Bob Wilson's Blog makes it to Wales Online

[Brizzlebluebirds]

Don't you think that the final game of the season with nothing riding on it would be the best time to give youngsters a go? If it had been a hammering, they wouldn't have got much flak for it if they were genuine untried youngsters. The problem I have with Monday is that we're not talking about untired youngsters here.

Looking at their Wikipedia entries, Eli King has played twenty times in senior football now, Isaak Davies thirty eight, Joel Bagan thirty six if you include the two matches he played on loan for Notts County (could have sworn he played more than hat for them) and Rubin Colwill sixty with eight senior caps as well.

So, we're talking about four players with a combined age of 83 (3x21 plus King who's 20) and a total of one hundred and sixty two appearances in senior football. When do they stop being youngsters who need to be protected and start becoming proper professional footballers? I'd argue that the answer to that question should be something like eighteen months ago in the case of the twenty one year olds and at the start of this season for King.

As someone once said, you can't win anything with youngsters

[splott parker]

That TOBW will be ‘phone hacking next......it’s the obvious next step

[Cyclops]

Wales Online approached me on Tuesday asking if they could use the piece - I was happy to let them publish it.....

...after spending six hours wondering whether it was yet another scam of the elderly

[City123]

Sure bagan king davies and colwell all featured at anfield only 16 months ago and didn't lose by 6 either

One of them even managed to score

[Sloop_Jon_Bee]

That TOBW will be ‘phone hacking next......it’s the obvious next step

[the other bob wilson]

That TOBW will be ‘phone hacking next......it’s the obvious next step

[Loramski]

Don't you think that the final game of the season with nothing riding on it would be the best time to give youngsters a go? If it had been a hammering, they wouldn't have got much flak for it if they were genuine untried youngsters. The problem I have with Monday is that we're not talking about untired youngsters here.

Looking at their Wikipedia entries, Eli King has played twenty times in senior football now, Isaak Davies thirty eight, Joel Bagan thirty six if you include the two matches he played on loan for Notts County (could have sworn he played more than hat for them) and Rubin Colwill sixty with eight senior caps as well.

So, we're talking about four players with a combined age of 83 (3x21 plus King who's 20) and a total of one hundred and sixty two appearances in senior football. When do they stop being youngsters who need to be protected and start becoming proper professional footballers? I'd argue that the answer to that question should be something like eighteen months ago in the case of the twenty one year olds and at the start of this season for King.

How long ago was it that you had a column in the Echo? What happened there, didn't you pull out because they starting editing it or am I imagining that?

Bagan played four games for Notts County by the way. Two in the league then two play-off games. I thought it was more too but he was a bit unlucky. Made a good debut at Barrow in early March, missed the midweek game but then started every game for them after that, including the play-off final at Wembley in August. Still only got four games in, that's Covid for you.

[skunkatron]

I hope TOBW gets a monthly article on WOL , it would certainly be a improvement content wise. Big fan of his blog and it's a cut above what they currently offer imho.

[Dorcus]

I hope TOBW gets a monthly article on WOL , it would certainly be a improvement content wise. Big fan of his blog and it's a cut above what they currently offer imho.

Agree it's essential reading after every game 👍

[Eric the Half a Bee]

I hope TOBW gets a monthly article on WOL , it would certainly be a improvement content wise. Big fan of his blog and it's a cut above what they currently offer imho.

Sludge Factory's dogging reports would be an improvement in the content on WOL. TOBW should be reimbursed properly for his talent.

[the other bob wilson]

How long ago was it that you had a column in the Echo? What happened there, didn't you pull out because they starting editing it or am I imagining that?

Bagan played four games for Notts County by the way. Two in the league then two play-off games. I thought it was more too but he was a bit unlucky. Made a good debut at Barrow in early March, missed the midweek game but then started every game for them after that, including the play-off final at Wembley in August. Still only got four games in, that's Covid for you.

I did a weekly column for the Echo for about a year around the time of our first season in the Premier League. There was some editing of what I wrote occasionally (there was in this week's piece as well), but that never bothered me too much really.

Maybe those still at Wales Online will tell you different, but, from my perspective, I stopped doing the column because they wouldn't run something I'd written about he Academy team. I thought it would be a good idea to do one story a season about age group teams at City. I did one on what was then the under 23 team which was published with no problems, but they weren't happy with my story about the under 18s I did a couple of months later. The impression I got was that they thought no one would be interested in it - I disagreed (I reckoned that, on the contrary, a one off story would be of interest to City fans - they might have had a point if I planned to write something every month) and decided that it wasn't worth continuing with.

[the other bob wilson]

I hope TOBW gets a monthly article on WOL , it would certainly be a improvement content wise. Big fan of his blog and it's a cut above what they currently offer imho.

Thanks very much, I don't think any more will come of it - Scott Johnson (Roathboy) used to do a weekly article for Wales Online, but he left to work solo and I think they were just looking for an end of season piece written by a fan.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Thanks very much, I don't think any more will come of it - Scott Johnson (Roathboy) used to do a weekly article for Wales Online, but he left to work solo and I think they were just looking for an end of season piece written by a fan.

I hear that DML has a weekly column starting next season.

[the other bob wilson]

I hear that DML has a weekly column starting next season.

It’ll be like reading the club programme

[olderblue]

It’ll be like reading the club programme

More like listening to Comical Ali more 😂

[Alan Lung]

Sludge Factory's dogging reports would be an improvement in the content on WOL. TOBW should be reimbursed properly for his talent.

Does Sludge go dogging? Wow.