Photos (Top to Bottom): Greg Downes is training with Hartlepool's youth side; Greg Downes playing for South Hobart against Taroona last season; Jason Dawes (left) is moving from Metro to Glenorchy Knights [PlessPix]
South Hobart midfielder Greg Downes is currently training with the youth team at Hartlepool in England.
Hartlepool are currently 18th in the 24-team English Division One, effectively the third-tier of English professional football.
They are three places above Tranmere, where Tasmanian Simon Miotto is the goalkeeping coach.
Downes trained for the first time with Hartlepool yesterday and there were two sessions during the day.
The morning session was on an outside pitch and the weather was bitter, according to Downes, with rain and low temperatures.
The youth team trained with the first team that morning and the session consisted of a warm-up, followed by three 16-minute games involving 8 v 8 mixed teams.
Downes was in a team with 6 first-team players.
“I thought I played well and I really enjoyed it,” Downes said. “I worked really hard and I was knackered after the session.
“I felt I had a good day and that the standard wasn’t as high as I thought it was going to be.
“I fitted in quite well.
“After the 8 v 8 games, we separated back into youth team and first team and did some small sprints for about 10 minutes.
“After lunch, the youth team went into the gym and did some weights and core work.
“Overall, it was a very good day and I really enjoyed the professional environment.”
******
Metro striker Jason Dawes is joining Premier League club Glenorchy Knights for the 2011 season.
Dawes said he was looking forward to playing with Knights and he hoped he could get a senior berth.
He injured his knee at the end of last season but had recovered, only to injure it again playing Futsal recently.
He said he should be right to resume pre-season training in about two weeks after receiving treatment for the injury.
39 comments:
Dawes will be great for Knights if they get relegated.
Supposidly , bezza is going with him who would be a quality signing . Has the first touch and the ability to pin point a pass anywhere on the ground
Good to see a Tasmanian at least training with an overseas team, particularly at League One level.
Alf Ramsey
I'm a Hartlepool fan, and welcome him to the club. Hopefully he will do well, and get some game time.
knights relegated what a laugh, never happen
metro will struggle without dawes.
nice to see another metro player leaving the club, there are massive problems at this club, they have had so much talent over the last decade but everyone leaves there, they would be a quality premier team if they had of kept these players
where are metro going to get 40 goals a season ?
cant believe dawes ran from the cash at metro.?.$2grand is a lot of money for a kid.
I hear that olympia have bought in some guest signings for the first 5 games of the season, so they are not embarrassed on their new pitch. Should be interesting!!!
Yea they said metro would struggle is season with out there scottish imports.
There no probelms at metro dawes will be missed but someone else will put there hand up . Any way knights have there own probelms when josh fielding teams mates bagging him out after his vic tuter win that is a big challenge for nick harrison to deal with before he starts let alone corey smith ego best of luck.
no problems at metro thats pretty obvious all lies, metro have to many people behind the scene thinking they are king $hit when they are nobodys, dawes will not be replaced at metro theres nothing coming through and have not and will not produce any players as they are a pub team, im sure jimmy mac would be laughing
Anonymous at 5.14. Well spoken son. Not sure how you would know what things are like at Metro. I'm from there and am not aware of any problems. I belive all of the quality players that put the club first before their ego are staying.
I assume you are one of the idiots that left 2 years ago or are one of the two people mentioned in the first 2 blogs.
I'm sure we would love to hear what those "massive" problems at Metro are. Please enlighten us !
Goose !
Metro dont need anyone coming through at the moment, most of the senoir side was under 21 anyway. Aaron Marney, Jeremy Morris, Danny Cowen, Ryan Thurley etc are all below 21. whats to say they overly need ppl coming through at the moment. Dawesy leaving might give players Jez and Azz more room to shine.
Thanks for the post Walter.
It's nice to hear of Tassie players' successes, and this sounds like a great opportunity for Greg Downes to play and impress! I gather that the Hartlepool youth team recently won their first leg game in the FA youth cup (3 – 1 against Whitely Bay) and are through to the second round where they will take on Macclesfield on the 16th November. Wouldn't it be great if Greg was part of the Hartlepool youth team for that game! I, for one, will certainly be watching events with interest and fingers crossed.
Down here in the Channel, the Downes family are remembered for being instrumental in setting up what was then the Woodbridge Whalers Soccer Club (but is now known simply as Woodbridge Soccer Club). As the club approaches it's 10th anniversary in 2011, there are still players, parents and spectators who remember Greg as a junior player and wish him all the best.
oh dear metro fans are funny and well educated. not! all the players mentioned will be at other clubs next year. poor metro without any players. nice post at 4.19 by terry kent lol
It is great to see Greg aiming to play higher levels and trying out overseas. If Tasmania can start developing and consistently start getting more younger players at the standard to start trialling overseas it has to improve the standard of the local game. As a player who played with Greg at youth level I wish him the best of luck.
if greg couldnt regularly play for south hobart how is to play overseas?
November 11, 12.09.
Greg is an excellent player that was recovering from a severe leg injury in 2010. The set up and situation at south last year was unique, and as such, Greg was given an oppportunity to build confidence and apply his craft in the 2's. When he came off the bench for seniors, he always had a major impact. Anyone at South will tell you that Greg is suited perfectly to the English brand. Unlike most players here, Greg is very coachable. He is humble, plays where he is told without complaint, and plays exactly the way he is told. He will do very well over there.
Walter, I have heard a few things about TIS players being available on some kind of loan system to premier league clubs this year. I have heard some conflicting stuff about the way this would actually work. Do you know the details? Could be good if the right balance between helping clubs and helping the TIS is in place.
Shae Hickey
Shae, apparently Will Abbott and Jeremy Walker have been offered to Premier League clubs for the 2011 season, but there are strict conditions attached.
The team must play a 4-3-3 system and Will and Jeremy have to play in certain positions and fulfill certain roles within the team. The TIS coach will monitor club training and games and tactics. The two boys will also train with the TIS.
How any self-respecting senior club coach could accept such conditions, regardless of the undoubted talents of the two boys concerned, is beyond me. It would be a case of the tail wagging the dog.
Walter said...
Shae, apparently Will Abbott and Jeremy Walker have been offered to Premier League clubs for the 2011 season, but there are strict conditions attached.
The team must play a 4-3-3 system and Will and Jeremy have to play in certain positions and fulfill certain roles within the team. The TIS coach will monitor club training and games and tactics. The two boys will also train with the TIS.
How any self-respecting senior club coach could accept such conditions, regardless of the undoubted talents of the two boys concerned, is beyond me. It would be a case of the tail wagging the dog.
November 11, 2010 2:17 PM
You're missing the flipside Walter. As there aren't any coaches down here bar Ken Morton who could get a coaching job outside of Tasmania, it will actually be a very good opportunity for a local coach to receive the mentorship of one of Australia's most able coaches.
Re: shae's post about greg being humble, if the ill-equiped coaches you talk about walter are able to be humble and accept guidance from Dean May they will be able to learn about the game, not just 'run' training sessions.
Nailed it Walter, As a senior coach, the devil would be ice skating at home before i would put any one player before the club. No doubt they are great young players but what this must be doing to their already partially inflated egos must be horrid. Get the kids trials with a league sides, if they arent good enough then guess what....YOU HAVE TO FIT IN LIKE THE REST OF US. I know its difficult for some to understand but thats life.
What id like to know is, if they are too old to play in the TIS side this season, and no club is stupid enough to take them on with the guidelines, where do they play???
anon 2:47
You must be VERY close to Dean or your Ken. either way, if Dean May was such a brilliant coach, wouldnt he be in europe somewhere? or even the A League? K League? Maybe one day he might, i mean he conducts himself so well at games and towards officials when things dont go his way.
P.S I dont actually mind Dean as a bloke, he has always been nice to myself in the past, but i guarantee Dean himself wouldnt take those players if those restrictions came with them.
Follow follow 7:56 AM
You must clearly know more about those players then i do, which is odd considering iam one of those players. All the players mentioned have their head screwed on so they have no reason to leave the club and im 100% sure they will all be there next year.
As for everyone bagging Metro out go right ahead, everyone said we would get smashed this year because we didnt have the scottish boys anymore. Just gives us more reason to improve next year and of course dawesy will be missed i more then anyone know how good he is but to say we will struggle without him is idiotic.
Jeremy Morris
RE it will actually be a very good opportunity for a local coach to receive the mentorship of one of Australia's most able coaches.
Who is the coach you are talking about? Paul Okon? Ernie Merrick?
You must be VERY close to Dean or your Ken. either way, if Dean May was such a brilliant coach, wouldnt he be in europe somewhere? or even the A League? K League? Maybe one day he might, i mean he conducts himself so well at games and towards officials when things dont go his way.
P.S I dont actually mind Dean as a bloke, he has always been nice to myself in the past, but i guarantee Dean himself wouldnt take those players if those restrictions came with them.
November 11, 2010 3:05 PM
Dean is a young coach and he is a developmental coach. He has coached at Fulham, so one would suggest he would have plenty of opportunities to coach at a higher level. You are missing the fact that Being head coach of an Institute means that he is highly regarded by the powers that be.
He is also the only FT football professional in this state, aside from Ken Morton. I'd take my chances of learning from him.
Follow follow, or should it be bugger off your annoying the crap out of everyone, I cannot wait for your "educated" response to Jezza's response which is straight from the horses mouth. What that means for your benefit is he's the one referred to so he's telling you straight from his mouth that he's going nowhere. Even you should be able to understand that, but then again ...
I'm also not sure why next years captain who you have also sligthed would be leaving either.
I assume you are the same bloody idiot that used the words "massive problems at Metro" a few weeks back. At that time I asked you to enlighten us what they were and, as expected, and what will happen this time is that you crawled back into the hole you come out of and hid. Happy to be proven wrong. So put up or shut up.
Not that hard!
Anon 2.57 and 3.53 i bet is BP Looks like BP is at again, saying exactly what he needs certain people to hear for his gain Whoops sorry Beachsides gain or is it BPside.Time will tell.....TIS player restrictions not as bad as you all may think but still ,give them the opportunity on mainland if the coach or FFT think they are quality they would get off their ass and help them or maybe the players should try themselves.
plus to all those people on this blog site that seem to think we need to find 40 goals from somewhere, just bear in mind that you can win every game 1-0 and score 20+ goals and still get promoted. The team can only improve from here and i look forward to being there when it does.
Aaron Marney
If clubs apply and have the correct development pathway for those two players than they will get them, why would the TIS offer them out to anyone when they have been told that they must develop these players?
The fact the two boys have been identified in the elite FFA programs and with A-League clubs has meant that the request came for them to stay in TIS for their development, this would be on top of playing seniors at club level, so of course the TIS are trying to make sure they find a good fit?
Also Dean May is a fantastic coach and the best I have seen in Tasmania.
Thanks Walter,
Interesting situation. No-one will argue that they wouldn't be good pick-ups for any senior side, but the logistics of it could be tricky.
I imagine that Dean and the boys would only really be looking at a couple of clubs, but like you say, not sure if they will agree to the conditions.
I hope they do get picked up by a senior side tho, good experience for those who play with and against them.
Cheers, Shae
Anon 2.57 and 3.53 i bet is BP Looks like BP is at again, saying exactly what he needs certain people to hear for his gain Whoops sorry Beachsides gain or is it BPside.Time will tell.....TIS player restrictions not as bad as you all may think but still ,give them the opportunity on mainland if the coach or FFT think they are quality they would get off their ass and help them or maybe the players should try themselves.
November 11, 2010 9:39 PM
looks like CS is at it again. wonder how long he will last under harrisson and googsey. he's causing them headaches already and wouldn't be surprised to see them give him the flick before too long.
obviously these TIS players will be signed by beachside. beachside are to play a 4-3-3, and who better to coach these players than en ex nsl player in brett.
good luck to beachside
Follow Follow 7.56 on 11/11. That hole must be very hard to dig yourself out of. Possibly your spine is not helping you much.
Still looking forward to your response now Aarom marney has replied.
Dean May,Fulham to Tasmania deffinately heading in the right direction.
to anon 1.56 and all other idiots who keep assuming posts to be written by me which are clearly not!!
i read the blog to see what is happening in the football world, to contribute to game development and generally chat about football with other football people.
my posts are given much more thought than the stupid comments you claim i make. also i am pretty sure that being part of the coaching team at knights means that googsy and nick are not ready to get rid of me just yet, but if my attitude deserves pulling into line i am sure they will tell me.
walter, is there a chance you can make this site open for comments only to those who create an account? or something along those lines?
Greg - Good luck mate, your a star and I wish youself and your family all the best.
TIS - Clubs could learn a lot from their setup and let's not be blinded by beating our own chests and start trying to harness development in our clubs, otherwise tasmanian football will be the laughing stock for many years to come
Dean May,Fulham to Tasmania deffinately heading in the right direction.
November 12, 2010 4:51 PM
walter, it's posts like these that show just how ignorant the Tasmanian soccer community is.
Follow Follow, time to get up, it's Saturday morning. Can you hurry up with your enlightening post please. The football community is waiting with baited breath for you edumacated pearls of wisdom.
Don't bag Dean May or the Kids at the TIS. Dean is doing a graet job and with better facilites can do a lot better.These kids are a fantastic bunch and they deserve all that comes their way.
Dean has been conducting the Senior Licence course that has been on the last couple of weeks and there has been some senior coaches attend like Freddi, BP, Nick Harrison, senior players as well and i have no doubt that these people will implement what they have learnt from Dean.
I think that Dean needs to set the agenda for the State Teams as well. If you see the kids that come out of the State program and go in to the TIS some are lost and some just seem that thay have been in the system for a while.
If you want your team to learn how to play good football go and watch Deans sessions
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