Louis Page

One of the best teams in the league that year.

We've got a lot of players that are still in development stages, like Braybrooke, Alves, Louis Page.

Kangas and Niemi and players like that.

So that's the only concern for me.

I think we can all agree with certain transfers this season with the likes of Kangas Niemi and Bristridge coming in.

They are project players, plan to build them up and sell them on for a big profit.

And obviously you see the likes with a lot of the academy lads coming through, Louis Page.

I mean, we rejected 15 million quid for him, but...

Thomas seems to be better now he's playing more, you know, in that midfield role.

Louis Page has gone very quiet.

I'm thinking, is this a £10 million player I'm looking

at? I think that might be a little bit harsh.

I think he hasn't...

I don't know if he's gone quiet, or I just think that Doyle has took his sort of...

Flair, because what we saw with Louis Page that probably made everyone a bit, everyone loving Louis Page was his ball carrying ability.

He used to pick the ball up deep and he used to run with the ball and he used to keep it, he used to create.

But when you look in the lead up to that, Thomas and Braybrook didn't stop the cross.

And when the cross came in, Louis Page just decided to stop running and let his man run off him.

And he's the one that scored.

So Louis Page for me is the one at fault for that.

The other two guys could have stopped the cross and been tighter, but Louis Page just lets his man run away.

How often, though, have we been in that position where the last man, the last domino to fall, and I love that phrase, the last domino to fall has been Luke Thomas, and he's got absolutely roasted.

Yeah,

I think he prefers being a, a wingback has that sort of extra protection just inside of him but as well he's allowed to go and join in with play up the top end of the pitch and if you're putting crosses like that in in league one on a consistent basis for someone like Emil Rees we're going to score a lot of goals so I think I would leave if Luke Thomas is playing to that standard I would leave him on that side I think Will Alves, his natural position that he's played over the years, yes, a winger, but most of the time in the younger age groups, he's played like as a number 10, a little bit, go and roam, get on the ball, use your skills.

So, you know, him and maybe Louis Page higher in the pitch in them too, like high eights, 10 positions behind Emil Rees, keep the same formation, Kangis Niemi in the team, Jadon Joseph back in.

Um, Braybrook alongside Lundström.

I think you're looking at it and you're thinking, I think that's a very good league one side.

Pipes kind of makes a good point there that Russell Martin has been a manager that has come in and stuck to his word so far as the younger players are concerned.

Yes, I'm sure fans would want to see a bit more Kangish Niemi, a little bit more of Riley Carr as well, who's been really exciting in playing in wide positions for the club in pre-season.

But actually, Russell is helped by the fact that Louis Page, Will Alves, Sammy Braybrooke and some of the other players as well are actually... really, really good players.

Some of those have had loans away.

And so I think that's good.

The only thing that worries me about if we have the old three in midfield is, you know, Kamari Doyle and Louis Page give us some go forward.

I'm not sure we've got those three.

Yeah.

But if you look at the strength we've got there, it's pretty good.

And Serena Alves and even Luke Thomas is better going forward than he is defending, so...

I think I say I love Louis Page about 10 times a game at the minute because he doesn't say a turn, this sort of half turn, he pulls away from his man, he's got too much pace, he's too good for them and he turns what is a defensive situation into a real attacking threat.

I think my feedback for him, my feedback and my coach and my thing I'd say to him is in a final ball is that when you're at full tilt, that decision maker is probably his thing, he could probably sort of improve on slightly.