Victory Shield

[henry george]

The Under 16's were beaten 2-1 by England tonight (game live on Sky). Compared to last year's team this lot were pretty poor - still the same lack of technical skills, athleticism, pace and composure - against a fast and skilful England side. Although the lads battled well and could have levelled late on the gulf in class was all too apparent. The only player who stood out for us was the number 3 who looked calm and assured throughout. The bad news is that if this was the boy Meredith then he was in the Wales squad last month and is also eligible for England so we could lose him in future age groups.

[Scots_Wha_Hae]

I believe a number of them were from the 2000s group, which would obviously make them 1-2 years younger than the age limit for this competition. A year, let alone two years, can make a big difference at this level. I have heard from other sources that the boys tried to play passing football, but couldn't do it with enough accuracy or precision to make headway against a hard-pressing England side (sounds pretty similar to the seniors). Hopefully you can confirm, as I didn't manage to catch the game myself.

At this level, winning and losing is less important than the manner of play, so I hope there is some comfort in the fact that they at least tried to continue to pass and move.

I would add as a qualification that I know very little about the English side, they may also have been packed with 14 year olds thereby making any comparisons on their development based on age moot.

[ZoltanBuchan]

A year, let alone two years, can make a big difference at this level.

Or, in the case of Saudi Arabia, five or six years...