Blimmy Bostock played and scored as well

Coulibaly...love to see this kid in a yr or so , he looks mustard

some of the posters who were going to the next gen were saying they dont think he is ready, I havent seen enough of him to say, hopefully under AVB youth will be given a chance to shine, because under Harrys guidance he would have needed to be in his mid twenties to get a start

Hopefully he'll get a chance in the U21 Premier League this season with a view to a loan the following one.

Good result for a young side. If he does go out, I'd expect him to go to a league one club on loan until January, with a view to moving him to a Championship club for the remainder

I just got back from the game. I'll post a report up shortly if you're interested?

I remember Spurcat saying that his first touch needs to improve and from what I've seen he needs to work on a few things.

Surely his visa situation hasn't been sorted because we would have used him in the US? He's not far behind if not on par with Kane.

Tottenhamboi that would be great mate.

tbh... at 17/18 he should really be ready for first team professional football at a reasonable level, if he is as great as everyone keeps saying,.

rooney was banging them in in the prem at the age couli is now. so was owen, fowler, and countless other strikers.

tottenhamboi - yes please mate

Chronic - countless other strikers (the majority I'd say) weren't

agreed.... but we were told that he is some kind of phenomenon (slight exageration).....

very rare for a top player to not be playing first team football by 18... i am struggling to think of any tbh...

there is the very occasional late bloomer like ian wright

Chronic - Sheringham comes immediately to mind

super ted.

teddys early career was before my time... but i believe he started at millwall or forest cant remember which... i am pretty sure he was flirting with someones first team at 18...?

correct me if i am wrong..

Sheringham was early twenties or so when he made the breakthrough at Millwall I believe...and they were a second or third division side.

Internationally he didn't make a mark until his late twenties.

Just the first one that came to mind.

fair enough

each player is different i guess.. however if he starts approaching 20 and still hasnt made the break through then i would start wondering if he is the superstar everyone says he is going to be.

also, sheringham was class... but not a superstar...

I don't care about superstars mate, but a player of Sheringham's quality (or two) would do us very nicely indeed in the next couple of years!

yeah i agree with you!

i am just voicing mild concern that couli seems to be behind where people thought he would be in his development.

thats all

he;s not bulked up yet.

he's built like a skinnier stephen pienaar, but with a big head which makes him look a bit bigger than he is.

i think tottenboi confirms that he's not ready and why he wasnt involved in the states :

"Coulibaly though, obviously as we're all interested is in my opinion miles away. Poor first touch, can see him getting nothing against top defenders. He does look a natural finisher though and you can see flashes of excellence. Championship loan maybe?"

JPB

he's built like a skinnier stephen pienaar, but with a big head which makes him look a bit bigger than he is.
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So he's a skelington? A bit like that old one of the Scotch tape adverts who also had a bigger head ("re-record not fade away" )?

So we've established he's not the next Michael Owen or Wayne Rooney.. maybe he really is the Baby Drogba after all

Players that are ripping it up at 17/18 are an exception, and in the case of Fowler and Owen have ended up well washed-out before they are 30.

17 is a baby for f's sake - why do people expect them to compete with fully grown men at such a tender age? I weighed about 8st until I was 18+ and had no meat on me whatsoever - a child essentially. They reckon you don't stop growing until you are 21. Let youngsters grow organically instead of expecting too much

From tottenhambois' report :

"Coulibaly cut an isolated figure up top, feeding off scraps. However when he did get the ball, his touch let him down"

So, someone else saying what I and others have been saying since last November. Getting this flaw ironed out means he will be a great prospect.

Players that are ripping it up at 17/18 are an exception, and in the case of Fowler and Owen have ended up well washed-out before they are 30.

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True. Giggsy retired early too remember

Your argument is absolutely unfounded and not true at all. Obviously there are players that do and there are players that dont. The simple fact is that as someone approaches adult age they should be getting at least tasters of first team football if they are meant to be a superstar. Everyone says drogba was a late bloomer - he was still in senior football from his late teens. He just wasnt yet the sensation he went on to be

Drogba didn't make his league debut until he was 20. Gerrard until after his 18th, same as Shearer. Without looking any more up, I'd bet that if you took ANY top team in Europe, you'd find more than half of their players didn't play top-flight football until past their 18th birthday.

Not every player develops the body for men's football early enough - if he doesn't make a breakthrough by 20ish then you'll have a point. Right now you have diddly squat i'm afraid.

Giggsy - an exception, not the rule. I do remember him having a big lull the mid-90s though, a few years after he burst on the scene. Injuries (and dip in form). Much like Wilshere in the present day. Owen and Fowler had them too.

We can't write anyone off at his age, players that "make it" as a teenager at the top level are exceptional. There's no scientific formula for what makes a good player though. If we have to wait till he's 20 before he scores 20 a season then so be it