Joe Hodge

If anything that sort of tactic will deter them from joining us.

Why does he need to play games for a club somewhere? Any club he plays for will likely be better than us so why does he have to play for a better team to play for us? 

NL games aren’t easy and we sit tied for last. Funnily though Wales are in first and what players have they used? Oh right they just started Dylan Levitt who only has one first team appearance at club level. And he’s just to go along with the several others who made their Wales debut before club. Don’t give some sh*t about the NL games aren’t easy when the team winning our group is doing the very thing your against. 

He’s also not going on loan. No top club loans out second year scholars. He’ll be playing u23s this season. 

Whether they are dual players or not, I think there is a case for saying, central midfield and striker are two of our most 'missing' areas of quality in our squad. The older players can fill a gap but why not also have included your most promising centre midfielder (e.g. Hodge) or striker (e.g. Troy) and get them in before they have made the break through at their clubs (its much more difficult to break in at Spurs or City). 

Wales have done this brilliantly. They do have a good crop coming through but they have also propelled them rather than waiting around for them to happen at their clubs. Been saying this for a few years now but I think it's a great example to follow. 

It doesn't have to be total rely on youngers but you could make the case that someone like Hodge takes the place of Alan Browne and Troy takes the place of Maguire.

I for one would like to see more of that.

Add in the dual factor for Hodge and people like Smallbone, getting them capped earlier also helps to avoid a Rice situation or makes them make the call earlier rather stringing us on and eventually going to England

Giles too 

We’ve never replaced Roy. In the last 15 years we’ve never found an international standard player who can be the backbone of our midfield. 

I AM NOT saying that Joe Hodge is that player, but we need to do something strategically to ensure that we are filling our midfield pipeline. We need to cast the net and do whatever we can to help our players reach their potential. No option should be off the table.

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