[Albion] Brighton U21s thread

Gabbiano · Monday at 9:03 PM

All of Ifill, McConville, BBB, Peupion, Samuels and Turns had contracts due to expire in the summer. Presumably they either were not willing to sign new ones of were not going to be offered new ones.

Makes sense to sell them in January instead of when the contracts run out in the summer. Even if there is no upfront fee, the club can work in sell on percentages, buy backs and the like this way.

Others contracted only until the summer, according to Transfermarkt: Duffus, Mullins, Cahill and Jensen (who?)

Bozza · Monday at 9:05 PM

jackalbion said:
I think I agree with most of the U21s departures Peupion, Turns, Samuels and BBB I thought had no future with us. McConville’s departure I’m disappointed with, I thought he had the minerals. On my main point am I going an age group too high? Was there a large amount of U16s/scholarships kept on? Or have I imagined this age group with a large amount kept on? I seem remember you making a post about a large amount being kept on.

But if McConville wasn't going to sign another contract, what's the club going to do?

He'd get little to no first-team match minutes this season and he'd then walk away for nothing.

As it stands, we'll get £1-2.5m cash and will surely have a decent sell-on clause in place, so if he does turn out to be the real deal, then we'll benefit from that further down the line.

So, assuming it it that, and I think it's highly probable, then the question is why didn't McConville want to commit his future to us? I'd guess discussions must have taken place some time ago.

It may just be as simple as some players just not seeing a viable pathway to first-team football available to them, given where we are aiming to be, so taking one step back, sooner rather than later, will help them take two steps forward in a year or two.

zefarelly · Monday at 9:13 PM

Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ said:
Why would there be a pathway in the summer?

We currently have the following senior centre backs:

Dunk
van Hecke
Igor
Webster
Cashin

Well Past it
Liverpool - VvD replacement or great book balancing act
possible leaver - dropped on form, I'd be pissed off.
Unreliable but very good
Unproven

that may be a cynical outlook but it aint far off, and that's not good enough for a top half PL outfit.

Defence is the heart of survival . . . . Dunk knows that, he got us there, kept us there, and in his heart of hearts should know he's on borrowed time if we're going to stay there

jackalbion · Monday at 9:21 PM

Bozza said:
But if McConville wasn't going to sign another contract, what's the club going to do?

He'd get little to no first-team match minutes this season and he'd then walk away for nothing.

As it stands, we'll get £1-2.5m cash and will surely have a decent sell-on clause in place, so if he does turn out to be the real deal, then we'll benefit from that further down the line.

So, assuming it it that, and I think it's highly probable, then the question is why didn't McConville want to commit his future to us? I'd guess discussions must have taken place some time ago.

It may just be as simple as some players just not seeing a viable pathway to first-team football available to them, given where we are aiming to be, so taking one step back, sooner rather than later, will help them take two steps forward in a year or two.

Possibly, I just saw a pathway for McConville personally, and it’s a shame we can’t keep a player with his talents.

AZ Gull · Monday at 9:24 PM

Gabbiano said:
All of Ifill, McConville, BBB, Peupion, Samuels and Turns had contracts due to expire in the summer. Presumably they either were not willing to sign new ones of were not going to be offered new ones.

Makes sense to sell them in January instead of when the contracts run out in the summer. Even if there is no upfront fee, the club can work in sell on percentages, buy backs and the like this way.

Others contracted only until the summer, according to Transfermarkt: Duffus, Mullins, Cahill and Jensen (who?)

Jensen

Gabbiano · Monday at 9:27 PM

AZ Gull said:
Jensen

Ah, I'd completely forgotten.

GT49er · Monday at 9:46 PM

Gabbiano said:
Ah, I'd completely forgotten.

Easily done. Maybe the club have too - they've not even added him to the squad on the website! Bearing in mind that 'results do not matter' (compared to the main aim of developing players) it seems strange that we rush out to get some cover, considering we've got three in the squad, plus presumably the best of the U18s could step up - and maybe Killian Cahill might like the odd chance of a game!

GT49er · Monday at 9:51 PM

Bozza said:
But if McConville wasn't going to sign another contract, what's the club going to do?

He'd get little to no first-team match minutes this season and he'd then walk away for nothing.

As it stands, we'll get £1-2.5m cash and will surely have a decent sell-on clause in place, so if he does turn out to be the real deal, then we'll benefit from that further down the line.

So, assuming it it that, and I think it's highly probable, then the question is why didn't McConville want to commit his future to us? I'd guess discussions must have taken place some time ago.

It may just be as simple as some players just not seeing a viable pathway to first-team football available to them, given where we are aiming to be, so taking one step back, sooner rather than later, will help them take two steps forward in a year or two.

Granted if he didn't want to sign a contract our hands were tied, but all things considered I'd much preferred his move to Norwich to have been a loan if it had been possible. I definitely think there could have been a pathway for him next season. Oh well, win some, lose some.

Home and Away · Monday at 10:05 PM

GT49er · Monday at 10:15 PM

Home and Away said:

Hope he has better luck/success there than Todd Miller! Good luck to him - another promising youngster moved on.

Bozza · Monday at 10:18 PM

Home and Away said:

"Ifill, who came up through the youth set-up at Swindon Town, has made 13 Premier League 2 appearances for the young Eagles this season after featuring against Bromley in pre-season. The wide-man has also bagged four goals so far this season."

Marcus Ifill joins on a permanent deal from Brighton | Bromley Football Club

Bromley Football Club are delighted to announce the permanent signing of winger Marcus Ifill from Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion. The 21-year-old becomes our second Deadline Day signing following the arrival of Maldini Kacurri from Arsenal. Ifill, who came up through the youth set-up...

www.bromleyfc.co.uk

albionalex · Monday at 10:20 PM

jackalbion said:
Possibly, I just saw a pathway for McConville personally, and it’s a shame we can’t keep a player with his talents.

Not many of our players go from the U21's to first team. Before Hinshelwood, who was the last one?

Shame we didn't send McConville out on loan.

Albion Robster · Monday at 10:30 PM

albionalex said:
Not many of our players go from the U21's to first team. Before Hinshelwood, who was the last one?

Evan Ferguson.
And where’s he gone today?! Not wanted by the club so it seems.

nsclurker · Monday at 10:35 PM

Also, all the "home-grown" sales go straight down as pure profit.

Lady Whistledown · Monday at 10:38 PM

I think a few people are getting carried away about McConville on the basis of a couple of appearances for Northern Ireland.

The NI squad contains loads of players from the Championship and League One: just because a player gets a cap for them doesn't make them top quality. I suspect if it hadn't been for those caps, nobody would have batted an eyelid at him leaving, and in fact probably would have been surprised at the fact we may get nearly three million quid for him in the end if it works out at Norwich. Good luck to the kid, but let's not pretend we're all experts on his ability.

And don't get me started on the likes of Ifill, Peupion, BBB and Turns, none of whom have ever shown even the slightest hint of being potential PL regulars (especially Turns, who's rumbled around the bottom two divisions of the FL without pulling up any trees for three or four seasons now). All will continue their professional careers I'm sure, but a level more befitting of their talents.

Honestly: a couple of admittedly miserable defeats and all of a sudden the releasing of a bunch of youngsters who were always going to be on their way either now or in June (and the sale of one who might have been alright, or might not) has so many Albion fans losing their minds :lol:

Lady Whistledown · Monday at 10:40 PM

albionalex said:
Not many of our players go from the U21's to first team. Before Hinshelwood, who was the last one?

Shame we didn't send McConville out on loan.

Ferguson. Who we might still get an absolute fortune for. All it's going to take is 8-10 goals for West Ham and all the top clubs will be flocking around him.

Before that: Sanchez. Who we got £25 million for.

Before that: Ben White. Who we got £50 million for.

Before that: Aaron Connolly. Who we somehow got money for also.

Bozza · Monday at 10:44 PM

GT49er said:
Granted if he didn't want to sign a contract our hands were tied, but all things considered I'd much preferred his move to Norwich to have been a loan if it had been possible. I definitely think there could have been a pathway for him next season. Oh well, win some, lose some.

A loan is very, very unlikely for any player with just a few months left on his contact and, presumably, little to no evidence of them committing to a new deal.

I repeat what I said a few hours ago, McConville may turn out to be the real deal but, at his age, it's a coin toss. I'll admit to having never heard of him before November and I suspect most of our fans who aren't keenly focused on the youth setup are similar.

So, given what I think are not unreasonable assumptions about his situation, a sale now to pocket some cash and lock in the chance of future gains via a sell-on clause was really the only viable option.

One Teddy Maybank · Monday at 10:48 PM

Lady Whistledown said:
I think a few people are getting carried away about McConville on the basis of a couple of appearances for Northern Ireland.

The NI squad contains loads of players from the Championship and League One: just because a player gets a cap for them doesn't make them top quality. I suspect if it hadn't been for those caps, nobody would have batted an eyelid at him leaving, and in fact probably would have been surprised at the fact we may get nearly three million quid for him in the end if it works out at Norwich. Good luck to the kid, but let's not pretend we're all experts on his ability.

And don't get me started on the likes of Ifill, Peupion, BBB and Turns, none of whom have ever shown even the slightest hint of being potential PL regulars (especially Turns, who's rumbled around the bottom two divisions of the FL without pulling up any trees for three or four seasons now). All will continue their professional careers I'm sure, but a level more befitting of their talents.

Honestly: a couple of admittedly miserable defeats and all of a sudden the releasing of a bunch of youngsters who were always going to be on their way either now or in June (and the sale of one who might have been alright, or might not) has so many Albion fans losing their minds

I don’t agree at all, very promising in the U21s, on the fringes of the first team albeit as sub, the NI caps are just an add-on. Obviously, I don’t know if you regularly attend the U21s….

I think the rest of the post is about right, but this particular transfer I find frustrating, as others have said it might have been driven by the player.

brighton_tom · Monday at 10:50 PM

jackalbion said:
Possibly, I just saw a pathway for McConville personally, and it’s a shame we can’t keep a player with his talents.

There was a possible pathway. But if you're presented with option a) definite first team football at Championship side Norwich straight away, or option b) you might (no guarantees) get serious first team minutes at Brighton in 2-3 years after we've sent you on loan a few times... then its probably easy to see why the Norwich option sounded at least viable. Good reason to choose either of those.

albionalex · Monday at 10:51 PM

Lady Whistledown said:
Ferguson. Who we might still get an absolute fortune for. All it's going to take is 8-10 goals for West Ham and all the top clubs will be flocking around him.

Before that: Sanchez. Who we got £25 million for.

Before that: Ben White. Who we got £50 million for.

Before that: Aaron Connolly. Who we somehow got money for also.

They both had loan moves.

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