Parsonblue

The major flaw in your argument rover6 is that your policy of 'systematically promoting' young players at the expense of more seasoned professionals may well lead to a downturn in results. The first team is a results driven business and the manager's job rests in getting the right results. It is only natural that he would want experienced cover for his first choice eleven. Berner was a better choice than Taylor to act as cover. Olsson has looked like a player who could develop into a Premiership player while playing with the Reserves. Taylor never did. Surely players should be selected on ability and not because of their age or the fact that they have come through the club's Academy. Berner has looked a far better player than Taylor in Reserve football and, in my opinion, has done a decent job when drafted into the first team. For what he has cost us I believe he has proved good value. The same applies to Mokoena. He has been an excellent buy in terms of what he cost, the number of games he has played and his contribution to the team. When he first arrived he helped us avoid relegation and last season he was excellent after Savage was injured. I would agree that Olsson is likely to become the backup to Warnock and or Pedersen next season and Berner might leave. However, unless we make another couple of signings in midfield then I would want Mokoena to stay, particularly if Tugay leaves. With only O'Keefe, Marrow and Hodge in the Reserves to fill the gaps in central midfield I would think it essential that Mokoena stays as he is head and shoulders above these three.

rover6 you suggest that Fielding has a future at the club but do you honestly think that he will want to return and be the number 4 'keeper? Brown and Neilsen are both ahead of him in the pecking order - and rightly so because both look better 'keepers. Both of these were signed for fees by Hughes because he rates them and he obviously had concerns about the younger 'keepers at the club. I still maintain that selecting young players, ahead of better and more seasoned professionals, just to give them experience is wrong. It seems to me that Hughes has got the mix just about right. He has experienced back-up players like Zurab, Berner and Mokoena while at the same time he is able to bring in younger players like Olsson, as happened yesterday, when the opportunity arises. Are you really suggesting that we put players into the first team who are inferior to the players who are already there, simply because they have come through the Academy? Do you really believe that Hodge, O'Keefe or Keita are better players than Mokoena? If you do, then I can only assume that you have never seen these youngsters kick a ball!

Personally, I wouldn't include Nolan as a future first team player. He is being used as a right back in the reserves and I would certainly prefer Brett or Andre to fill that position ahead of him. Also, I don't see a future for Frank Fielding at the club as he would be, in my opinion, fourth choice 'keeper. After a season with Wycombe I feel sure he will want a permanent move away from Ewood Park. If you are asking me if I would use Berner and Mokoena in the first team ahead of Olsson, Nolan etc. I would say everytime. I've seen all of Berner's games, both for first team and reserves and I honestly feel he is the better player to act as backup to Warnock. In truth, I feel he could have been use more in away games on the left of midfield instead of Pedersen. Mokoena has no obvious challenger in the Reserves - he is head and shoulders above the likes of O'Keefe, Hodge or the departed Keita. Personally, I fully agree with Hughes when he opts to sign senior players with international experience to provide backup for the senior team rather than rely on youngsters who may or may not make the grade. Clubs like the Rovers can't afford to allow youngsters to learn their trade in the first team.

His main position is midfield, but he has also been used in a more attacking role operating in and around the main striker. He has scored some good goals in recent weeks. I would like to see him go out on loan next season to see how he does at a higher level than the Reserves. He has great skill and an eye for goal but I'm not quite sure what his best position is. He's operated in wide positions, in the centre of midfield and playing off a main striker.

rover 6 how many times have you watched the Reserves over the past few years? You talk about our best young players being an 'elite' but in truth they are not very good. If our best young reserve full-back, which you imply that Taylor was, is worse than Bruno Berner, why should the manager pick him? Why should the manager select inferior players just because they have come through the Academy? We have a whole host of inferior players in the Academy and Reserves at the moment. Are you seriously suggesting that we get rid of the senior backup players and put all these youngsters in? The manager has a duty to select the strongest side possible from the players he has available to him. My firm belief is that the management team should be OBLIGED to select the strongest team at all times and win matches, irrespective of where the players originate from. This blind faith in some the of the youngsters suggests to me that you have seen very few of them in action. I'm intrigued to know who you consider to be our 'elite' young reserve players. Apart from Nielsen, Olsson and Judge, I can't think of any others who have played with any degree of consistency this season. Of these, Nielsen is not going to get the nod ahead of Brad or Jason Brown at the moment. Olsson has suffered from injury recently but has great promise while Judge, tricky little player that he is, is not going to get selected ahead of Roque, Jason, Benni or Matt at the moment.

I wonder how often some people actually watch the Reserves when we get demands that certain players be given their opportunity in the first team simply because they have come through the Academy. The simple fact is that Andy Taylor is not a Premiership left-back. Bruno Berner is an experienced international with European experience and having watched both play I know who I'd prefer to act as backup to Warnock, and it isn't the one who is now plying his trade in the third tier of English football. Football has changed from the days when clubs like the Rovers could afford to allow a youngster to learn his trade in the first team. There is too much money at stake for that to happen today and experienced football men like Mark Hughes know this and bring in experienced players who are willing to act as squad players and play a backup role. Taylor didn't get a chance because he had no top flight experience, Taylor didn't get a chance in the Premiership because he wasn't good enough in the view of the manager. I, for one, don't have a problem with that as I saw nothing in his performances in the Reserves to suggest Hughes has got it wrong. I'm sure Andy Taylor will have a successful career lower down the Leagues but not at the top level.

Personally, I'd take Aaron over Treacy any day of the week. At least with Aaron you get effort, Treacy gives the impression of not really being all that bothered and drifts in and out of games. He has all the ability in the world but it's his application that I question. He could and should be knocking on the first team door, particularly when Pedersen has been so poor for much of the season. That he isn't suggests that the management have reservations about him.

Rover6 are you seriously suggesting that Mokoena and Treacy are the same type of player? The reason that Treacy is not in the first team squad is because his performances for the Reserves have been average to say the least. I sometimes wonder if the people who are demanding that the youngsters in the Reserves be given a chance at first team level have actually watched them play. As one who watches Reserve team football I don't believe that there is one young player at the moment who is better than any of the senior squad. I think that Nielsen and Olsson have a chance of making the grade, while Judge is a player of promise. However, I can understand why the likes of Mokoena and Berner are important to Hughes. He wants experience and players who can perform at Premiership level to act as backup. I agree, Aaron has not had the best of seasons but then Samba, Nelsen, McCarthy and Pedersen have also been very disappointing this term. Having watched a great deal of Reserve and Academy football the one thing I feel certain about is that if we have to rely on the youngsters at the club at first team level then we are in trouble!

Why is Mokoena getting so much stick for making a tackle in an international match? He is a professional footballer who had been chosen to represent his country. South African supporters would have expected him to give 100 per cent - after all they had paid to watch the match. No doubt his manager also expected him to tackle the opposition. I'm as Blue and White as the next supporter but to expect players not to try in international matches because we don't want them to tackle a clubmate is beyond belief. People may not like Mokoena but he is a player who always gives 100 per cent - something which I admire about him. He doesn't have the technical ability of many of our players but he always does his best when he takes the field. I don't recall people asking him not to tackle when he helped us avoid relegation a couple of seasons ago. I suspect that if Roque had put Mokoena out of the game there wouldn't have been a word said. If we don't want players to get injured on international duty then make it a clause in their contract that they don't play internationals. But, of course, if we did that we wouldn't be able find players willing to sign for us. International football is a fact of life and the more international players we sign the more they are likely to face each other in international matches. The world, surprisingly, does not revolve around Ewood Park.

Clearly 'Rover The Moon' has shown himself to be the true Burnley fan that he is. To say that the Rovers played 'woefully' just shows how little attention he has paid to the game. As someone who has been at all of this seasons matches, including the trips to Austria and Poland, I can honestly say that I thought we played some tremendous football today. We got caught out on a set piece and then began to run out of steam, understandable after the game in Poland on Thursday. Two penalty misses are tough to take but it happens - ask Sheffield United! We deserved something out of the game but football can be cruel and this was tough to take. But we've had a great season so far and I for one think we should be getting behind the players instead of slagging them off after one defeat. Get back to the 'Turf' 'Rover The Moon'