I'm fine that we got a good growth roll over development cause we can't adjust our height but we can improve our skills especially as we're only 17. Also KingArthur what's the average premier league forward's stats so we know how far we have to go to get on the 1st team, also stats for promising young players like us so we know what kinda range we're in.
I mean I haven't written stats down for anyone except you, so I can't give you an exact number. The main forwards for United at the moment are Eric Cantona, Andy Cole and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Cantona will retire at the end of the season, with Teddy Sheringham being brought in. Dwight Yorke will be signed in 1998. That's all OTL anyway. Our big opportunity to break into the first team will be at the start of next season when Cantona is gone. If we are successful then Sheringham might not be signed. A breakthrough then will likely butterfly Yorke's signing and eventually Van Nistelrooy's signing.
On the other hand, if we don't break into the team when Cantona leaves, Cole and Yorke will have the striker positions locked down for the next few seasons with Sheringham and Solskjaer as the rotation options. We will be loaned out and might leave in the search of first team football.
I wouldn't worry so much. I can't find what his initial contract was worth but I know Michael Owen signed his first professional contract at 17, and then signed a new contract a year later worth £10,000 a week.
@KingArthur That said, you might want to up the initial contract still. I just checked and Steven Gerrard's first professional contract was for £700 a week, and we are better than him. We will be making our debut a year before him despite being a few months younger than him.
@KingArthur That said, you might want to up the initial contract still. I just checked and Steven Gerrard's first professional contract was for £700 a week, and we are better than him. We will be making our debut a year before him despite being a few months younger than him
After confusing myself several times, I'm gonna retcon the year to 1996 (which it was originally) which will both benefit the story and keep the confusion to a minimum.
After confusing myself several times, I'm gonna retcon the year to 1996 (which it was originally) which will both benefit the story and keep the confusion to a minimum.
There are plenty of things that could happen. We could have a failing out with the coach, the direction, the team, whatever. We could have better oppurtinities in other clubs, perhaps other leagues. We might seek other challenges, later on. But otherwise, I agree with you : I would prefer for us to be loyal to the clubs we play with. It might be great to play our whole career in Manchester United. We'll see
Rolls
Strength Training - 15
General Development - 17
Performances - 12
Given A Chance? - 18
Called Up? - 2 (0-7 None, 7-9 U-17, 9-12 U-18, 12-17 U-20, 18-20 U-21)
After signing your four year contract, you were assigned the number 34 shirt in case you were selected for the first team. Although you primarily trained and played for the reserves, you did certainly make an impact.
After hearing of your good performances under Eric Harrison, Ferguson decided to give you a chance, along with many other young players, in the League Cup. You made your Manchester United debut on 23rd October 1996, aged just 16 years and 28 days, narrowly missing out on breaking David Gaskell's record. You came off the bench for Roy Keane in the 67th minute of the Third Round tie against Swindon Town, with United leading 1-0 thanks to a Karel Poborsky goal. Paul Scholes doubled the lead after 71 minutes, while you used your new found strength to push through the defence and launch yourself at a Poborksy cross, scoring a thunderous header on your debut.
You made your League debut just three days later when you came off the bench against Southampton, becoming the youngest ever player to play for Manchester United in the league at 16 years and 31 days, breaking the record held by Duncan Edwards for 44 years. You did not get on the score sheet that day, getting off the mark in the league just over a month later when you struck home United's third goal in a 3-1 home victory over Leicester. By the end of the season, you would make 15 league appearances, 14 of those coming from the bench, scoring an impressive 5 goals.
You were instrumental in beating Leicester in the League Cup Fourth Round, grabbing a brace before Jordi Cruyff secured a 3-2 victory. In the Quarter Final, a David May header split the difference between United and Ipswich Town. In the semi final, the Red Devils came up against Wimbledon. Early on in the first leg, played away from home, you came under pressure and threaded through a pass into the box for Poborksy to pounce on and score. Marcus Gayle equalised shortly after, before you received the ball on the wing. You dribbled past the full back and into the box before spotting Nigel Martyn off his line. The ball left your foot and soared over Martyn's head, into the back of the net. The match finished 2-1. The only goal of the second leg was a Phil Neville own goal, leaving the aggregate score at 2-2, but United went through to the final on away goals.
In the final, United met Middlesbrough. Despite the efforts of you and many of your team mates, Boro were too good for the rotated team Ferguson played, with a Juninho volley putting the Teesiders ahead in the 52nd minute and United were lucky the score remained only 1-0. Your first attempt at silver ware was denied but it only created a hunger. A hunger that was partially sated by your Premier League winner's medal, which you were the youngest ever recipient of.
You made one FA Cup appearance as a substitute in the Fourth Round replay, again against Wimbledon, but you made little impact. You also made no appearances in the Champions League. This meant you ended the 1996-97 season with 9 goals in 21 appearances, an excellent tally for such a young player. That was enough to earn you the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award as you are clearly the hottest prospect at the club. Despite all this, the England set ups at several different levels have all ignored you.
The 1997-98 season will be one of change as Eric Cantona, the talismanic club captain who has been so crucial since he was signed in 1992, has abruptly announced his retirement from football aged only 31. It is clear that Ferguson wants you to step into his karate kicking boots, which are very big shoes to fill indeed.
Despite playing semi-regularly for the first team, you still meet with Wes Brown and your other friends from the academy. One day, you are with them when Wes announces that he wants to introduce you to a girl he knows called Lois Hamilton. You…
Gladly meet her and you get on quite well, deciding to meet her again, this time without your friends.
You meet her but it turns out she's not your type.
You don't meet her, preferring to focus on football.
You now spend quite a lot of time in the first team, so you have the opportunity to get to know some of the players. You…
Get to know David Beckham, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, all key players for the team who came through the youth ranks together.
Get to know Phil Neville, Gary's brother and a more peripheral member of the 'Class of '92', as he is the youngest of the lot.
Get to know Roy Keane, the temperamental new captain.
Stick with Wes Brown and the others from the academy you are already friends with.
Ignore everyone, focusing on other things.
In light of your expected role next season, and your good performances this season, the hierarchy has seen fit to offer you an improved contract worth £1.82m. It will last for five years, taking you up to the end of 2001-02 season and you will have a weekly wage of £7,000 a week. In response to the offer, you…
Gladly sign it.
Try to limit it to four years, not ready to tie yourself to the club for that long.
Decline it, your current contract is perfectly fine.
With a breakthrough into the first team imminent and a new contract on the table, it is time for you to consider getting an agent. Previously your parents, specifically your father, handled that kind of thing, but you now decide to choose...
Pini Zahavi. An Israeli agent, he has been involved in British football since the late 1970s and built up an extensive list of contacts including Graeme Souness, Kenny Dalglish, Ron Atkinson and, your own manager, Alex Ferguson. His contacts primarily reside in Britain and Israel, so he will be able to handle a domestic move superbly but won't be as helpful if you ever want to move abroad. Despite his wealth of contacts in the game, he does get involved in some dodgy dealings.
Paul Stretford. Stretford is familiar with the club, having negotiated the moves of Andy Cole and David May to Old Trafford, he has contacts in Britain but barely any outside. Despite promising you that he will make you very wealthy from sponsorship deals and the like, he seems to be quite a slimy character.
Barry Silkman. A friend of Zahavi, who negotiated a loan move to Maccabi Tel Aviv for Silkman, who is Jewish, back in 1980, Silkman has become an agent himself in the past decade. Normally a broker of deals rather than a straight agent, he is willing to take you on as a client.
Mino Raiola. Notable for representing Pavel Nedved and formerly Dennis Bergkamp, Raiola primarily operates in his native Italy but has contacts all over Europe. He would not be as useful if you wished to move domestically, but he has the most contacts on the continent out of anyone on this list.
Brian Watson. Your father and your current agent. He might not have the wealth of contacts and experience like the others on this list, but you know he has your best interests at heart and wouldn't try and do something that would only benefit himself.
Stats
Name: Andy Watson
Age: 17
Height: 6ft 6in (198 cm)
Weight: 198 lbs (90 kg)
Position: Forward
Current Team: Manchester United
Number: 34
Youth Career:
It is certainly possible to be a one club man, but Fergie is a lot easier to fall out with than other managers, and it will be relatively easy to fall out with some of your team mates (Keane, Beckham etc) too. Later on, there will certainly be interest in you as certain clubs decide to shake up the order of things.
