Quote Originally Posted by Loramski View Post
I picked up on Ashford and Joel Colwill not going on loan, against Bulut's apparent wishes, at the time but I haven't heard any more about that. It looks like the scenario you suggest, I agree, but at the same time I've no idea what (if any) loan offers were made and who turned them down. The club, Bulut, the players themselves? It does seem odd but I wouldn't like to draw a conclusion without more info.

I made a point about training in my post but you've still reduced it all down to goals scored again. I'm not saying it's irrelevant but just that it's a smaller part of the overall picture than I used to think. If Ashford is struggling to impress against the senior players in training, or struggling to take ideas in, or struggling with strength and fitness etc then that has to be taken into account along with the fact that he ran 60 yards to score in an under-21 game.

Players like Velikonja, Healey and even Danny Johnson scored for fun at that level, it didn't mean the red carpet was laid out for them at first team level. Sawyers also scored for the u-21s recently, that didn't mean Bulut started him next game either. I'd love to see Ashford and Colwill get some game time but, with Bulut's contract up in a month or so, I can understand why the long term future isn't as much of a concern for him as it is for us.

You post some seriously good stuff, really enjoy your take on things and i find myself agreeing with you on plenty of things. I like it that you're not sentimental or biased about young players coming through and you offer all options in an argument, not just the ones that suit your stand point. You talk like someone who has been around top level sport, or at least a very good standard.

You're right, what goes on during the week is imperative towards a young players development and inclusion. Thing is, as fans, we aren't seeing the character of these players, we don't see what they're like in certain situations on a training pitch, we don't see how they respond. We just look at a player in their position who isn't performing and ask why (Insert Name) isn't playing in front of them. Managers and coaches have to trust players as well, there are loads of factors that us as fans don't take into account or see (For obvious reasons) on a daily basis.

Young players are also in aposition where they have to prove themselves. All players have to go through it. People might think it's wrong, but they can't just be on the same level as the person in their position, they have to be better, like nearly all young players that break through, they were showing more.