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Alphonso Davies


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28 minutes ago, shamrock said:

Dunno if I'd call him developed by Canada, as he's just so freakin' talented. Basically Whitecaps just stumbled upon him.  

He came here when he was 5 years old. All his football training was had in Canada. He's definitely Canadian developed. 

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29 minutes ago, Bertuzzi44 said:

He came here when he was 5 years old. All his football training was had in Canada. He's definitely Canadian developed. 

I think the comment was more around Davies just having natural talent and an innate ability to learn the skills he has. It wasn't like the Edmonton Strikers program was designed to form global super stars...

But hey, step one of building a development system is having base infrastructure in place to where talent like Davies doesn't fall through the cracks. Good chance he's not even playing soccer if he's still in Liberia, so we can safely take some credit!

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I wanna see Davies and Tabla lead Canada’s attack.  This positive article with big clibs rumoured can not just only peak interest in the mational team from the players but now, the younger academy kids can use Davies as a benchmark on where they could end up if they have all that talent.  Still hopeful Tabla commits to Canada with us hosting and Davies being a bigger star than him.

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7 hours ago, shamrock said:

Dunno if I'd call him developed by Canada, as he's just so freakin' talented. Basically Whitecaps just stumbled upon him.  

That's ridiculous. He's miles ahead of where he was when he joined the squad

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Guest Tg11

What I was saying is that does Canada have the potential to find more stars like him or to develop more of their kids to be like Alphonso then I say yes it is possible

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13 hours ago, Dominic94 said:

He’s an MLS all star, I think United would loan him to an EPL side, he’s past U-23 at this point.

 

whats scary but true, and I can’t stop thinking about it, Herdman said it...

Davis is/will inspiring/inspire a generation of players, the next “Davies” is literally right around the corner, the floodgates have already opened, it’s crazy. Think about it, there’s another Davies type prospect that we either know about (Collyn, Colishaw) or don’t know about.. 

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves and expect half a dozen Davies type players in our system, let’s just remember as an example that the next Ronaldo in Portugal was Nani. Not a bad player but not as good as the actual Ronaldo. A good player can inspire others, but it’s not like that players level becomes the new normal overnight.

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4 hours ago, C2SKI said:

That's ridiculous. He's miles ahead of where he was when he joined the squad

Yes he's learned from playing with the first team. How long's he been in the Whitecaps' system anyway?

10 hours ago, Yoginess said:

I think the comment was more around Davies just having natural talent and an innate ability to learn the skills he has. 

THIS. If he was developed, where's the rest of them? If he's a uniquely talented kid, there's not much to develop just let him play. 

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26 minutes ago, shamrock said:

Yes he's learned from playing with the first team. How long's he been in the Whitecaps' system anyway?

THIS. If he was developed, where's the rest of them? If he's a uniquely talented kid, there's not much to develop just let him play. 

3 years.. if someone has been with a teams since 14/15 it’s safe to say they developed them.  Especially when we’ve literally watched it unfold before our eyes. 

The boy is special no doubt but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get credit just like Ronaldo at Sporting CP. 

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If he joined the academy in 2015 and signed a contract in 2016, I wouldn't call that 3 years. Edmonton before already scouted him and let's be honest, a blind person could scout him. Not saying Caps don't deserve some credit but to say they "developed" him is just non-sensical IMO. 

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This is his 3rd season playing on the first team. The first season he broke in after starting the season in the lower teams. He's been steadily improving ever since. Call it what you want.. It's just semantics but those are the facts

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I would say Edmonton coached him 40%, they say between the ages of 7-10 is when a youth player shows abilities and great development.  Davies was obviously too good for edmonton and needed a bigger pond to flourish, thats where Whitecaps FC helped out and I’d say it was 30-40% of Davies time.  The last 20% is him personally training on his own and getting better.  Obviously everybody that helped in his development will get rewarded, he’s miles ahead of Mattocks and Manneh at his age.

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1 hour ago, shamrock said:

THIS. If he was developed, where's the rest of them? If he's a uniquely talented kid, there's not much to develop just let him play. 

Come on. Not everyone has the ability to become an elite athlete, and not every elite athlete will become a successful player. Most fail. Everywhere. All you can do is help a player reach their full potential. Davies isn't there yet but he's a lot further along than he was a few years ago. Claiming that his success is no more than inherent ability is wrong. A lot of hard word goes into this.

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5 hours ago, C2SKI said:

Come on. Not everyone has the ability to become an elite athlete, and not every elite athlete will become a successful player. Most fail. Everywhere. All you can do is help a player reach their full potential. Davies isn't there yet but he's a lot further along than he was a few years ago. Claiming that his success is no more than inherent ability is wrong. A lot of hard word goes into this.

Exactly, anyone saying the Caps have not had a huge hand, a determining hand, simply has not watched him.

Even this year he is far better than last season. He is doing things he never did even last year. His decision making, passing, positional play, defence--all have taken a leap this season. Last year he looked like he could end up like a bad version of Kekutah Manneh, running into holes away from teammates and out of space and just using speed with no control. His defending was plain soft. This year it is radically different. What the Caps got from Edmonton was about 20% of the current player, in pro terms. Because 3 years ago he was just a bit brash and quick and unshaped, and there was nothing to say he would for sure develop into a proper pro athlete. 

 

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2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Exactly, anyone saying the Caps have not had a huge hand, a determining hand, simply has not watched him.

Even this year he is far better than last season. He is doing things he never did even last year. His decision making, passing, positional play, defence--all have taken a leap this season. Last year he looked like he could end up like a bad version of Kekutah Manneh, running into holes away from teammates and out of space and just using speed with no control. His defending was plain soft. This year it is radically different. What the Caps got from Edmonton was about 20% of the current player, in pro terms. Because 3 years ago he was just a bit brash and quick and unshaped, and there was nothing to say he would for sure develop into a proper pro athlete. 

 

Really agree with this. I have been critical of the caps in the past, but credit where it is due

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9 hours ago, nolbertos said:

I would say Edmonton coached him 40%, they say between the ages of 7-10 is when a youth player shows abilities and great development.  Davies was obviously too good for edmonton and needed a bigger pond to flourish, thats where Whitecaps FC helped out and I’d say it was 30-40% of Davies time.  The last 20% is him personally training on his own and getting better.  Obviously everybody that helped in his development will get rewarded, he’s miles ahead of Mattocks and Manneh at his age.

This is interesting. What I have heard from TDs is that you can’t tell much about a player and how they’ll develop until they are 13-14 or so. When they are 10 and under they still have to go through puberty, their interests might change, they might lose interest etc. The superstar at 8 might be nothing at 14 and the unsophisticated player at 8 might be the all star at 14.

I’m sure there is truth in your comment and mine. Suffice it to say there is no silver bullet answer for development especially at the younger ages. 

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Davies was definitely a special talent and the Caps were lucky to get him. However, even if you get a special talent you still have to develop them properly and not ruin them. I have been critical of the Caps development in the past and wasn't sure Robinson was the right guy to develop Davies but so far they seem to have done a good job and he is further ahead than any of us would have expected a few years ago. I do hope he will get to an even better environment where he will learn more once he is 18 but I agree with those who say we have to give credit where credit is due to Robinson and the Caps for how they have brought Davies along in a critical time in his development.

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8 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Exactly, anyone saying the Caps have not had a huge hand, a determining hand, simply has not watched him.

Even this year he is far better than last season. He is doing things he never did even last year. His decision making, passing, positional play, defence--all have taken a leap this season. Last year he looked like he could end up like a bad version of Kekutah Manneh, running into holes away from teammates and out of space and just using speed with no control. His defending was plain soft. This year it is radically different. What the Caps got from Edmonton was about 20% of the current player, in pro terms. Because 3 years ago he was just a bit brash and quick and unshaped, and there was nothing to say he would for sure develop into a proper pro athlete. 

 

I don't dispute any of that. Were we differ in opinion is that I don't call playing for the first team developing. Developing is in the academies, which he basically skipped because he's so talented. 

It's like saying TFC developed Ryan Telfer (albeit for different reasons), or Osorio for instance. Or if a club like Ajax signs a youth player aged 17 that makes his debut one season later. That's not developing. 

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1 hour ago, shamrock said:

I don't dispute any of that. Were we differ in opinion is that I don't call playing for the first team developing. Developing is in the academies, which he basically skipped because he's so talented. 

It's like saying TFC developed Ryan Telfer (albeit for different reasons), or Osorio for instance. Or if a club like Ajax signs a youth player aged 17 that makes his debut one season later. That's not developing. 

I think your logic is impeccable, but not for a teenager playing first team. T

That is development, it always will be. I've seen a few players at his age playing first team football, (Bojan Krkic, Messi), and their developmental process was real because their age necessitated it. It was not just an adult maturing as a pro.

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11 hours ago, Boominbooty said:

This is interesting. What I have heard from TDs is that you can’t tell much about a player and how they’ll develop until they are 13-14 or so. When they are 10 and under they still have to go through puberty, their interests might change, they might lose interest etc. The superstar at 8 might be nothing at 14 and the unsophisticated player at 8 might be the all star at 14.

I’m sure there is truth in your comment and mine. Suffice it to say there is no silver bullet answer for development especially at the younger ages. 

That couldn't be more true. This article from The Guardian on Harry Kane really proves your point: https://www.theguardian.com/football/shortcuts/2018/jul/09/harry-kane-inspiration-chubby-children-everywhere

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