Reply With QuoteDoes he say why they thought he was the next big thing and why they felt he’s dropped off so badly?
Now playing his prime years in League 2. He was rubbish.
| + Visit Cardiff FC for Latest News, Transfer Gossip, Fixtures and Match Results |
There’s a very interesting current episode of the Elis James podcast in which Osion Roberts talks about the Welsh team - he says Emyr Huws was the big hope coming through for the Welsh midfield a few years ago - I thought he was going to be a great signing for us.
Does he say why they thought he was the next big thing and why they felt he’s dropped off so badly?
Now playing his prime years in League 2. He was rubbish.
He didn't go into detail but I remember Huws being very highly rated as a youngster. Off the top of my head he was poached by Man City as a teenager and was the captain of their under 21s, Man City fought off Man Utd and Arsenal to get him as a teenager. Big, strong playmaking type, did well on loans as a youngster, played once or twice for Man City. 29 now and I don't think he even has a club, he was released by Colchester this summerOriginally Posted by WJ99mobile
Did show promise only to see his development halt , must be tough as an individual to mentality manage a fall from a highly rated individual to where he is now.
I'd stop short of saying he was rubbish an feel sympathy for Emyr ??
Sounds like he's unlucky boehly wasn't involved in football at the time. Could have had an 8yr contract on megabucks before anyone noticed he was rubbish
He looked the real deal in a few of his internationals as a kid, I remember him having a very good game and scoring in a game against the Netherlands at Cardiff City Stadium not too long before the 2016 Euros..
He joined Ipswich from us and played very few games for them due to prolonged injuries, midfield is a tough gig physically, and if your injury prone its even tougher , ask Rambo.
first saw him play at the elba sports ground in swansea when he was around 9/10 years old against the cardiff city academy and the first thing I noticed he was heads and shoulders above the rest of all the players in terms of height and size for that age group . At that very early stage you could he was going to have a very good chance of making it at pro level a sweet left peg and lovely balance
some say he never reached his full potential but you could say that about thousands of youngsters in the game
Doesn't that just mean he had an earlier growth spurt?
He played a few times in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
He's arguably the poster boy for that group of players that came just after Bale, Ramsey etc that never reached their potential. You had Huws, Ward, Lawrence, George Williams, Kieron Freeman and more quite highly rated but none ever came anywhere near their potential, except maybe Lawrence. That groups failure to kick really forced Giggs' hand with flooding the squad with youngsters
of course but things like that stand out . At that time didn't even know who he was but everyone was saying he was going to make it in the game at such a young age and they were right ! but did he reach his full potential ?
Talking of not reaching their full potential, I see Taz Mayembe has just joined Garw SBGC in the Welsh 5th tier..
I still believe in Colwill but some of the similarities here are striking... stood out at an early age due to obvious quality and size, then injuries (and maybe a few whispers about effort if I recall fairly about Huws) take a toll and never really came close to fulfilling his early potential.
Let's hope Ruben can turn it around and it's more of a cautionary tale than a prophecy.
The Mayembe thing is absolutely bizarre... I genuinely don't understand how you can go from doing well at academy level for a tier 2 Championship club and being one of the better players in every age group to ending up at that level right after - surely he can play a few levels higher?
I was told that he had sustained a serious back injury which was close to ending his career while with us. I posted this in 2019- Chatted briefly to his father this evening at Taffs Well, his younger brother is already at Man City and they want him, with Burnley and Southampton interested as well. City would want £5m for him. Good to see the club keeping onto their assets, especially after losing Matondo for peanuts
He was electric when he came on, and seemed to have all the skills required
No doubt he could play at a higher level, probably doesn't want to though. Would prefer a knock with his mates, get pissed in the club house etc. Some will call it a waste of talent, and i understand that, but that's coming from a place where none of us have devoted our childhood-youth towards a professional football club, only to be spat out when they deem you surplus to requirements. I would have thought that it could kill off any ambition or enthusiasm for the game at that level. It's a brutal profession to be in, that's for sure
His name sounds like that Gavin and Stacey joke .
"Does he"
Also, he’s probably not going to play that much higher, he won’t make a living out the game so why not have a laugh?!No doubt he could play at a higher level, probably doesn't want to though. Would prefer a knock with his mates, get pissed in the club house etc. Some will call it a waste of talent, and i understand that, but that's coming from a place where none of us have devoted our childhood-youth towards a professional football club, only to be spat out when they deem you surplus to requirements. I would have thought that it could kill off any ambition or enthusiasm for the game at that level. It's a brutal profession to be in, that's for sure
Re Colwill as another poster has mentioned similarities, maybe but I think Colwill will kick on. He’s got more natural talent than someone like Huws did. It’s the bit between the ears that Rubin needs to develop.
Not quite the same thing and I’m not going to name the person involved, but I can remember talking to the father of someone who was playing in the Academy team we were watching when I told him that, even if I had the talent to have become a professional footballer, I would never have made it because my mentality was not right - I would have been too lazy and would not have thrived in what you called “brutal” and I think of as ultra competitive atmospheres. The man I was talking to then surprised me by telling me he had been on City’s books as a teenager and the reason he didn’t make it was mainly for the second of those two mental things I’d mentioned, the dog eat dog nature of a football apprenticeship wasn’t for him.No doubt he could play at a higher level, probably doesn't want to though. Would prefer a knock with his mates, get pissed in the club house etc. Some will call it a waste of talent, and i understand that, but that's coming from a place where none of us have devoted our childhood-youth towards a professional football club, only to be spat out when they deem you surplus to requirements. I would have thought that it could kill off any ambition or enthusiasm for the game at that level. It's a brutal profession to be in, that's for sure
Seems to me that a significant proportion of players with the innate talent to play professional football are precluded from doing so because of “failings” in attitude - in fact, I’d say that you are the exception if you can prosper as, say, a seventeen or eighteen year old in a modern day professional football dressing room.
Spot on Bob. Mentally is everything. I could give examples, but I won't bore people with it. Another factor that is rarely taken into consideration is the body. Most people ( Including myself) just think that being ultra fit is enough ( on top of ability and character) it isn't. There are players who have all of the ability and right attitude, but their bodies won't let them perform at a high level without it breaking down, they just don't have that strength, stamina, recovery levels. If you think about it, it makes sense, we are all born into different bodies. I suppose it's when a person gets to the top of a profession that they find out how far their bodies can be pushed.
I've known a few lads who had all of the attributes, but who's bodies couldn't cope with the high demand that professional sports put on them. Always injured, couldn't recover well etc. We can all probably think of plenty of pro players who were that way as well.
That’s something I’ve never given a great deal of thought to, but it does make sense.
Theres a program on BBC i player at the moment called Boot Dreams or something. Gifton Noel-Williams has an academy of a bunch of young pros who didnt make it and the aim is to try and give them another chance and a pro contract.
Theres a lad on there who was in the Southampton 1st team squad at 18 but had bad injuries ACL twice I think and released. Hes made captain of Williams team and just breaks down again this time with a shoulder injury and told he really needs another op.Just looks like his body wont stand up to professional sport.
Yeah, that's about right. Without having the first idea about these things, I would have thought it has to be about genetics. Then there's the other side of the coin, players who recover quickly, don't pick up knocks etc. Suppose there's plenty that can happen that the average fan doesn't take into account when we're watching these players develop.
That's an attribute that's rarely spoken about, being impervious to injury or recovering quickly.
Cristiano Ronaldo is especially notable for it, he could always be relied on for 30+ league games a season. I can't remember him ever missing as much as a month.
He's a specimen, although not stupid either. He stopped running across the line (Defensively) about 8 years ago. Which has obviously saved him a fair bit. Although I suppose when you're as good as him you can do what the hell you like in order to preserve yourself!
Posting Permissions