Players who for whatever reason never made it

[Soul of mischief]

A mate recently sent me this to me, and I found it absolutely tragic considering how mad I went when I heard this goal go in on the radio, and thinking back the club glosses over this moment and Paul Vaessen a lot when talking about our history. Beating Juventus in those days was unheard of for an English club. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2002 ... rt.comment . All he Gazza stuff in the news made me think about this too. Don't normally like the Grauniad, but it makes a good point contrasting him with big Tone. He could have so easily gone the other way.

So which talented players can you remember in all your football watching careers who just fell away, whether for Arsenal or others. I've known a few in my time as well who just pissed it away.

Numpties like 'fox in the box' Jeffers don't count though!

Apologies, if a thread like this has been done before! Am not a regular on here. Have to stay late at work today and am going to be bored as fuck, so wanted to read an interesting discussion.

[LDB]

I hear david bentley is going back to blackburn. The next david beckham anyone?

Anyone know where Mark Randall is these days?

[REB]

every arsenal reserve player for the last 5-6 years were talked up but fuck all of them playing in the pl these days.

[kite]

Anyone know where Mark Randall is these days?

Chesterfield but never plays for 90 minutes a game.

Mido comes to my mind. Looked like quite a talent at 17 or so and scored quite some goals for Anderlecht and Ajax but then he screwed it completely.

[arseofacrow]

DB10 - The Oirish one. Always fucking injured.

[Soul of mischief]

I hear david bentley is going back to blackburn. The next david beckham anyone?

I bet he's 'buzzing' now

[Bradywasking]

Pennant would spring to mind, I know he played for Liverpool but he should (if you believed the hype) have been an England International.
I remember being in the Dublin Arsenal Supporters Club in the early 90's watching us lose at Anfield on the TV. The guest that evening was a young Irish reserve player who told us without blinking he believed he was as good as Ian Wright.. Whatever happened to John Bacon ?

[StuartL]

A mate recently sent me this to me, and I found it absolutely tragic considering how mad I went when I heard this goal go in on the radio, and thinking back the club glosses over this moment and Paul Vaessen a lot when talking about our history. Beating Juventus in those days was unheard of for an English club. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2002 ... rt.comment . All he Gazza stuff in the news made me think about this too. Don't normally like the Grauniad, but it makes a good point contrasting him with big Tone. He could have so easily gone the other way.

So which talented players can you remember in all your football watching careers who just fell away, whether for Arsenal or others. I've known a few in my time as well who just pissed it away.

Numpties like 'fox in the box' Jeffers don't count though!

Apologies, if a thread like this has been done before! Am not a regular on here. Have to stay late at work today and am going to be bored as fuck, so wanted to read an interesting discussion.

Thanks for posting that Soul of Mischief, I remember his goal v Juve well, I was a young boy, actually literally praying for a goal in those last couple of moments and upped popped Paul Vaessen

[robbo10]

Remember Mark Flatts? Islington boy who was going to be a real talent apparently,Did'nt he get time for murdering his step-dad?

[northbank123]

There was a 3-piece feature on here last week about Paul Vaessen. Well before my time but really enjoyed reading it to be fair, really tragic mind.

Far too many to list - there's a kid in the Academy more or less every year who is praised as being the next [insert Double winner/Invincible] but very very few have made the cut.

On a different note, what about Stephen Hughes? Won the double as a youngster then pissed away the rest of his career at Coventry and Walsall and a few other clubs?

[Rosie_titters]

Richard Wright springs to mind, came to us with a big reputation and was touted to replace Seaman in the future - but never got a proper chance

finished off back at Ipswich

[RioGooner]

Ricardo Quaresma, Denílson ( not ours, the one who won the WC in 02'), Adriano, Milan Baros... To be honest, i could string a 10 name long list only with lazy brazilians from the 90's

[_James_]

Compared to some of the other names Milan Baros was a decent player he has 41 international goals.

Tom Cruise the left back, Joe Kennedy was the Liverpool captain that lost to Arsenal in the FA youth cup am not sure what happened but he was dropped from Liverpool in 2009.

[spendsum4uckingmoney]

Macheda of UTD. Looked like a wonderkid in 08 with his technique then completely fell off the earth.

[Soul of mischief]

there are a lot. The Vaessen just really shook me, cos it's one of my favourite early arsenal memories. To be honest am a little bit ashamed about how the club turfed him out and how his life went.

personal one. I knew a lad who was in the Chelsea academy. Was supposed to be the next Osgood, but got glandular fever at 14 (probably from snogging some random bird in some dodgy park or common...ah teenage days) and that was his footballing ambitions finished. He recovered, and is fine, it just killed his fitness and he could never regain it.