One's That Got Away

[1903_Redz]

I see the Sheff Utd capt Paul Coutts has broken his leg and is now out for the season.

 

I know he's an Aiberdeen loon and was once on the clubs books but was released during Jimmy Blunderwoods tenure for being too small. He's now a 6ft midfield capt of a team pushing for promotion to the Premiership. 

 

I know we can't keep hold of every young player we have on our books but he definitely seems like one who's got away.

 

Is there any others who've been let go by the club who we should've held on to?

[RicoS321]

I'm not having Coutts. He spent many years as an average midfielder in the lower leagues of England, so it's taken him a long time to come good (not to say he wouldn't have with us). We've had players like Seve and Nicholson in that time who were easily as good, if not better. Also, I don't remember him ever being on our books (I suspect if he was it may have even been before Calderwood), he was just at Cove where he was seen as a good prospect from what I remember? Was never particularly small there either.

 

The good thing about our youth system is that it hasn't produced many talents that "got away". Mostly they were all pish. A handful came through to the first team and lasted the course or went elsewhere for a fee. Really you'd have to look back to a player like Maloney for any sort of example of a player that was let go that we didn't want to keep. In itself, I think that shows that we've got a reasonable record for retaining the correct players. Guys like Anderson, Hart, Clark etc we kept and made money from. Guys like Grimmer, Fraser, Maguire we tried to keep but they didn't want to stay.

 

I can't think of any other than Maloney, and even he had a number of shite years in between a good start and a good end to his career. Then there's Dennis Law of course.

 

That's the thing, there's always a shout fae the taxi driver/man in the pub that we let hunners of players go because they're too small, but actually that's a very rare occurrence and they generally can't name one if asked. Our main problem is not producing good players in the first place. I could name about 100 who've gone on to do nothing. 

[BigAl]

Paul Coutts was a youth player with Aberdeen from age ten.

He was released aged sixteen for allegedly being too small as 1903_Redz states.

Would however suggest he was a long long way from being anywhere near the first team during his time with us

[Slim]

Probably not going to be a huge miss in the grand scheme of things but interesting to see 20 year old Joe Nuttall banging them in for Blackburn Rovers after we released him in the summer, probably on a fraction of what we’re paying Nicky Maynard.

[RicoS321]

Paul Coutts was a youth player with Aberdeen from age ten.

He was released aged sixteen for allegedly being too small as 1903_Redz states.

Would however suggest he was a long long way from being anywhere near the first team during his time with us

 

I stand corrected. Released in 2004, so must have been Jimmy. Good shout. Although he's not exactly been amazing so far and now only just playing at a very good level. Also, he has less caps than Ryan Jack, Seve, Nicholson etc. so he'd have really only benefited us for a couple of years in the McGhee era. I put him in the same boat as someone like Don Cowie. Good player, but not a minimal improvement on what we have got/had at best.

 

Interesting, Slim, I had forgotten about Nuttall. I think that's where those youngsters have really missed out under McInnes. In his effort to "build a squad", we've had some seriously shite filler that is no better than the youth prospects we had/have coming through at the time. You could replace Maynard with Stockley and Storey in yer point and the effect would be the same. I'd rather have seen Nuttall coming on for us than one of those two last season. However, Blackburn are fairly pap, and Stockley is "banging them in" for Exeter or some shite too.

 

 

[TheDeeDon]

Did we not also take Coutts on trial when he was still at Cove, sure it was under Brown, but nothing ever came of it.

 

I saw the boy Nuttall a couple of times for the youths and he looked a decent player. He is a fairly big unit of a player, but has some pace on him.  Good on the lad though for going elsewhere and trying to make a name for himself.

 

Our youth development is something which does worry me under McInnes, but as for the question of the thread, there will always be ones who slip through the net no matter how hard we try.

[Slim]

Another on a (much) lesser scale, Joe Shaughnessy. Seemed to be let go because he wasn't great as a right back despite it being fairly obvious to everyone that his best position was in the middle. Not a world beater by any means but a better central defender than Ash Taylor, Anthony O'Connor and Mark Reynolds at a lower cost.

[rocket_scientist]

Templeton, who scored against us this month, was released by AFC and was told he was too small. I saw him when he was 16 playing for Stenny when he came on as a sub at Montrose (I boycotted Calderwood’s terrible Tombola football for a calendar year so I know it was 2007) and he lit up the game. A week or two later, there was an article in The Sunday Times all about him (a year or two before I stopped reading newspapers) and he went on to play for Hearts and Rangers.

[ayrshire_don74]

would hardly say nuttall is banging them in , likewise stockley... we should have snaffled templeton for nowt in the summer

 

 

[RicoS321]

Templeton, who scored against us this month, was released by AFC and was told he was too small.

 

I'm not buying that. Why would a football club tell a player he was "too small" when aged 14? That doesn't make sense. As ignorant as Jimmy was (although could it have been 2003 he was released; before Jimmy?), I'm pretty certain he wouldn't just ignore the fact that boys don't stop growing until around 16. Although, Jimmy being a dick, it wouldn't surprise me if he just told Templeton that it was his size that was the issue to make him feel better. Probably called him a wierdo too like O'Leary and Lovell. 

[manc_don]

I'm not buying that. Why would a football club tell a player he was "too small" when aged 14? That doesn't make sense. As ignorant as Jimmy was (although could it have been 2003 he was released; before Jimmy?), I'm pretty certain he wouldn't just ignore the fact that boys don't stop growing until around 16. Although, Jimmy being a dick, it wouldn't surprise me if he just told Templeton that it was his size that was the issue to make him feel better. Probably called him a wierdo too like O'Leary and Lovell.

 

He probably wasn’t good to have around the place not kick his granny

[Elgindon]

 

dare I say,Ian Fergushun

 

we almost lost Eoin Jess to the hun,though not sure he was on our books before joining

[Nellie The Don]

dare I say,Ian Fergushun

 

we almost lost Eoin Jess to the hun,though not sure he was on our books before joining

Quite the opposite.  Jess was on the huns' books as a schoolboy but came back north.

[OxfordDon]

Another on a (much) lesser scale, Joe Shaughnessy. Seemed to be let go because he wasn't great as a right back despite it being fairly obvious to everyone that his best position was in the middle. Not a world beater by any means but a better central defender than Ash Taylor, Anthony O'Connor and Mark Reynolds at a lower cost.

 

Not convinced Shaughnessy is that great tbh, he just seems to have halted the gradual stagnation of his career and settled on being a middling SPL defender.  We were pretty stingy on giving him game time, but he must have had enough chances in training and loans to shine.  After all, McKenna has come through with much the same exposure.

 

 

[SeeBass]

I see Declan McManus and Lawrence Shankland have found their level with Dunfermline Athletic and Ayr United respectively.

 

On another not nice to see Zander get two for Mansfield Town away at Port Vale last night. 

[Elgindon]

Quite the opposite.  Jess was on the huns' books as a schoolboy but came back north.

 

I know,but my fuzzy memory thought they pinched him from under our noses.maybe nae.

[Kowalski]

He wasn’t on our books but did the club ever take a look at Paul Sturrock? Born in Ellon. Brilliant player.

[Obanred]

Herman Hriedarsson, pretty sure we had him on trial, said he was nae good enough. Low and behold he goes and plays best part of 10 years darn sarf.  He was a decent defender.

[manc_don]

Herman Hriedarsson, pretty sure we had him on trial, said he was nae good enough. Low and behold he goes and plays best part of 10 years darn sarf.  He was a decent defender.

 

I certainly thought I remember seeing that on ceefax back in the day but never really saw much of it.  If it was true, what an error on our part. Excellent defender.

[tom_widdows]

Was there not a rumour that back in the mid 90s the club were offered two upcoming french youth players on trial/ loan but decided to pass?

One from Rennes (Gary Smith connection?) & the other from Monaco. Couple of years later said teenagers (Henry & Wiltord) were picking up world cup winners medals

[Tyrant]

Was there not a rumour that back in the mid 90s the club were offered two upcoming french youth players on trial/ loan but decided to pass?

One from Rennes (Gary Smith connection?) & the other from Monaco. Couple of years later said teenagers (Henry & Wiltord) were picking up world cup winners medals

 

 

Always has been my favourite one that got away tale! 

[Elgindon]

Were we not offered Klinsmann and Trezeguet during the Aitken halcyon days? Maybe they werent better than we had at the time....

[BobbyBiscuit]

Was there not a rumour that back in the mid 90s the club were offered two upcoming french youth players on trial/ loan but decided to pass?

One from Rennes (Gary Smith connection?) & the other from Monaco. Couple of years later said teenagers (Henry & Wiltord) were picking up world cup winners medals

 

We were offered Henry and Trezeguet (as were every other top flight club in England and Scotland)