Article on George Williams

[sunburywhite]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53268690

[ChesterTheTabby]

Another Fulham talent that leaves and goes nowhere. When will they learn that staying at the Cottage is best for their careers? I really hope some have started to see it finally. Not all have a say in it, I know, but it is a pity.

[Sting of the North]

Another Fulham talent that leaves and goes nowhere. When will they learn that staying at the Cottage is best for their careers? I really hope some have started to see it finally. Not all have a say in it, I know, but it is a pity.

In this case I have no idea what you mean. George Williams left because he was not good enough for FFC at the time. He left for a much inferior club to get game time. Why would it have been better to stay at the cottage for him? On top of that I also assume that he wasn't offered a new contract, so he also likely did not even have the option to stay.

[sunburywhite]

He was very unfortunate with injuries which stopped his career

I think if he hadnt have had them he would have become a good player and would have stayed at Fulham

[Brawn]

Wouldn't be averse to having him back. We need an option at left wing.

[ChesterTheTabby]

Another Fulham talent that leaves and goes nowhere. When will they learn that staying at the Cottage is best for their careers? I really hope some have started to see it finally. Not all have a say in it, I know, but it is a pity.

In this case I have no idea what you mean. George Williams left because he was not good enough for FFC at the time. He left for a much inferior club to get game time. Why would it have been better to stay at the cottage for him? On top of that I also assume that he wasn't offered a new contract, so he also likely did not even have the option to stay.

Note that I said not all of them have a say in leaving, and perhaps GW really didn't have a say due to being inconsistent and deemed "not good enough", but I can list you myriad other names that have gone and been swallowed into nothingness.

[@jolslover]

Wouldn't be averse to having him back. We need an option at left wing.

How can you say this when he didn't cut it at League 2 Level

[Sting of the North]

Another Fulham talent that leaves and goes nowhere. When will they learn that staying at the Cottage is best for their careers? I really hope some have started to see it finally. Not all have a say in it, I know, but it is a pity.

In this case I have no idea what you mean. George Williams left because he was not good enough for FFC at the time. He left for a much inferior club to get game time. Why would it have been better to stay at the cottage for him? On top of that I also assume that he wasn't offered a new contract, so he also likely did not even have the option to stay.

Note that I said not all of them have a say in leaving, and perhaps GW really didn't have a say due to being inconsistent and deemed "not good enough", but I can list you myriad other names that have gone and been swallowed into nothingness.

I'm sorry if I misunderstood you, but if you didn't mean Williams, then it was a bit strange to bring it up in a thread about him. I would be happy to see the list of myriad other names that have gone and been swallowed into nothingness. I would suppose though that the default for any young player, even the very talented ones is to not make the ranks.

[ChesterTheTabby]

Another Fulham talent that leaves and goes nowhere. When will they learn that staying at the Cottage is best for their careers? I really hope some have started to see it finally. Not all have a say in it, I know, but it is a pity.

In this case I have no idea what you mean. George Williams left because he was not good enough for FFC at the time. He left for a much inferior club to get game time. Why would it have been better to stay at the cottage for him? On top of that I also assume that he wasn't offered a new contract, so he also likely did not even have the option to stay.

Note that I said not all of them have a say in leaving, and perhaps GW really didn't have a say due to being inconsistent and deemed "not good enough", but I can list you myriad other names that have gone and been swallowed into nothingness.

I'm sorry if I misunderstood you, but if you didn't mean Williams, then it was a bit strange to bring it up in a thread about him. I would be happy to see the list of myriad other names that have gone and been swallowed into nothingness. I would suppose though that the default for any young player, even the very talented ones is to not make the ranks.

To name a few of our recent academy stars that have gone:
Sean Kavanagh
Patrick Roberts (??? What has he done since joining City??)
Emerson Hyndman
Matthew Briggs
Jesse Joronen
Cameron Burgess
Stephen Humphrys
Lasse Vigen Christensen
Cauley Woodrow (If you consider relegation Barnsley to be a success that is your opinion)
George Williams
Marcelo Trotta (limited time with academy, 2-3 years)


These three I consider to be successful - really only Moussa has been. Elliot and Sess it's too early to tell but those are some big moves.
Moussa Dembele
Ryan Sess (Tottenham - we'll see how he does)
Harvey Elliot (Liverpool - we'll see how he does)
Neil Etheridge (Cardiff - not a bad place to be, mid-to-upper Champ team)

I honestly just didn't recall why Williams left Fulham. Was it he wasn't good enough? Wasn't getting enough in wages? Demanded starting position? Wasn't sure to be entirely honest. That is why I brought it up on a forum with his name.

The above names are really all I can think of... so perhaps *myriad* was the wrong word...perhaps more than a handful would have been more accurate. A real shame though, because I am sure if some had stayed longer than seeking more immediate glory, they'd be in our starting 11 for a few years and we'd be a bit more cohesive.

[Sting of the North]

Another Fulham talent that leaves and goes nowhere. When will they learn that staying at the Cottage is best for their careers? I really hope some have started to see it finally. Not all have a say in it, I know, but it is a pity.

In this case I have no idea what you mean. George Williams left because he was not good enough for FFC at the time. He left for a much inferior club to get game time. Why would it have been better to stay at the cottage for him? On top of that I also assume that he wasn't offered a new contract, so he also likely did not even have the option to stay.

Note that I said not all of them have a say in leaving, and perhaps GW really didn't have a say due to being inconsistent and deemed "not good enough", but I can list you myriad other names that have gone and been swallowed into nothingness.

I'm sorry if I misunderstood you, but if you didn't mean Williams, then it was a bit strange to bring it up in a thread about him. I would be happy to see the list of myriad other names that have gone and been swallowed into nothingness. I would suppose though that the default for any young player, even the very talented ones is to not make the ranks.

To name a few of our recent academy stars that have gone:
Sean Kavanagh
Patrick Roberts (??? What has he done since joining City??)
Emerson Hyndman
Matthew Briggs
Jesse Joronen
Cameron Burgess
Stephen Humphrys
Lasse Vigen Christensen
Cauley Woodrow (If you consider relegation Barnsley to be a success that is your opinion)
George Williams
Marcelo Trotta (limited time with academy, 2-3 years)


These three I consider to be successful - really only Moussa has been. Elliot and Sess it's too early to tell but those are some big moves.
Moussa Dembele
Ryan Sess (Tottenham - we'll see how he does)
Harvey Elliot (Liverpool - we'll see how he does)
Neil Etheridge (Cardiff - not a bad place to be, mid-to-upper Champ team)

I honestly just didn't recall why Williams left Fulham. Was it he wasn't good enough? Wasn't getting enough in wages? Demanded starting position? Wasn't sure to be entirely honest. That is why I brought it up on a forum with his name.

The above names are really all I can think of... so perhaps *myriad* was the wrong word...perhaps more than a handful would have been more accurate. A real shame though, because I am sure if some had stayed longer than seeking more immediate glory, they'd be in our starting 11 for a few years and we'd be a bit more cohesive.

Thanks for the list. A few mentions on some of them, because I think stuff like this is interesting.

Roberts: Was good during his loan to Celtic where he played about 50 games. Still not had that real breakthrough, but at least he is still in or about the top level of football. Wasn't getting much game time in a very mediocre Fulham unfortunately.

Briggs: was on Fulham's books for a long time and never made the grade so had to leave. Believe the same goes for players like Kavanagh, Burgess and Humphrys, they just weren't deemed good enough at the time.

LVC: is playing in the Danish league, but hasn't really taken his game to the next level. Since he left FFC for a clearly inferior team and still haven't progressed really it was probably for the best.

Joronen: Went to slightly inferior teams in search of game time. Took his chance and is now a starter in Serie A with Brescia. Seem like he did the right thing.

Trotta: never really got game time for FFC. Has since played a lot in Serie A and B, so probably was a good call from him to leave.

Woodrow: Was here for years but never got an extended run in the side. Has done very well since leaving so looks like an excellent call from him.

Come to think of it, most of these players didn't really leave for the glory or money but for the chance to play that they couldn't get with FFC. Sure, some might have made it if they had stayed (in the rare cases where we wanted them to), but most of the probably not.

I believe that Roberts and Hyndman went for "bigger" opportunities and have so far to really live up to it. Dembele made it. Sessegnon and Elliott is in my opinion (just as in yours) too early to tell  (I wouldn't actually count out Roberts or Hyndman just yet either, but it's safe to say that they had likely expected more of themselves by now).

In all, I would say that there were 5 players that we probably wanted to keep that went for what they likely saw as a bigger club or league. The rest just never panned out for whatever reason, and took one or many steos down in order to get some game time, in many cases because they were unwanted by FFC.

[ChesterTheTabby]

Another Fulham talent that leaves and goes nowhere. When will they learn that staying at the Cottage is best for their careers? I really hope some have started to see it finally. Not all have a say in it, I know, but it is a pity.

In this case I have no idea what you mean. George Williams left because he was not good enough for FFC at the time. He left for a much inferior club to get game time. Why would it have been better to stay at the cottage for him? On top of that I also assume that he wasn't offered a new contract, so he also likely did not even have the option to stay.

Note that I said not all of them have a say in leaving, and perhaps GW really didn't have a say due to being inconsistent and deemed "not good enough", but I can list you myriad other names that have gone and been swallowed into nothingness.

I'm sorry if I misunderstood you, but if you didn't mean Williams, then it was a bit strange to bring it up in a thread about him. I would be happy to see the list of myriad other names that have gone and been swallowed into nothingness. I would suppose though that the default for any young player, even the very talented ones is to not make the ranks.

To name a few of our recent academy stars that have gone:
Sean Kavanagh
Patrick Roberts (??? What has he done since joining City??)
Emerson Hyndman
Matthew Briggs
Jesse Joronen
Cameron Burgess
Stephen Humphrys
Lasse Vigen Christensen
Cauley Woodrow (If you consider relegation Barnsley to be a success that is your opinion)
George Williams
Marcelo Trotta (limited time with academy, 2-3 years)


These three I consider to be successful - really only Moussa has been. Elliot and Sess it's too early to tell but those are some big moves.
Moussa Dembele
Ryan Sess (Tottenham - we'll see how he does)
Harvey Elliot (Liverpool - we'll see how he does)
Neil Etheridge (Cardiff - not a bad place to be, mid-to-upper Champ team)

I honestly just didn't recall why Williams left Fulham. Was it he wasn't good enough? Wasn't getting enough in wages? Demanded starting position? Wasn't sure to be entirely honest. That is why I brought it up on a forum with his name.

The above names are really all I can think of... so perhaps *myriad* was the wrong word...perhaps more than a handful would have been more accurate. A real shame though, because I am sure if some had stayed longer than seeking more immediate glory, they'd be in our starting 11 for a few years and we'd be a bit more cohesive.

Thanks for the list. A few mentions on some of them, because I think stuff like this is interesting.

Roberts: Was good during his loan to Celtic where he played about 50 games. Still not had that real breakthrough, but at least he is still in or about the top level of football. Wasn't getting much game time in a very mediocre Fulham unfortunately.

Briggs: was on Fulham's books for a long time and never made the grade so had to leave. Believe the same goes for players like Kavanagh, Burgess and Humphrys, they just weren't deemed good enough at the time.

LVC: is playing in the Danish league, but hasn't really taken his game to the next level. Since he left FFC for a clearly inferior team and still haven't progressed really it was probably for the best.

Joronen: Went to slightly inferior teams in search of game time. Took his chance and is now a starter in Serie A with Brescia. Seem like he did the right thing.

Trotta: never really got game time for FFC. Has since played a lot in Serie A and B, so probably was a good call from him to leave.

Woodrow: Was here for years but never got an extended run in the side. Has done very well since leaving so looks like an excellent call from him.

Come to think of it, most of these players didn't really leave for the glory or money but for the chance to play that they couldn't get with FFC. Sure, some might have made it if they had stayed (in the rare cases where we wanted them to), but most of the probably not.

I believe that Roberts and Hyndman went for "bigger" opportunities and have so far to really live up to it. Dembele made it. Sessegnon and Elliott is in my opinion (just as in yours) too early to tell  (I wouldn't actually count out Roberts or Hyndman just yet either, but it's safe to say that they had likely expected more of themselves by now).

In all, I would say that there were 5 players that we probably wanted to keep that went for what they likely saw as a bigger club or league. The rest just never panned out for whatever reason, and took one or many steos down in order to get some game time, in many cases because they were unwanted by FFC.

Incredibly fair points, well said, and I agree with you on the assessments! Interesting discussion and would be keen on others' takes.

[Fernhurst]

One more name I noticed this week. A lad we had on loan for a while but was tipped to be a rising star.
Rohan Ince --------- Released by Cheltenham.

[ChesterTheTabby]

One more name I noticed this week. A lad we had on loan for a while but was tipped to be a rising star.
Rohan Ince --------- Released by Cheltenham.

Good one Fern! I also didn't include Alexander Kakaniclic... where has he gotten off to?

[Sting of the North]

One more name I noticed this week. A lad we had on loan for a while but was tipped to be a rising star.
Rohan Ince --------- Released by Cheltenham.

Good one Fern! I also didn't include Alexander Kakaniclic... where has he gotten off to?

Both Kacaniklic and Tankovic plays for Hammarby (co-owned by Ibrahimovic) in Sweden. Kaca had a great season last year after a few not so good years. He was called up to the national team for two games in January (mostly players from the Nordics, as it is not an official international break). Tankovic has been with the "real" national team for the last year or so, albeit with limited appearances so far. Was one of the better players of the Swedish league last year. Think both are a class too good for the league, probably about Championship class with some additional upside depending on circumstances (which we have already seen with Kaca).

As a bonus, Islamovic was also selected for the January games for Sweden. He just left the Swedish leaguse to join Rosenborg in Norway. He is a class below the other two I would say.

[Andy S]

New prospects come through every year and there is a limit to how many the club can take on. That limit is set by how many can move on to the senior squad. Some won't make it in the end or not in time. There are very few that make it from all the players that are taken on. A lot of it is luck

[AnOldBrownie]

Wouldn't be averse to having him back. We need an option at left wing.

We need an option that's better than Cav, and I'd argue that George is not better than Cav. 

I'd rather have Ryan Babel, if the guy would come back for one season.    I see Ryan being a valuable player regardless of the manager or the attacking style.   

[Brawn]

I've never really forgiven Slav for ostracising and then selling LVC and Adeniran. It's clear that under Khan we've clearly not cared too much about our academy in favour of "promotion quickly pronto now", indicated by the Magath transfer window and the ridiculous level of player turnover we've had since.

I liked George when he was at Fulham and felt he never really got a fair crack at the whip after his injury, particularly under Slav. I watched an U23 game where he bagged two goals, and I remember I was sitting next to the parents of the Blackburn (I think) U23 goalkeeper, who asked about George Williams and they were astonished he wasn't in our main squad when I mentioned he had 9 international caps for Wales.

He would be a useful depth option for me. Not "better" than Cav, but we really don't have anyone else who can play left wing at the moment. Maybe he "didn't cut it" in League Two (I read that as being released for injury reasons rather than talent) but nor did Vardy and Smalling (and arguably Dan Burn at Wigan) so don't take that as read.

[Asotosyios]

I liked Williams, but never really got very excited about his potential.

LVC was the player I absolutely loved and thought he would be a great player for us and get a big money transfer. I'm a bit disappointed that he ended up in Denmark and his career looks to have stagnated.

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[Asotosyios]

I've never really forgiven Slav for ostracising and then selling LVC and Adeniran. It's clear that under Khan we've clearly not cared too much about our academy in favour of "promotion quickly pronto now", indicated by the Magath transfer window and the ridiculous level of player turnover we've had since.

I liked George when he was at Fulham and felt he never really got a fair crack at the whip after his injury, particularly under Slav. I watched an U23 game where he bagged two goals, and I remember I was sitting next to the parents of the Blackburn (I think) U23 goalkeeper, who asked about George Williams and they were astonished he wasn't in our main squad when I mentioned he had 9 international caps for Wales.

He would be a useful depth option for me. Not "better" than Cav, but we really don't have anyone else who can play left wing at the moment. Maybe he "didn't cut it" in League Two (I read that as being released for injury reasons rather than talent) but nor did Vardy and Smalling (and arguably Dan Burn at Wigan) so don't take that as read.

I have a soft spot for LVC and really liked Adeniran too, but one could argue that they haven't done that much since they left Fulham so the decision to sell them was not a wrong one. Not saying that this settles it (they can still improve), but it's a valid argument.

The same could be said for Williams. Also, it wouldn't make much sense to bring him back as depth - better to give more playing time to Jasper, for example.

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