Ouzounidis is 21, but yeah I suppose that’s old for a youth team.

What age is the rule of thumb cutoff for playing academy football then?

JRB is also 21. Should he be looking to leave the Palace academy team also or keep playing youth football in the faint hope he’s given a shot at senior level one day?

Yes.

He was playing non-league before he went there. Given Courtney-Perkins wants out of Brisbane, he'd be a good pick up for them given he's a Queenslander.

Interesting to see where ouzinidis ends up. Timotheu obviously played for Schalke in the bundesliga and Adelaide fans on here say he’s not the greatest defender. 

This so much.

Ouzinidis contract ends in July so I guess we will see, my bet is he ends up in a league one side or A-league.

Anyone who saw Caleb Watts play against Ireland would have to agree.

Wasn’t he any good? Watts is like 18 so he’s potentially up against players 5 years older.

He didn’t really do anything wrong, but Popovic and Teague stood out above him. I didn’t realise he was that young, but he did debut in the EPL this year, so I was expecting a lot more from him. 

Watts played on Armekanas' side of the field, there was so many times Panos could have played him a simple pass but he would try and take a player on and then Watts would be caught out in transition. 

But yeh unlike ouzinidis he has actually made an app for Southhampton and been on the bench multiple times

Yes, this 1000%. 

Eurosnobbery and our our own insecurity coming to the fore again - we can't possibly fathom that players in our own league are better than an aussie player in a european squad. 

I just posted on another thread that i feel leckie will get found out when he comes back to the A league where he is expected to dominate. He simply doesn't have the technical chops to ever really dominate unless he plays further back on the pitch say RM, RWB or attacking RB where he has much more time on the ball and his technical deficiencies are masked and physical prowess maximised.

He didn't play as bad as everyone is making out, and he was pretty sweaty for the first 15 mins, but yeah I was expecting him to be a cut above everyone out there. 3 more games to show us he deserves to go to Tokyo

People forget that he will be eligible for 2024, and won't even be in the top age group for that tournament. He's so young. So much time to improve. 

Charlton Athletic are set to loan out Ashley Maynard-Brewer.

https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-athletic-set-to-loan-out-maynard-brewer-as-boss-confirms-he-wants-ben-amos-to-stay/

People need to realise we got some great talent in our own country but what is the difference to say Europe and Australia is the environment, In Europe they play more games and its more cut throat for positions as their are players in Europe and around the world vying for playing positions so of course the level is very high.

Unlike here as mentioned by Arnie we dont play enough football in this country at all levels, our season goes for no longer than 6 or 7 months at best and maybe its not as cut throat due to our laid back nature in how we view life and probably not enough competitive tension which probably doesnt help either but Europe will always remain the highest level in world football so its no shame our players want to test themselves at higher levels as thats where dreams are made of in this sport.

If we can improve our envionment here by have more games therefore a longer season but also try and create more competitive tension as well then this would help Australia develop more players ready for European football because clearly we got plenty of talent here.

More playing opportunities is crucial at the top level but also growing the talent pool at youth level is a must too, there is a reason why we need a NSD and eventual expansion of the aleague as it effects the top end of the pyramid.

With Watts I dont think he's ready for this level yet, I think like Teague is better off in the next cohort midfield is a strong part of this Olyroos side so we have plenty of options anyway.

They young and should expect to feature in the 2024/2025? Olympics in Paris campaign.

Apart from what we've seen in Spain we've got - McGree, Metcalfe, Genreau, Baccus, O'Neill, Devlin, Brimmer, Duncan, T Francois, Thurgate to fill probably 6 midfield squad positions. But Watts  played 3 EPL games & some cup games for the top team, so one mediocre performance shouldn't be the end of his chances

The upside for him is he has the next cycle, in terms of what others bring to the table I dont think Watts is a standout compared to those guys.

We have a few guys in that group that are older in terms of selection and should be first choice, Watts like Teague will come at 2024 dont worry.

A start and 76 minutes for Deng in a 1-2 cup win at Vissel Kobe, Iniesta getting a full game.

Awesome stuff. Glad to see he’s returned from injury and is getting vital minutes ahead of the Olympics. 

I think the rule of thumb at least in europe is about 19-20 to be a regular player in the first team. Most players make their debuts around the 16-18 year range. We here in Aus have a distorted expectation because we for the most part have not handed debuts to players until their early 20s and call them young still. Its part of the reason we have had issues developing high quality players.

IMO we need to change the expectation and conversation around that 

Cristian Valpato scored again for Roma's u18 team v AC Milan. He also debuted for Roma's B/ 2nd team a couple of days ago - very promising for his age. From the footage I've seen of him, he could be something special for us down the track. 

He has remarkable quality on the ball, especially for someone of his physical size (6ft 2). We need to get him in the junior set up pretty quick smart. He’s part of a pretty strong cohort of 2003/4 attacking players. 

#BREAKING: Another major coup for Aussie coaches! 🇦🇺

Joe Montemurro joins Juventus as head coach of the Italian giant’s women's team! 🙌

Any news on the Mat Ryan front? He's certainly not going to stay at Brighton and about a month ago I had read a few articles saying he's going to Arsenal. But that seems to have fizzled out as the rumour mill indicates Arsenal wants a HG backup as they're after Andre Onana (who is serving a doping ban until midway through the season ) and to add further confusion who knows where Leno will end up. 

Boyle making the official Scottish Premiership team of the season: https://spfl.co.uk/news/premiership-team-of-the-season-202021

Debunks the title of being ‘Scottish NT reject’ by ‘celtsrhere67’ 👊

What or who is HG?

Third tier Honda FC opening the scoring in Ange's last game in Japan in the Emperor's Cup.

Home-grown