Clayton Lewis (Unattached FC)

Starting against Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Trophy.

scored to make it 1all, 2nd half still going

Doncaster wins 3-2 on penalties 

Lewis failed with his pen attempt in shootout, but great to see him get a start, even if just in this essentially development comp.

He was the third miss in a run of four penalty misses, so at least he wasn't singled out :) Had a pretty good free kick on target too. Hopefully he's shown the gaffer what he can do today. Seeing tweets like "some boy", "what a debut", "brilliant", "first of many", so good luck to him

Also seeing tweet from Mike White, UK radio sports jock, saying he'll be called up for Hudson's AW squad

I was reading the twitter feed for the game. Seemed to be involved in a lot of their better play. A strong debut, hopefully this will lead to first team minutes in the league.

I'm hoping he does a Mooey, and has a stellar first year in the UK.

The Football league has turned the EFL Trophy into a training ground for Prem/Championship U23 sides so club's fans in Leagues 1 & 2 are boycotting it until the those teams are kicked out. 

There is a strong feeling that this is a precursor to Prem reserve sides playing in Leagues 1 & 2 proper like they do in Spain etc.  No one in the UK wants this apart from the football league and the big clubs like Chelsea, Liverpool, both Manchesters etc

Horrible idea... it will kill clubs and just make the big teams bigger.

Rated STAR MAN with 8 out of 10 ranking by Scodhorpe Telegraph.

via GIPHY

Good run, tidy finish. Hopefully he's earnt a little more gametime!

Good finish considering he was running on to the ball at pace.

For the All Whites' sake hopefully he's able to stake a claim in the centre of midfield, but looks like they like him on the right at this stage.

In the meantime England U20's and U17's are winning World Cups.

Gary Neville has called it right - Chelsea and City win the youth cup every year. Half of those English youth squads are made up of City and Chelsea players. Yet very few, if any, will get senior game time.

Kids need to make footballing decisions over money ones. This is where the FA should be focussing.

Lewis on the bench at Sixfields in the FA Cup but not used

Smoke and mirrors to pacify their paymasters

Still wished the Nix had got him a few years ago, such a dynamic player

It doesn't though.  Most of the Prem youth academies are full of foreigners, not Brits. Many of them go on to greatness eg Chris Wood, Cristiano Ronaldo etc

Middlesbrough are contributing talented England youngsters from its academy

Gary Neville is never right.

In the past youth would play alongside senior players returning from injury, in the reserve league. They don't do that anymore, the current youth leagues are miles below the level of football played at senior level. To counter that teams are sending players on loan. 

It is very easy to blame teams, but excelling at youth football does not guarantee you will succeed at senior level. It is wildly reported that England has nowhere near the numbers of trained coaches as countrys like Germany or Spain.   

In this article it states 

a coach would have to invest over £4,000 to reach Uefa A status from scratch. This is why so many of the people who climb the coaching ladder seek financial support from their clubs.

in Germany, a country that rarely struggles to qualify for tournaments and who are, after all, the World Cup holders, the Uefa A course fee is only €800

If the FA has the money to build one of the most expensive stadiums in the world, surely they can afford to make it more affordable for coaches to get trained. 

Note, I used Italics instead of a quote, as it screwed up the post. 

he was at the nix for quite some time and never signed

Not in match day squad as Scodhorpe defeat Northampton 3-0 away.

Played first half against Charlton. His replacement scored both goals in a 2-0 win.

Two absolute worldies as well

subbed at half time? That doesnt sound great.

Scodhorpe Telegraph player ratings:

"Clayton Lewis – Struggled to get to grips with the tempo of the game and was subbed at half time – 5"

To be fair, it was his league debut, and his short time at the club had been disrupted by time away with the All Whites. 

The Irons' manager has said he rates Lewis and that he will improve in the professional environment.

On the bench but not called upon, as Scodhorpe knocked out of FA cup by Doncaster 3-0.

And almost a hero... Scodhorpe nearly pinched a point in stoppage time as substitute Clayton Lewis' 30-yard thunderbolt was scooped off the line at the second attempt by Walsall stopper Mark Gillespie after he fumbled the initial strike.

Scodhorpe win 3-1 over Southend. Lewis is subbed on at the 90th minute.

Unused sub in a 3-2 win away to blackpool

Not in matchday squad as Scodhorpe draw 1-1 with Portsmouth