Aylesbury born striker/centre forward Robert Hall has been with West Ham United since 2003 and signed professional forms in October 2010. He has represented England at Under 16, Under 17, Under 18 and Under 19 level and looks to have a great future in the game.
This season the 18 year old has spent time on loan at League Two Oxford United where he made an immediate impression with his pace and mobility and scored the only goal in his debut match which was a 1-0 victory over Dagenham and Redbridge. He went to make 11 appearances (2 as a substitute) scoring five goals during two loan spells for the U's.
Hall was recalled to West Ham United just prior to Christmas and made his debut for the East London side coming on as a 79th minute substitute on the New Years Eve defeat at Derby County.
Hall came on as substitute for England Under 19's against Denmark in November and scored the winner to mark a successful few months which included his loan to The Kassam Stadium.
Hammer's manager Sam Allardyce has many options up front with Sam Baldock, Carlton Cole, John Carew, Freddie Sears, Brian Montenegro along with deadline day signings Nicky Maynard and Ricardo Vaz Te (at the time of writing it is reported Vaz Te will be moving to join his former boss at The Boleyn Ground) so Hall's first team chances may be limited in the immediate future.
Soccer Intelligence expects to see Hall loaned out to a lower league club again to aid his development into a first team player for The Hammers.
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Monday, 30 January 2012
THE FUTURE OF THE ENGLISH NATIONAL TEAM
The current Premier League is awash with an array of foreign imported players of whom some are world class and some, it has to be said, are distinctly average. Many teams in the higher reaches of English football now field starting XI's which contain a high percentage of overseas players and the argument is this can only be damaging to the future of the English National Team. It is valid that the arrival of, for example, a Gianfranco Zola or a Robin Van Persie can only be good for young professionals as they will learn form the experience these stars quite obviously have/had in abundance but for every Zola or Bergkamp their is a (censored - every fan can insert their own name here) who came to the English game and flopped.
Soccer Intelligence asks why are young English player's not getting many opportunities in the Premier League and what can be done to improve their chances? By young we mean under 21, the future of the English National Team and in turn the future of the Premier League.
The last England under 21's match was on the 14th November 2011 when they lost to Belgium and as the below shows only seven of the starting XI have played in the Premier League with only Lowe, Kelly, Dawson and Henderson being regular starters in England's top division.
Many Chelsea fans have hailed creative midfielder Josh McEachran as a fantastic talent but first team opportunities have been minimal for him at Stamford Bridge. So much so he has recently joined Swansea City on loan which can only benefit himself and his parent club in the long run but surely he should be given a chance by Chelsea.
So what can be done to improve young English player's chances? At present not much, it seems as if the way forward is to go out on loan in the lower leagues to gain experience.
There are arguments about a young player being used too much and over-hyped. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, for example, looks to have a great future in the game but at just 18 years of age and with only a few first team appearance for The Gunners there is talk of including him in the Euro 2012 squad. Is this shades of Theo Walcottt and his ill fated inclusion in Sven's World Cup squad of 2006?
There needs to be a balance and SI thinks this is to keep the Under 21 players in the Under 21 squad until they are 21. This gives them a good grounding and will not put them in at the deep in end in the full senior squad which in my opinion will hamper their progress.
Soccer Intelligence asks why are young English player's not getting many opportunities in the Premier League and what can be done to improve their chances? By young we mean under 21, the future of the English National Team and in turn the future of the Premier League.
The last England under 21's match was on the 14th November 2011 when they lost to Belgium and as the below shows only seven of the starting XI have played in the Premier League with only Lowe, Kelly, Dawson and Henderson being regular starters in England's top division.
England under 21's starting XI NAME CLUB PREMIER LEAGUE JACK BUTLAND BIRMINGHAM CITY* NO ADAM SMITH TOTTENHAM HOSTPUR* NO NATHANIEL CLYNE CRYSTAL PALACE NO JASON LOWE BLACKBURN ROVERS YES MARTIN KELLY LIVERPOOL YES CRAIG DAWSON WEST BROMWICH ALBION YES ALEX OXLADE CHAMBERLAIN ARSENAL YES JORDAN HENDERSON LIVERPOOL YES MARVIN SORDELL WATFORD NO JOSH McEACHRAN CHELSEA* YES SAMMY AMEOBIA NEWCASTLE UNITED YES *denotes currently on loan
Many Chelsea fans have hailed creative midfielder Josh McEachran as a fantastic talent but first team opportunities have been minimal for him at Stamford Bridge. So much so he has recently joined Swansea City on loan which can only benefit himself and his parent club in the long run but surely he should be given a chance by Chelsea.
So what can be done to improve young English player's chances? At present not much, it seems as if the way forward is to go out on loan in the lower leagues to gain experience.
There are arguments about a young player being used too much and over-hyped. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, for example, looks to have a great future in the game but at just 18 years of age and with only a few first team appearance for The Gunners there is talk of including him in the Euro 2012 squad. Is this shades of Theo Walcottt and his ill fated inclusion in Sven's World Cup squad of 2006?
There needs to be a balance and SI thinks this is to keep the Under 21 players in the Under 21 squad until they are 21. This gives them a good grounding and will not put them in at the deep in end in the full senior squad which in my opinion will hamper their progress.
SOLUTION FOR THE FUTURE OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL - PART ONE
REGIONAL DIVISIONS IN LOWER LEAGUE FOOTBALL?
The much publicised financial situations of clubs such as Darlington and Kettering Town show that many Football League and Blue Square Premier are struggling with their finances. Increased petrol costs and costly overnight hotel stays are just two things putting a big drain on club's bank balances.
The solution that Soccer Intelligence puts forward is to form regional divisions from the current national League's One, Two and the Blue Square Premier. Since the advent of two up/two down from League Two to non-league's top division many of the Conference/BSP teams have become professional and grounds have improved, with most now clearly suitable for League Football. In effect it has become the 'fifth division'.
The proposal would save club's money on the afformentioned petrol and travel costs with crowds increasing due to more local games allowing for the supporters shorter travelling distances thus increasing revenue streams all round.
Currently in the Blue Square Premier, for example, Gateshead travel to Forest Green Rovers and Bath City have to trek to Barrow. This just doesn't make sense - Would it be far better for Gateshead to play club's such as Carlise United and Hartlepool United in the the mock divisions Soccer Intelligence has drawn up below?
In the Spanish Football League system only the top two divisions are national (only La Liga and the Segunda Division), in the German Football pyramid the divisions are regional from Level Four with most other European nations following suit. English football would only be mirroring their continental counterparts and bringing back what was in place as The Football League's Division Three's South and North from 1921 until 1958.
Also clubs on the borders of the Midlands/South and North such as Stevenage/Wycombe Wanderers/Luton Town who could fit into the South Division and likewise Port Vale/Crewe Alexandra/Wrexham in the Midlands/North divisions may put forward questions about which division they are placed in. With promotion and relegation there may become too many teams in one area like the current Blue Square South and North divisions where Bishops Stortford, Gloucester City and Histon are currently placed in the North Division.
Promotion to the Championship is also another question to be debated. Maybe four up/four down with the title winners going up automatically and then a play-off competition between the three divisions teams in places 2 to 5??
It's complicated and it won't be easy but in the long run crowds will increase therefore hopefully securing the future development of lower league football clubs in England.
The much publicised financial situations of clubs such as Darlington and Kettering Town show that many Football League and Blue Square Premier are struggling with their finances. Increased petrol costs and costly overnight hotel stays are just two things putting a big drain on club's bank balances.
The solution that Soccer Intelligence puts forward is to form regional divisions from the current national League's One, Two and the Blue Square Premier. Since the advent of two up/two down from League Two to non-league's top division many of the Conference/BSP teams have become professional and grounds have improved, with most now clearly suitable for League Football. In effect it has become the 'fifth division'.
The proposal would save club's money on the afformentioned petrol and travel costs with crowds increasing due to more local games allowing for the supporters shorter travelling distances thus increasing revenue streams all round.
Currently in the Blue Square Premier, for example, Gateshead travel to Forest Green Rovers and Bath City have to trek to Barrow. This just doesn't make sense - Would it be far better for Gateshead to play club's such as Carlise United and Hartlepool United in the the mock divisions Soccer Intelligence has drawn up below?
In the Spanish Football League system only the top two divisions are national (only La Liga and the Segunda Division), in the German Football pyramid the divisions are regional from Level Four with most other European nations following suit. English football would only be mirroring their continental counterparts and bringing back what was in place as The Football League's Division Three's South and North from 1921 until 1958.
SOCCER INTELLIGENCE THIRD DIVISIONS FOR 2011/12 NORTH MIDLANDS SOUTH 1. ACCRINGTON STANLEY 1. BURTON ALBION 1. AFC WIMBLEDON 2. ALFRETON TOWN 2. CAMBRIDGE UNITED 2. ALDERSHOT TOWN 3. BARROW 3. CHESTERFIELD 3. BARNET 4. BRADFORD CITY 4. COLCHESTER UNITED 4. BATH CITY 5. BURY 5. CREWE ALEXANDRA 5. BOURNEMOUTH 6. CARLISE UNITED 6. GRIMSBY TOWN 6. BRAINTREE TOWN 7. DARLINGTON 7. HEREFORD UNITED 7. BRENTFORD 8. FLEETWOOD TOWN 8. KETTERING TOWN 8. BRISTOL ROVERS 9. GATESHEAD 9. KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS 9. CHARLTON ATHLETIC 10.HARTLEPOOL UNITED 10.LINCOLN CITY 10.CHELTENHAM TOWN 11.HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 11.LUTON TOWN 11.CRAWLEY TOWN 12.MACCLESFIELD TOWN 12.MANSFIELD TOWN 12.DAG & RED 13.MORECAMBE 13.MK DONS 13.EBBSFLEET UNITED 14.OLDHAM ATHLETIC 14.NEWPORT COUNTY 14.EXETER CITY 15.PRESTON NORTH END 15.NORTHAMPTON TOWN 15.FOREST GREEN ROVERS 16.ROCHDALE 16.NOTTS COUNTY 16.GILLINGHAM 17.ROTHERHAM UNITED 17.PORT VALE 17.HAYES & YEADING 18.SCUNTHORPE UNITED 18.SHREWSBURY TOWN 18.LEYTON ORIENT 19.SHEFFIELD UNITED 19.STEVENAGE 19.OXFORD UNITED 20.SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 20.TAMWORTH 20.PLYMOUTH ARGYLE 21.SOUTHPORT 21.AFC TELFORD 21.SOUTHEND UNITED 22.STOCKPORT COUNTY 22.WALSALL 22.SWINDON TOWN 23.TRANMERE ROVERS 23.WREXHAM 23.TORQUAY UNTED 24.YORK CITY 24.WYCOMBE WANDERERS 24.YEOVIL TOWNIt's not an exact science as some teams may well complain that the Blue Sqaure Premier sides are getting elevated two levels on the back of the reorganisation. Fans of Stevenage FC could argue their team has worked hard to get into League One over the past two seasons only for Luton Town to be 'promoted' to the new Midlands Division.
Also clubs on the borders of the Midlands/South and North such as Stevenage/Wycombe Wanderers/Luton Town who could fit into the South Division and likewise Port Vale/Crewe Alexandra/Wrexham in the Midlands/North divisions may put forward questions about which division they are placed in. With promotion and relegation there may become too many teams in one area like the current Blue Square South and North divisions where Bishops Stortford, Gloucester City and Histon are currently placed in the North Division.
Promotion to the Championship is also another question to be debated. Maybe four up/four down with the title winners going up automatically and then a play-off competition between the three divisions teams in places 2 to 5??
It's complicated and it won't be easy but in the long run crowds will increase therefore hopefully securing the future development of lower league football clubs in England.
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