Joe lewis to the Premier League

[Jacko 0]

[quote user="Gareth"]Blackpool seems most likely as Gilks looks like he might leave at the end of the season, so they need a half decent keeper.
[/quote]

Admittedly its just paper talk but apparently Blackpool (along with many other clubs) have been sending scouts to watch Alex Smithies at Huddersfield. I think if any young goalkeeper gets a move to the Premiership it is more likely to be him. Joe Lewis may have to settle for a move to the championship and as a result Peterborough (and us more importantly) may have to settle for a lot less cash.

 

I didnt understand at the time why we accepted a bid of £400k for the guy when he was earning rave reviews down at Morecambe. Even if we did have David Marshall as our first choice goalkeeper at the time. We must have used up the lions share of that money on paying Stuart Nelson''s wages to sit on the bench as a back up goalkeeper, having to pay off Michael Theoklitos, getting Ben Alnwick and Fraser Forster on loan and then funding the permanent signing on John Ruddy.

 

Dont get me wrong this isnt a dig at Ruddy. I think he a good goalkeeper and he is really growing into the role here nicely. But it does seem a shame that we have chucked all this money at the academy and when we did get a top prospect, they were allowed to leave for peanuts. I really hope lessons are learnt with regard to Jed Steer and Declan Rudd.

[Old Shuck 183]

The problem -if it is one- is that, out of Rudd and Steer-who stays and who goes?

If they both turn out to be as good as we all, fairly confidently, expect them to, then we can''t play both of them, and you don''t, usually, rotate keepers!

So one will, invariably, end up somewhere else, sooner or later. And that doesn''t include Ruddy who is coming along very nicely thankyou in his own right!

How soon will it be before Rudd feels he wants first team football, with us, or somewhere else? We can loan him out for a season, but then what-he comes back here and settles into the No.1 slot, or he goes off on loan again-or, like Lewis, the loan spell has attracted attention from elsewhere and we sell him? Ditto Steer, the same thing will apply to him, more so if Ruddy and Rudd are still here.

Its a nice problem to have. But it does look as if we will, sooner or later, have trained and brought up another excellent young keeper for someone else to benefit from.

[Jacko 0]

[quote user="Old Shuck"]The problem -if it is one- is that, out of Rudd and Steer-who stays and who goes? If they both turn out to be as good as we all, fairly confidently, expect them to, then we can''t play both of them, and you don''t, usually, rotate keepers! So one will, invariably, end up somewhere else, sooner or later. And that doesn''t include Ruddy who is coming along very nicely thankyou in his own right! How soon will it be before Rudd feels he wants first team football, with us, or somewhere else? We can loan him out for a season, but then what-he comes back here and settles into the No.1 slot, or he goes off on loan again-or, like Lewis, the loan spell has attracted attention from elsewhere and we sell him? Ditto Steer, the same thing will apply to him, more so if Ruddy and Rudd are still here. Its a nice problem to have. But it does look as if we will, sooner or later, have trained and brought up another excellent young keeper for someone else to benefit from.[/quote]

Its an excellent point Old Shuck. I will admit I havent seen Steer play and I have only seen Rudd in a handful of first team games so this judgement is mainly second hand. But it was my understanding that Steer is regarded as being the better prospect of the two? Either way I think you are spot on that it is inveitable one of the two will have to move on.