if roberts doesnt start tonight

[fulhamben]

then we might aswell stick him back in the 21s. playing next to no football at all, can not be helping his progress

[Horsfield_No9]

He's simply not been needed in recent games. Winning is more important than progressing one player especially when it'll be another club that ultimately reaps the benefits.

[Wimbledon_White]

Surely at his age he is benefiting from travelling with the first team, seeing how things go, how things work at the professional level. Making the bench and coming off as a sub every now and then is surely a great situation for him to be in.

I sometimes think people are expecting too much of him at this young age.

[Logicalman]

I agree WW, too many times we see the youngsters being pushed too far too fast. It would be nice to see him as a starter every now and again perhaps, but 'Pretty Boy' Roberts needs to be nurtured and he will become one of our stars in the second part of the season.

[MasterHaynes]

I do feel that Roberts Williams and Dembele could all do with some game time in the U21's, they need more than just coming on and playing the odd 10-15 minutes and for Roberts and Dembele it's a level up than they were playing for most of last season so definitely a benefit

[fulhamben]

He's simply not been needed in recent games. Winning is more important than progressing one player especially when it'll be another club that ultimately reaps the benefits.

so by that reasoning, wouldnt we be better off putting a player on our bench that we might reap the benefits of? sound reasoning not using your best talent because he wont be ours forever. and we only have a 50% win rate from our last 4 games, so not needed? im not so sure

[fulhamben]

I agree WW, too many times we see the youngsters being pushed too far too fast. It would be nice to see him as a starter every now and again perhaps, but 'Pretty Boy' Roberts needs to be nurtured and he will become one of our stars in the second part of the season.

how would starting one league cup game be being pushed too far? are all the players in the under 21 team pushed too hard? no football isnt being pushed at all

[Roberty]

I seem to think that he played several games for England during the International break while most of the rest of the squad were resting at Motspur Park, maybe that is why he is not getting over worked now.

[PaulJ123]

The problem for me is this formation we play.

The only real place he could play is where Ruiz does (and i'd much prefer him to Ruiz but thats another matter). Theres no way he can play as one of the 2 CMs as it requires a lot of tracking back and defending which he isnt suited for. Say we were playing a 433 or even a standard 442, he'd have had a lot more game time

[horse1031]

he's 17...

he will be in the team soon enough.  below is the list of players under 20 that have played for the first team...  He is the youngest but the most talented.  Its amazing what even a year does for development of a young player.

Cauley Woodrow            19:326   7266   24 Oct 2014   H v Charlton Athletic
George C Williams    19:34   6974   21 Oct 2014   A v Rotherham United
Cameron Burgess            18:306   6881   23 Aug 2014   A v Derby County
Emerson Hyndman    18:194   6769   21 Oct 2014   A v Rotherham United
Moussa Dembele            18:100   6675   21 Oct 2014   A v Rotherham United
Pat Roberts                    17:260    6470   24 Oct 2014   H v Charlton Athletic

[blingo]

then we might aswell stick him back in the 21s. playing next to no football at all, can not be helping his progress

What exactly qualifies you to make this statement???? I would think that KS is far more knowledgeable about the younger players in the squad than you can ever hope to be. Leave it to the people that know what they are doing.

[fulhamben]

he's 17...

he will be in the team soon enough.  below is the list of players under 20 that have played for the first team...  He is the youngest but the most talented.  Its amazing what even a year does for development of a young player.

Cauley Woodrow            19:326   7266   24 Oct 2014   H v Charlton Athletic
George C Williams    19:34   6974   21 Oct 2014   A v Rotherham United
Cameron Burgess            18:306   6881   23 Aug 2014   A v Derby County
Emerson Hyndman    18:194   6769   21 Oct 2014   A v Rotherham United
Moussa Dembele            18:100   6675   21 Oct 2014   A v Rotherham United
Pat Roberts                    17:260    6470   24 Oct 2014   H v Charlton Athletic

but heres my point, other than pat, who else skipped being in the 21s? i can live with him not playing for the first team, but not playing for the any team can not help his progress. and somone else mentioned its good to be in the team to see the set up and that, well im sure he could play for the 21s and still travel with the first team as we take more than the bare minimum to each game anyway.

[fulhamben]

then we might aswell stick him back in the 21s. playing next to no football at all, can not be helping his progress

What exactly qualifies you to make this statement???? I would think that KS is far more knowledgeable about the younger players in the squad than you can ever hope to be. Leave it to the people that know what they are doing.

because what is the point of an under 21 team if you can gain all the experience you need by being an un used sub every week. we have these youth teams for a reason

[blingo]

And he is used as seen fit by the powers that be, who I am sure, will have his best interest in mind.

[rogerpbackinMidEastUS]

It's could also be a delicate situation with Roberts.
Assuming he is fully aware of his abilities and future, if it's not handled
with 'kid glovers'  he may see it as a 'demotion' if he's put back in the
academy and/or throw a wobbler.

This could be the problem with David and Trotta

[fulhamben]

And he is used as seen fit by the powers that be, who I am sure, will have his best interest in mind.

dembele and eisfeld have been bouncing back and forth from the 21s and both have more first team minutes than pat. i just dont see how you can progress your career through training alone. anyway hopefully kit will start him tonight as eisfeld didnt impress last week

[HatterDon]

He's simply not been needed in recent games. Winning is more important than progressing one player especially when it'll be another club that ultimately reaps the benefits.

Well said

[Fulham1959]

he's 17...

he will be in the team soon enough.  below is the list of players under 20 that have played for the first team...  He is the youngest but the most talented.  Its amazing what even a year does for development of a young player.

Cauley Woodrow            19:326   7266   24 Oct 2014   H v Charlton Athletic
George C Williams    19:34   6974   21 Oct 2014   A v Rotherham United
Cameron Burgess            18:306   6881   23 Aug 2014   A v Derby County
Emerson Hyndman    18:194   6769   21 Oct 2014   A v Rotherham United
Moussa Dembele            18:100   6675   21 Oct 2014   A v Rotherham United
Pat Roberts                    17:260    6470   24 Oct 2014   H v Charlton Athletic

Some column headings might help.  This table is meaningless, otherwise.

[nose]

He's simply not been needed in recent games. Winning is more important than progressing one player especially when it'll be another club that ultimately reaps the benefits.

Well said

At the risk of upsetting anyone, I think we need to replace ruiz and roberts/David would seem ideal candidates with David my choice. the truth is though we do not quite know what Kit has against david because from the last time we saw him, he certainly has bags of ability and does seem to be a trier.

You simply cannot play with passengers and/or people that shirk the physical challenge and  in this respect we do need to make a change if we are to maintainour current run.

Tonight would be a good chance for a few changes, but not too many.division and

[Logicalman]

I agree WW, too many times we see the youngsters being pushed too far too fast. It would be nice to see him as a starter every now and again perhaps, but 'Pretty Boy' Roberts needs to be nurtured and he will become one of our stars in the second part of the season.

how would starting one league cup game be being pushed too far? are all the players in the under 21 team pushed too hard? no football isnt being pushed at all

Well, isn't starting one cup game the same as "playing next to no football at all" as well? Can't have it both ways. Either he starts a couple of games, and plays "next to no football at all" or he gets regular starts, which I still believe would be too much for him at this stage. Or are you saying he should be a regular cup starter?