Fulham U18 vs Norwich City U18s

[GRTourist]

Hi all,

I was the photographer at the Fulham U18 match again on Saturday.  The team are really putting some good form together now, and the competition at the top of the table is brilliant.

For anyone who's interested, the match report and photos are here:

https://thegrassrootstourist.com/2021/03/28/fulham-u18-vs-norwich-city-u18/

Regards,

GRT

[HV71]

Thank you for the report on an impressive win. I really like the player pen pics and narrative at the end

[RaySmith]

Great report and photos - thanks.

[Jim©]

Fantastic report, many thanks

[The Cravenette]

Excellent read, thanks!

[AJW48361]

Any promising young players the U18s destined for the first team in near or present future.

[G_Gribby]

Cheers GRT, great work also from your side this.

[Twig]

Really enjoyed reading this.

[sunburywhite]

What camera are you using?

[Blawarmy]

Maybe that goal/assist machine Mika Biereth should be on the 1st team bench instead of one of our several defenders!!

[GRTourist]

What camera are you using?

Hi - I use a pair of Nikon D500s, with one medium reach lens and one close up for goal celebrations etc.

Any promising young players the U18s destined for the first team in near or present future.

It's a big, big step from U18s to first team, and when you consider some of the U23 players ahead of them it shows how much development still needs to take place.  A good example would be Timmy Abraham, who did fine at U18 level but hasn't had the same success at U23, or out on either of his loan spells.

Ibane Bowat is a very good prospect, but still has the likes of Opoku ahead of him, who is doing well with my team Argyle in League One.  As good as Ollie O'Neill is, he's still not at the level of Carvalho or Jasper who are on the fringes of the first team now as well.  Stansfield will probably join that pair next season too.

There are some players who definitely have a very high ceiling if they fulfil their potential though - in addition to Bowat, O'Neill and Stansfield, Stefan Parkes is hugely talented, and has the versatility of Steven Sessegnon but is (probably) a better prospect in my opinion.

[bigalffc]

Great report and photos, thank you GRT

[Jim©]

What camera are you using?

Hi - I use a pair of Nikon D500s, with one medium reach lens and one close up for goal celebrations etc.

Any promising young players the U18s destined for the first team in near or present future.

It's a big, big step from U18s to first team, and when you consider some of the U23 players ahead of them it shows how much development still needs to take place.  A good example would be Timmy Abraham, who did fine at U18 level but hasn't had the same success at U23, or out on either of his loan spells.

Ibane Bowat is a very good prospect, but still has the likes of Opoku ahead of him, who is doing well with my team Argyle in League One.  As good as Ollie O'Neill is, he's still not at the level of Carvalho or Jasper who are on the fringes of the first team now as well.  Stansfield will probably join that pair next season too.

There are some players who definitely have a very high ceiling if they fulfil their potential though - in addition to Bowat, O'Neill and Stansfield, Stefan Parkes is hugely talented, and has the versatility of Steven Sessegnon but is (probably) a better prospect in my opinion.

Interesting no mention of Bowie who I think i'm right in saying was playing 1st team football in Scotland prior to joining us?

[GRTourist]

What camera are you using?

Hi - I use a pair of Nikon D500s, with one medium reach lens and one close up for goal celebrations etc.

Any promising young players the U18s destined for the first team in near or present future.

It's a big, big step from U18s to first team, and when you consider some of the U23 players ahead of them it shows how much development still needs to take place.  A good example would be Timmy Abraham, who did fine at U18 level but hasn't had the same success at U23, or out on either of his loan spells.

Ibane Bowat is a very good prospect, but still has the likes of Opoku ahead of him, who is doing well with my team Argyle in League One.  As good as Ollie O'Neill is, he's still not at the level of Carvalho or Jasper who are on the fringes of the first team now as well.  Stansfield will probably join that pair next season too.

There are some players who definitely have a very high ceiling if they fulfil their potential though - in addition to Bowat, O'Neill and Stansfield, Stefan Parkes is hugely talented, and has the versatility of Steven Sessegnon but is (probably) a better prospect in my opinion.

Interesting no mention of Bowie who I think i'm right in saying was playing 1st team football in Scotland prior to joining us?

He was, yeah.  He had (I think) scored ten goals and got five assists for Raith Rovers at the time he was signed.  I think the level of Scottish League One is probably consistent with National League North/South though to be honest, and Scottish Championship/lower Premiership clubs will regularly have players transfer to/from National League sides.

I like Bowie, he's certainly hitting form well, and has good physicality at U18 level.  He definitely has some development to do technically and tactically compared to his peers who have benefitted from longer in a Cat 1 Academy though.  There's an interesting interview with him on the club website from the post-match on Saturday where he talks about the step up in quality from first team at Raith to U18s at Fulham.

[shepperton white]

Now I see they've done the same to the Hammers - 4-0.  Take a look at the U18's league table - well on top with a goal difference 0f +33! Just hope we can keep hold of some of them this time

[Jim©]

He was, yeah.  He had (I think) scored ten goals and got five assists for Raith Rovers at the time he was signed.  I think the level of Scottish League One is probably consistent with National League North/South though to be honest, and Scottish Championship/lower Premiership clubs will regularly have players transfer to/from National League sides.

I like Bowie, he's certainly hitting form well, and has good physicality at U18 level.  He definitely has some development to do technically and tactically compared to his peers who have benefitted from longer in a Cat 1 Academy though.  There's an interesting interview with him on the club website from the post-match on Saturday where he talks about the step up in quality from first team at Raith to U18s at Fulham.

Thanks. It's a pretty damning verdict on Scottish football if that last point really is the case. I hope he continues to develop as his experience of 1st team football should benefit him long term.