Youngsters - how long is long enough

[Scotty]

I dont think Brewster is really touting him as the man for next season but moreso giving him a challenge. He said along the lines of "rory could save me a fortune if he keeps up this form" (not an exact quote) This sounds like he is challenging him to go and prove that he doesnt need to spend money on a forward but that he can be the ready made one. Saying that he CAN be the main man is he wants it. Sounds like encouragment.

Thats how I read it too. Rory is another confidence player and it looks like Brew is trying to encourage him to show everyone what a small number already believe .... that he is capable of doing it at this level. I think the article referred to also mentioned consistency so Brew is clearly giving him a chance and laying out what he expects and everything else now rests in the hands (or at the feet) of the player himself.

I would like to see the fans try to help him with this. Personally, based on a limited number of viewings (and many radio broadcasts), I am not convinced he will do it, but when he steps out on that pitch, the first thing he hears should not be a chorus of boos. We should not be booing our own players, no matter what. The only times I have ever booed ICT is to show displeasure at team performances (like losing 5-1 in Airdrie etc), never at an individual player. This is the same treatment that Paul Ritchie used to get and when people started supporting him instead of berating him he went on to have a great partnership with Denzil.

He has been in national squads up to U21 age level and so-called knowledgeable people in the game obviously like what they see in reserves, training or wherever ... So fans, lets give the guy a break and a (last) chance to prove many of us wrong. Maybe, just maybe, this time, he will rise to the challenge because he can see that this is his chance to establish himself without having to worry about the more senior players he couldnt dislodge these last couple of seasons

To Rory ..... please up your game, have some confidence in yourself and start banging them in like you have done in pre-season. If you can do that, everyone will be happy .... none moreso than yourself !!!

[Council Juice]

If there is ever someone to clarify something its Scotty - thats exactly what i've in my own round about way been trying to say and you manage it in one post!

Paul Ritchie got stick for being a slow, cumbersome oalf but he was a goal getter, even though most came against the lesser teams - he and wyness were a key reason in our high scoring ratio in the 1st. But he came better when he got a bit of support and he was alot older than Rory and far more experienced.

Wyness even got a little bit until he switched to being a wide right player into a goal MACHINE!

I see McAllister as very much like Wyness only taller (in both on field character and style) Both are skillful forwards (based on what i've seen of Wyness and the very very very limited snippets of Rory) with an eye for goal. Neither are spectacular in the air. Both seem to be very quiet Aberdeen rejects with confidence problems who given the encouragement will flourish.... well we can hope in Rory's case.

Think of it like a child wanting to get into a pool (or alternative water source) with his pals but the water is a little cold. Some jump right in (think Wayne Rooney) Little Rory however is tenitively dipping his tootsies in to test the water. Now if his friends encourage him he'll join them in their fun little game but if they scream at him for being a usless *** and boo his lack of courage then he might run home to mummy :015:

Lets encourage him for this season at least.. we need him to jump in!

[Scotty]

Looks like Brew may have pressed the right buttons with Rory ...... and the thought of a first team spot up for grabs may well have given him that final extra push he needed.

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.a...0724/?UserKey=0

“The manager has been pushing me a lot lately in training and doing a bit extra with me. I think it is working after I scored a hat-trick last Saturday. It is time for me to push for a first-team place and to start playing regularly rather than being on the bench all the time. Hopefully this year I can push to play most weeks. The manager was a brilliant player and he is still good in training and I can learn a lot from him."

“He is really hard on me, but it is good as it would be different if he wasn’t bothered how I was doing. At least I know that he cares about my progress. If I do well this year then you never know what can happen. All the forwards at the club are young and whoever is doing well at the time will play. It is not as if there are older players who will get a start because they are more experienced."

“Everybody is at the same stage and if you are doing well age should not count for anything. Marius Niculae played just about every game last season and it was hard to get into the team. Now that he is going it gives Garry Wood and I a great chance to push on. I travel with Garry every day from Aberdeen and we are good friends – it is good that I have a friend pushing me on as well – and I think both of us will make it.”

Those quotes make me want to get right behind him and urge him on to success. Perhaps, amongst all this negativity recently we can actually try and do something positive by encouraging fans to get behind both Rory and Garry as well as all the other young lads .........

[CaleyD]

I just want to throw a little thought out there and see how it floats........

It struck me whilst reading some of the recent stuff about and by Brewster in the press that perhaps his own career has some baring on his willingness to give the younger lads a little longer than some fans might agree with.

He came into professional football late after not making the grade as a youngster and had a pretty successful career playing at a decent level.

This could be creating one of two situations....

1.  He's still a little bitter that he was rejected as a youngster and doesn't want to inflict that on other youths.

2.  He is better placed to recognise those who might develop a little later than the pre-determined ideas that most other people have.

As I said, just a thought.

[ICTodd]

There's been a few things that have been a bit discouraging since the end of last season but one of the most up lifting things that I've seen since then is the obvious hunger of the 'younger' players (their all pretty much my age  :017:)! Pre-season or not, each and everyone of them have said that 1st team football at ICT is where they belong, and have tried amazingly hard to prove their worth. The likes of Sutherland, Vigurs, Wood, Duff, Kerr, Mcallister, and at under 19 there's a lot of buzz around about Shane Sutherland, have IMO given hope for the future and that this season regardless of how things are of the pitch, could be defining! They deserve their chances! We the fans deserve that hunger from the team!

Mon the ICT!!!

[absent friend]

Good thinking CD.

Brew also seems to contrast with his opposite number at Pittodrie who appears to take great delight in bullying the young ones, both in training and in the press.

[Council Juice]

Well they do keep slagging of his tan... :015: