I think next season could be make or break for Digby. In my opinion, needs to stay more or less injury free and get a good number of games under his belt. If it is a case of play 1 and then out for 3 or 4 games due to niggling injuries then maybe it's time to assess whether he has a future at the club. Really hoping that he has a good season and we see the best of him.
I think the same has to be said for RNL. Longest serving player who has been under 5 managers. Make or break.
He's got to break into the starting 11 first because Houriane/Bailey look like being the CM partnership.
I think that's a blessing for him. Imagine if he was immediate starter this year. Some in crowd would jump on him the moment he misplaced a pass or went backwards. This can be his breakthrough year where he's introduced off bench, plays in certain games, and if he's off form which is to be expected at his age in patches, he can be taken out of firing line. Really excited about Digby and RNL this year. And hope if the opinions of Bree and Cowgill being excellent prospects hold true then the future may just be bright.
In my opinion I think the lad has the ability to make his mark this season. If others think differently, that's their call. As for his injuries, there's been plenty of players in our past with worse injury records who have gone on to have excellent careers with the club.
I hope some of our home grown youngsters break through this season, but I get the impression none of them are in Danny's preferred starting XI
Digby seems to be plagued with injury, who were you thinking of ? Digby is defo in Wilsons starting plans I think, when he brought Bailey in he commented about how this would allow Digby and Hourihane to get forward more..
This lad now has to prove that he can cope with the rigours of pro sport. If so I believe he has a very bright future.
Probably nobody as young as Digby or with as few first team games as him but with a body that you'd expect from someone coming to the end of their career, that's broken down enough already for multiple operations. Fingers crossed he's over it now.
This season will be the making of both Digby and Noble-Lazarus in my opinion. Finally getting a fair and proper crack under a manager who rates, not berates them. Both were badly handled by Flitcroft. Talked up one minute, talked back down the next. Picked one minute, discarded bizarrely the next. I also believe Jennings will rip this division apart if he starts well. Confidence laiker. As is Reuben. They 'could' be so ******* exciting to watch this season. Bit more interesting than O'Brien and Dawson/Mellis on the wings innit?
After breaking into the first team and producing some excellent performances, Eric Winstanley picked up a knee injury (cruciate?) which, at the time, finished a player's career. He came back and, at the time, made a record number of appearances for the club before leaving for Chesterfield in 1973. When we signed Ian Evans on loan in 1980, he hadn't played for three years after George Best had broken his leg. Evans was instrumental in our club's rise to the Second Division and played a big part in helping develop Mick McCarthy's career. Stuart Gray picked up a series of injuries a few months after signing in 1983. He didn't play again after Christmas and missed the entire 1984/85 season. His high quality performances in midfield, at full back, centre half and even for a short period as a striker eventually earned him a move to Aston Villa. Steve Agnew missed months after making his debut in 1984 (apart from the odd game eg. Southampton away in the FA Cup), missing the entire 1985/86 season. In a last ditch attempt to salvage his career, Allan Clarke converted him to a midfielder and he never looked back, becoming the best player at the club and earning a big money move to Blackburn Rovers.
Possibly not. But then I'm not the one writing off a young player's Barnsley career before it's started. Sometimes patience and understanding can reap it's own rewards.
Doing the business for Hoylandswaine second 11. It was a real shame about Potter. We've had so many youngesters raved about over the years who didn't do it for one reason or another. Potter, Atkinson, Clark etc. Really hope Digby/RNL aren't going to be added to the list.
There are always going to be players who don't make it through the youth ranks simply because of the volumes that are produced every year. The sacrilege at Oakwell in recent years has been expensive loan players and average journeymen clogging up the squad to stop these kids breaking through. And the ones that have, like Whitey says, have been treated quite bizzarely. If Reuben had still had Robins as manager, i reckon he would have been a more recent starter. He just needs games. And not just 5-20 minutes here and there which are the vast majority of his nearly 50 appearances. I remember Gerrard missing a long time after growing pains which is largely what Digby has gone through. Be patient, let them have a crack and hopefully we'll have some quality coming through. On the first snippets of performances from Tiler, Watson, Eaden and Moses, there were few signs they'd have good spells with us. Give them time and a run in the team and then lets judge them.
Digby will play a big role this coming season, if he stays injury free. I'm not sure about RNL......bit of an enigma who promises to break into the team and then never delivers consistently, although must be something there as he has played under numerous managers, all have kept some degree of faith in him.
