James Musa (Colorado Springs Switchbacks | USA)

Early retirement
3.1K
·
34K
·
almost 17 years

You didn't say made an impact at the club, you said  a career graveyard.

Kosta
Spoonley
Draper
Hearfield
Rojas
Pavlovic
Musa
Tsatallios
Griffiths
Lindsay

...are the players that have filled a youth spot here.  The only two currently not still playing professional football are Spoonley and Tsatallios.  There is a chance Tsatallios will find a new gig and Spoonley has a law degree, A Chatham Cup and an ASB Premiership winners medal.

I suspect those numbers stack up as well as most other A-League sides have produced.

Lawyerish
1.7K
·
4.8K
·
about 13 years
Thought the reference to the law degree was fantastic
Marquee
2.1K
·
8.2K
·
about 17 years

Hard News wrote:

You didn't say made an impact at the club, you said  a career graveyard.

Kosta
Spoonley
Draper
Hearfield
Rojas
Pavlovic
Musa
Tsatallios
Griffiths
Lindsay

...are the players that have filled a youth spot here.  The only two currently not still playing professional football are Spoonley and Tsatallios.  There is a chance Tsatallios will find a new gig and Spoonley has a law degree, A Chatham Cup and an ASB Premiership winners medal.

I suspect those numbers stack up as well as most other A-League sides have produced.

 

great - so you're saying that we've let a whole lot of talented players slip through our fingers then?

Lawyerish
1.7K
·
4.8K
·
about 13 years
With the majority of them not being signed past their initial youth contracts
Woof Woof
2.7K
·
19K
·
over 16 years

We wanted to re-sign both Kosta and Marco, who are the only really top players in that group, but could not work out a deal. Kosta is the only one who's been genuinely mismanaged as we had to get a lot more out of him while he was here, and in the end he didn't want to re-sign as he believed he'd get more playing time elsewhere, and that worked out for him at Brisbane.

Marco we clearly wanted to keep, but he felt that in the circumstances at the time that staying here wasn't the right thing for him to do.

The others in that group range from donkey to promising, but yet to prove his worth.

Still Believin'
750
·
5.7K
·
almost 17 years

james dean wrote:

terminator_x wrote:

The one time Musa played in position he and Jade North put in probably the worst ever display by a Nix centre back pairing (and that's saying something when you think about some of the CBs we've had).

I don't remember anybody saying "that kids destined for the Premier League" then.

If he's improved since then and Fulham think they see something in him then great, I hope it works out. But he definitely never did enough here to justify keeping a full squad spot under the A-League's restrictions.

 

[/quote]

He didn't need a full spot, he could have been a youth player.

[/quote]

But in the A-League even the U-21 spots are invaluable. We didn't have an academy spot to offer him at the end of 2010-11 so I would still say that going with Brent Griffiths was probably the right decision (Tsattalios not so much, but in a different position).

[quote=james dean]

Worst ever performance by a CB pairing?  Have you forgotten when we had Steven Old and Steven O'dor playing together in season 1!!!!!!!

Yes I do remember that and thank you for highlighting just how bad the North/Musa pairing was. It was an absolute disaster, although to be fair North has to take the lion's share of the blame being the senior player. Anyway, the point is that Musa did nothing during his time at the Phoenix to make him an absolute must re-sign and no amount of trying to re-write history in the context of his Fulham trial will change that.

[quote=james dean]

We have a very poor record of developing young players so it's probably better for his career that it didn't work out.  Youth spot at the Phoenix is a career graveyard

Probably true up until this season. Just tough luck for Musa that the academy came a year later than might have made a difference for him.

 

 

Marquee
1.3K
·
5.3K
·
over 16 years

I agree with terminator_x.

Though, I'm not sure if O'Dor and Old were ever a CB pairing in our first season. We had Dodd and picked up Rees midway. Unless Dodd was injured or suspended for a game before we got Rees and I don't remember. When we picked up Rees we regularly played with 3 CB.

Still Believin'
750
·
5.7K
·
almost 17 years

Bullion wrote:

I agree with terminator_x.

Though, I'm not sure if O'Dor and Old were ever a CB pairing in our first season. We had Dodd and picked up Rees midway. Unless Dodd was injured or suspended for a game before we got Rees and I don't remember. When we picked up Rees we regularly played with 3 CB.

O'Dor and Old played the full 90 together only twice that season (in Round 8 vs Newcastle and Round 10 vs Adelaide).

Dodd and O'Dor were the regular starting CBs for most of the first half of the season and Dodd and Rees for the second half (with Old as the 3rd CB on 5 or 6 occasions).

 

Marquee
1.3K
·
5.3K
·
over 16 years

terminator_x wrote:

Bullion wrote:

I agree with terminator_x.

Though, I'm not sure if O'Dor and Old were ever a CB pairing in our first season. We had Dodd and picked up Rees midway. Unless Dodd was injured or suspended for a game before we got Rees and I don't remember. When we picked up Rees we regularly played with 3 CB.

O'Dor and Old played the full 90 together only twice that season (in Round 8 vs Newcastle and Round 10 vs Adelaide).

Dodd and O'Dor were the regular starting CBs for most of the first half of the season and Dodd and Rees for the second half (with Old as the 3rd CB on 5 or 6 occasions).

Oh yeah, I remember Old scoring one of the scrappier goals after full time against Newcastle and one of Paston's few games that season, maybe his first start, where he looked very ordinary in that game.

Starting XI
2K
·
4.7K
·
almost 17 years

I think we all know by now that scouting/youth develpment isn't one of Herberts strengths. Just look at his track record over the last 10 years.

I hope he does well.  Am curious as to why the development cost might have scutled this when Fulham and others spend far more on speculative signings from league 1/2 and South American/African countries for their U18s/20s etc.

Starting XI
2K
·
4.7K
·
almost 17 years

el grapadura wrote:

Marto wrote:

Am curious as to why the development cost might have scutled this when Fulham and others spend far more on speculative signings from league 1/2 and South American/African countries for their U18s/20s etc.

 

I'm probably going out on a limb here, but maybe it has something to do with the difference in budgets your average Premiership club and the Phoenix have?

 

el grapadura:  What I meant was that Fulham is rich and can afford to waste money so don't understand why paying for his development might have scuppered the deal.  Surely for them its just lose change.  They sign a player from say Plymouth Argyle or Exeter City speculatively it would have been the same thing finacially.

Starting XI
2K
·
4.7K
·
almost 17 years

Tegal wrote:

And the fact they have no squad restrictions,salary caps, and also have academies,reserve and youth teams playing in competitive leagues. 

But nah,sack ricki. 

 

Its none of that sack Ricki stuff but who has he found?  Kosta (aready making a name for himself at Wellington), Marco (us), Musa (Nix staff), Lindsay (reputation from UK). I won't bother about Spoons etc as they were on the scene pre Nix.

Scouting / telent spotting is one of his weaknesses going back to his time coaching in Auckland. Every manager has their weakness and that's one of his.

Tegal
·
Head Sleuth
3K
·
19K
·
almost 17 years

I think it'd be more fair to judge that in the next few years,rather than his last few. I can't really comment on his time in Auckland etc,so am willing to bow to superior knowledge there. 

Starting XI
2
·
3.1K
·
about 17 years

Tsattalios was an absolutely dreadful signing, no excuse tolerable. For me, He and jimmy Downey rank as our two most horrible signings (even more so than Gao, who at least had some comedy value)

Marquee
2.1K
·
8.2K
·
about 17 years

I would actually add Jade North into that mix as well on worse signings.  Expensive, we had no plan for where to play him, it meant we broke up a succesful partnership between Sigmund and Durante which has proven itself to be really succesful, and it even meant we went to 3 at the back for a while.  Plus we blatantly signed him purely because he was available rather than with any particular need for him in the squad

Musa was clearly a 50/50 and I get why he wasn't signed.  But anyone who claims our use of youth players has been a success is living in dreamland

Tegal
·
Head Sleuth
3K
·
19K
·
almost 17 years

I don't thin anybody is claiming that it has been a success. But by the same token,anyone claiming it as a spectacular failure is usually as bad. 

Woof Woof
2.7K
·
19K
·
over 16 years

Marto wrote:

el grapadura wrote:

Marto wrote:

Am curious as to why the development cost might have scutled this when Fulham and others spend far more on speculative signings from league 1/2 and South American/African countries for their U18s/20s etc.

 

I'm probably going out on a limb here, but maybe it has something to do with the difference in budgets your average Premiership club and the Phoenix have?

 

el grapadura:  What I meant was that Fulham is rich and can afford to waste money so don't understand why paying for his development might have scuppered the deal.  Surely for them its just lose change.  They sign a player from say Plymouth Argyle or Exeter City speculatively it would have been the same thing finacially.

Righto, I misunderstood what you originally said.

Woof Woof
2.7K
·
19K
·
over 16 years

james dean wrote:

I would actually add Jade North into that mix as well on worse signings.  Expensive, we had no plan for where to play him, it meant we broke up a succesful partnership between Sigmund and Durante which has proven itself to be really succesful, and it even meant we went to 3 at the back for a while.  

That partnership didn't really exist before North came here, the CB partnership the season before that was Durante and McKain.

Trialist
0
·
2
·
over 11 years


Well Ricki does seem to play safe with the more experienced players rather than risk playing a youth player. Nothing wrong with that, but he's weakness is to provide the match setting environment for the youth player to improve on. Sadly, training matches and practices are a poor second for the actual league match for experience. You learn more playing against other players you don't know about and adapt accordingly. Playing against the same set of expreienced players in the Nix practices might give you a large amount of information on how to play better ( based on their experience and not your own) but you have to develop it and work on your own game on the field in an actual do or die match. Many youth players will have the newbie experience in a professional club but they have to get out of that stage and start applying it in a real situtation.

With Musa, people may think that his weakness is his lack of speed/agility but he makes up for it with better positional play and similar to what happen Kosta and even Roja to some extent, he was simply not given enough A-League on field experience. However having said that, without a youth team to build up his newly acquired football knowledge, like any other youth, he will lose the needed playing time to focus on his game and will likely to suffer staying in that environment. The games in the NZFC was good for him, but you hardly able to harden him for A-League level since the quality is a huge step down and the training is different to what he needs.

Anyway, you have to remember Musa is a young player still and defenders tends to mature much later than the rest of the other team positions at that level because they are on the back foot with a simple mistake being punished by letting the opposition in with a goal. I still think he would mature better in a holding central midfielder position rather than at CB where there is less demand on his agility and turn and optimise his passing and positioning game that he is more known for and develop more combative approach that would help his aggressiveness in defence and urgency in setting up an attack from a central position.

Fulham is a great environment for him, and plenty of viable options as a football player. I hope he will extend his stay and it will lead on to bigger and better things for him.

Marquee
3.7K
·
5.4K
·
over 11 years

Musa in the warm up games and qualifies for the olympics always looked solid, as did he for the u20's whilst providing a good target at set pieces.

Think he didn't get much of a run of perhaps a fair go by fans (Old was experienced and he was woeful... Musa was a kid)

Don't think he's prem quality, but could make a fist of it in lower leagues.

Lawyerish
1.7K
·
4.8K
·
about 13 years

Has he actually signed yet?

There was the bit about his medical a while back but since then dead silence.

Notice he is not listed in the bbc transfers and that wiki last time I checked did not mention him (not gospel I know)


Starting XI
290
·
4.7K
·
almost 17 years

Have a look on the Fulham website  www.fulhamfc.com 

He is there in the u21 team list


Lawyerish
1.7K
·
4.8K
·
about 13 years
WeeNix
21
·
860
·
almost 17 years

There is a reserve game tonight at 7pm UK time v Middlesborough Reserves Wonder if he is on the match day team sheet? or has he just arrived.

Appiah without the pace
6.4K
·
19K
·
over 16 years


unused sub in Fulham U21s 0-0 draw with middlesborough this morning.

First Team Squad
2
·
1.8K
·
about 14 years
Appiah without the pace
6.4K
·
19K
·
over 16 years

"A left-footed central defender, James' pace and athleticism should provide Kit Symons with an interesting option throughout the 2012/13 Under-21 campaign."

That  is some compliment

Trialist
0
·
92
·
over 15 years

Musa makes debut start for Fulham U21's in a 3-0 loss against Liverpool U21's - http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/october/01/u21s-result 

Marquee
3.7K
·
5.4K
·
over 11 years

Match report lacked any detail, said him having his debut was a positive.

Hopefully he was not at fault for the 3 goals.

Anything on him on the fan boards?

Marquee
3.7K
·
5.4K
·
over 11 years

It was like watching the fourth years beating up on the first years at school. Not sure what any of the youngsters would have learnt from that. I'm with you El Greenio we need some beef in there to be able to compete for the ball before we can start playing football. Kavanagh had a tidy game and Musa is definitely worth a good look.

Starting XI
1.5K
·
4.9K
·
over 15 years

James selected as first interviewee in a new series on the official Fulham website on its Academy players - it features on the Fulham news homepage with the stories on all the big stars etc.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/october/02/academy-insight

Starting XI
290
·
4.7K
·
almost 17 years

 Had a full 90 mins in their 3 - 1 win over Chelsea. Not mentioned in the report, but good to see him there again. Be better if they could get a photo up in the team page

Starting XI
290
·
4.7K
·
almost 17 years

 Full game against Crystal Palace in a 1 nil loss

James Musa headed wide when well placed at the other end.

It was an opportunity Kit Symons’ side were left to rue, when on 23 minutes, Banton teed up Appiah who finished coolly past David Stockdale."

Marquee
3.7K
·
5.4K
·
over 11 years

Good to see he is starting and playing the full 90mins.

I tried scouring the forums about him, with little luck. What i did read was people thought he was worth a good look at. Considering how fickle supporters normally are, i guess thats a fairly good review.

Starting XI
290
·
4.7K
·
almost 17 years

 Musa again had a full game in a 2 - 1 win over a strong Wolves side, great to see him in at this level

"Manager Kit Symons said: "We performed very well against a very experienced side and that's all you can ask for really."

"But to get the victory right at the very end is the icing on the cake.

"That'll give the lads a lot of confidence to beat a team containing eight or nine players that have been involved with Wolves' first team."

Legend
6.8K
·
14K
·
over 16 years

 sounds like he's getting some good game time and experience. fingers crossed for the lad

'The Scoop'
30
·
6.4K
·
over 15 years

Yeah very good news

Starting XI
290
·
4.7K
·
almost 17 years

 Played on Monday against Middlesborough u21, a 2 nil loss

Starting XI
290
·
4.7K
·
almost 17 years

 Played full game in a loss to Chelsea.

Starting XI
290
·
4.7K
·
almost 17 years

 Interesting, Musa didnt play or even get on the bench for their game on Monday against Liverpool. First time in a while he hasnt featured

You’ll need an account to join the conversation!

Sign in Sign up