Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, Sylvain Wiltord, David Trezeguet and others. An extremely well-built striker, Cisse has bags of skill. He has lightning pace, agility, great strength, the ability to hold up the ball or carry it himself and sheer power in the air as well. His movement off-the-ball is superb and he loves taking players on. He has an amazing shot from all ranges and has good passing for a striker. He’s a complete striker and can only improve from where he is right now. The only doubt about his future is his attitude and his mental strength, will he turn out an Anelka or will he turn out a Henry, it remains to be seen. One thing that is certain is that Cisse has the talent to follow Henry into the national team. Not only that, I feel he has the chance to be Henry’s long-term partner, seeing as Anelka or Wiltord haven’t really made that position their own.

4.

Name: Piotr TROCHOWSKI Current Club: FC Bayern Munich (Ger) Nationality: German Date of Birth: 22/03/84 Position: Central Attacking Midfielder Previous Clubs: None International Status: U-16 international Height/Weight: ??/?? Comments: In my opinion, Trochowski is a player destined to become world-class. When you see him, it’s clear to see he just oozes class. His movement, his slick touch on the ball, his passing, it’s all superb. I can see him as a future star for the German national team. And the funny thing is, that Trochowski was actually born in Poland. He moved to Germany at about 14 and his appearance against Belgium during 2001’s U-16 European championship was his first in a German shirt. Trochowski scored in that game and went on to score a goal in each of the two following championship matches, against Romania and Spain. 3 goals in his first 3 matches, not bad. Trochowski indeed had a great tournament with Germany though the Germans are likely to feel a bit unlucky, going out on penalties against old-rivals England in the quarter-finals, despite being the better side throughout the game. Trochowski is a very complete player. His list of skills is quite endless. He’s fast (certainly not as fast Odonkor, but he doesn’t lack pace), an excellent dribbler, has a great variety of flicks and tricks, has great balance, he’s a fantastic passer of the ball, one of the most accurate passers you’d find at youth level, he has excellent vision, excellent through-balls and he’s a fantastic crosser as well. He’s not big but he’s very strong and despite being the Germans?star player without doubt (Klaus Sammer, Germany’s U-16 manager, said in an interview that he rates Trochowski as the no.1 player in his squad), he’s not reluctant to get stuck in, go down for a tackle or battle for a header. And despite not being the tallest I find him to be quite a gem in the air. But Trochowski’s list of talents doesn’t end there. He’s very dynamic, doing great movement on and off the ball, he always seems to have time on the ball and above all, he’s a sublime finisher. An extremely accurate one with good power on his shots as well. Not only that but he’s good at set-pieces as well, both direct and in-direct ones. Trochowski’s likely to find it hard trying to break into Bayern’s star-studded midfield but if anyone has a chance, it’s definitely him.

5.

Name: Fernando Jose TORRES SANZ Current Club: Atletico Madrid (Spa) Nationality: Spain Date of Birth: 20/04/84 Position: Striker Previous Clubs: None International Status: U-18 international Height/Weight: 1.83/70 Comments: One of the brightest hopes in Spain. He has played at Atletico since he’s been a child and at the age of 14 Real Madrid tried to do a “Raul?and nick him away but failed. Torres has progressed through the ranks at Atletico and Spain and has recently made his senior debut for Atletico and also for Spain’s U-18 side. Torres first made a name for himself when he won 2001’s European U-16 Championship with Spain, registering himself as the joint top-scorer in the competition, scoring 6 goals in as many appearances, including a winning-goal from the penalty spot against France in the final. Torres is a big, tall striker that despite looking a bit frail is actually quite strong. He’s also remarkably fast for a big man. When you watch him the first thing you pick up is that the lad’s a real striker. He holds up the ball well, turns well, runs at defenders, is good in the air, on the ground and is a fantastic finisher. He’s mature and works his socks off for the team. He has shown a lot of willingness to get stuck in without any fear, something that will help him in his career. As mentioned, Torres has already had his senior debut for Atletico (and even scored on his second appearance) and is likely to be a regular for the fallen-giants next year. Juventus has reportedly bid 10 million US dollars for him and interest has also been shown by Arsenal and Manchester United but Atletico has rebuffed all offers, as they see him as the one to lead them back to the Spanish Primera Liga.

6.

Name: Florent SINAMA PONGOLLE Current Club: Le Havre (Fra) Nationality: France Date of Birth: ??/??/84 Position: Striker Previous Clubs: None International Status: U-16 international Height/Weight: ??/?? Comments: Sinama Pongolle is a young striker capable of great things. A player of the excellent Le Havre youth academy, he starred during 2001’s U-16 European Championship, leading France to the final of the competition only to lose to Fernando Jose Torres?Spain. Pongolle scored 6 goals in as many matches during the tournament, including a world-class display against England, where he scored two superb goals in France’s 4-0 thrashing of the host team. Sinama’s main assets are his pace, balance, dribbling skills and sharp finishing. Despite not being the biggest he’s not bad in the air and can hold up the ball relatively well. He tries to score from everywhere and keeps the opposing defenders on their toes. He’s quick, turns well, has great acceleration and excellent movement off-the-ball. He loves taking on players and that comes quite easy for him. Both he and teammate Anthony Le Tallec have been linked with combined 4.5 million pounds moves to English Premier-league clubs Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Fulham and to Italian Serie A outfit Fiorentina. The two players have reportedly had visits at Manchester United and at Fiorentina but seem to have favoured the English club.

7.

Name: Darren FLETCHER Current Club: Manchester United Nationality: Scotland Date of Birth: 01/02/84 Position: Central/Right-sided Attacking Midfielder Previous Clubs: Delkeith (Sco) International Status: U-16 international Height/Weight: 1.74\68 Comments: Considered to be one of the best young players in England, Fletcher joined United from small Scottish club Delkeith in 1999 after being hounded by all of England’s big clubs. Fletcher, United through and through, was convinced to sign for United by Sir Alex Ferguson himself. That’s how highly-rated he is at Old Trafford. And indeed, Fletcher is a player of true class. Rated as the most promising player at the Old Trafford youth academy since Taffy Ryan Giggs, Fletcher suffered a serious injury at the beginning of the year, which kept him sidelined for the whole season. If he wasn’t to suffer that injury he would probably had his first team debut by now. The young Scot is a player who consists of many different skills. He ’s imaginative, elegant and a brilliant passer of the ball. Despite obvious comparisons to David Beckham, the ones in the know say he reminds them more of Glenn Hoddle than Beckham. Fletcher has excellent technique, great touch on the ball with either feet and a smashing shot from distance. He has superb balance and needs practically no back-lift before striking the ball. Providing he develops a bit physically, Fletcher is bound to be one of the best players in England and possibly in the world.

8.

Name: Rafael VAN DER VAART Current Club: Ajax Amsterdam (Hol) Nationality: Holland Date of Birth: 11/02/83 Position: Central Midfielder Previous Clubs: De Kennemers (Hol) International Status: U-20 international Height/Weight: 1.74/70 Comments: Rafael Van der Vaart is currently considered as the best prospect in Holland. His meteoric rise to stardom started last year in the European U-16 Championship in Israel. Van der Vaart took Holland to third place in the tournament giving some very good performances. A month later Van der Vaart appeared for Holland again, this time for the U-18s, in the European U-18 Championship in Germany. Holland didn’t do too well in the tournament but did win a ticket for the U-20 World Cup to be played a year later. Meanwhile, Van der Vaart returned to Amsterdam, this time not as a player on the fringes of the team, but as a regular. Van der Vaart played 27 games for Ajax in the Dutch Eredivisie and scored an impressive 7 times. Not only that he was also voted as the club’s best youngster of the year. And indeed, Van der Vaart is a bright talent. He is an excellent passer of the ball, has good technique, decent dribbling skills, a good touch on the ball, fantastic vision, good tackling skills and a smashing shot from distance. He’s a central midfielder who likes to attack but is not afraid to do his fair share of defending. He’s not too big but he’s by no means frail. If he keeps progressing as rapidly as he has so far he’s destined to go very far in the game.

9.

Name: John WELSH Current Club: Liverpool (Eng) Nationality: English Date of Birth: 10/01/84 Position: Central Midfielder Previous Clubs: None International Status: U-16 international Height/Weight: ??/?? Comments: Welsh is a combative and talented central midfielder in the mould of the player he might soon partner in the centre of the Liverpool midfield, Steven Gerrard. A regular for England’s U-16 team Welsh is a quiet lad but with a fiery temper. He tackles aggressively but cleanly and despite being a workman like midfielder he’s not dirty in any way. Welsh is a very good passer of the ball. He might not have Gerrard’s fantastic vision but he has the same kind of accuracy in his passes. Despite not being the tallest, Welsh is not bad in the air and is very useful at corners and free kicks. He has good technique and a cracking shot from distance. Welsh is considered as the best prospect in Liverpool’s youth academy and has already played for Liverpool’s reserves. Despite the fact that he’s only 17 I ’d back him up to be Gerrard’s partner in the not-so-distant future.

10.

Name: Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC Current Club: Ajax Amsterdam (Hol) Nationality: Sweden Date of Birth: 03/10/81 Position: Centre-Forward Previous Clubs: Malmo FF (Sweden) International Status: Senior International Height/Weight: 1.92/84 Comments: Anybody who goes for a ?m+ fee at the age of 19 is bound to be special. Ibrahimovic proves this, to look at him you would expect him to be the typical British style centre-forward; big, strong, powerful, holds the ball up well. Ibrahimovic has all of these attributes in his game, but unusually for a man of his size he has exceptional pace and is extremely skillful. He has good technique, fantastic ball-skills, quick-feet and a lot of ability in the air. A fitting tribute to the talent of the young man is the words of his new coach at Ajax Co Adriaanse “You only need to look at a player like this for 15 minutes to know you want to sign him? Ibrahimovic could go on to be a major star in the European game, he has all the attributes to be a major star, and it will be interesting to see how he does against the cream of Europe if Ajax make it to the Champions League. The only thing that could possibly hamper a big European career for him is the fact that he’s very much a trouble-maker. He’s considered to be very cocky and full of himself. In order to succeed in Holland he’ll have to change that, work hard on his game and keep a low profile.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

O.K. My secret is out - go to...

http://www.footballtransfers%20.co.uk

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

Chopra, Chris Kirkland, Pennant and Mark Peters of 17 yr old forward from Southampton (courtesy of Tre's site!)

Worth checking these in 2004

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

Steven Sidwell - 17 year old midfielder on Arsenal's books, but currently on loan to Brentford.

-- Anonymous, November 07, 2001

Steven McPhail at Leeds - another Champ Man prodigy!

-- Anonymous, November 07, 2001