The Kids Are Alright

Martin O'Neill says he won't be ditching the youth players when he adds to the squad in January.

He told the official site: 'I have made a good assessment of the squad now and I don't think that will change. One big plus has been the development of the younger lads. Eventually, whatever happens in January, regardless of who comes in, every shirt is up for grabs. If some 18-year-old can prove they are better than someone who I was initially thinking of bringing in, then so be it.'

Adding: 'The younger players have done superbly well, but they need to play alongside older players. Isaiah Osbourne was asked once again to just play and sit there, when he has only played three or four games and has come from nowhere near the first team beforehand, to do a real man's job.'

Great news, all about balance which is exactly what Manchester United had when they brought through their famous youth batch including David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. For all the youth they also had the older heads like Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes, Gary Pallister etc.

Still fascinated to see who he targets in January and who we'll be able to prize away from their current clubs, January isn't always the busiest of times as most teams will have injuries and clubs are often not willing to sign their star players and lets face it, its only the star players we'll want! Also interested to see if we can grab James Milner - or indeed if he is still a target - as he still isn't getting a regular game at Newcastle.

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