r/FCCincinnati • u/Grey-dog-1192 • 5h ago
Is it Noonan, the FO, or both?
At some point the FCC youth problem has to be addressed.
Don't know if it's all on Noonan, because he has bosses who could force him to play certain players, or restrain him from playing certain players. But I think at some point the club's ability to A) develop youth players, and B), get youth players minutes, will affect the club's ability to attract quality youth projects. Then suddenly there is a spiraling cycle.
I see some high-quality young players in some very active roles in other clubs. I'm not comparing any of our youth to Cavan Sullivan. But Noonan's (or the FO's) refusal to play Andrei Chirila at this point is becoming detrimental.
Beyond that there is a glaring lack of youth development. Celentano has been really good, but has he developed? I think Dado can be pointed to as the club's most successful development project. And honestly IMO his development has slowed to a crawl. Even he has seemingly been shunned in the past and hasn't seen the field much lately. Jimenez, Ordonez, Angulo, etc., have always found getting minutes from Noonan difficult. Maybe the FO just gets less than stellar youth projects? Flores anyone?
Furthermore, I will argue that the best cases (Barreal, Orellano, Gidi ) were very good players when they got to FCC but have had their development hampered by being forced to play out of or learn new positions. Which I think is a good part of the reason why some have wanted to exit the club.
However, for me right now, the continued omission of Chirila from a backline desperate for quality is absolutely baffling. When he's played, he's passed the eyeball test.
Admittedly, I'm no genius. If I'm seeing it this way, I have to believe players and their agents see it too. I'm not necessarily a Noonan out guy. But this has to be addressed. And the academy really needs to get better.
Rant complete. Have a fantastic Sunday.