‘Playing at Pittodrie will be a dream come true’

 

Says Paul Coutts

 

By Ross McTavish

 

Published: 06/09/2010

 

 

PAUL Coutts aims to prove he is big enough to star at Pittodrie tomorrow after he was deemed too small to be a player with Aberdeen FC.

 

The midfielder is set to line up for the Scotland Under-21 side in their crunch Euro 2011 qualifier against Austria.

 

As a teenager, Coutts was let go by Aberdeen FC, admitting his size counted against him.

 

But after spells with Cove, Peterborough and Preston, the Aberdonian can’t wait to finally play at Pittodrie.

 

 

Read more: http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1905133?UserKey=#ixzz0ynFYYwza

 

I know AFC have made a few gaffs down the years with this exact same error of judgment regarding a player's physicality but who in the name of holy fuck makes the decision to let such young players go for such a flimsy reason?

 

Other than certain clobberers, football in general (and ESPECIALLY in unders) is about skill, motivation and awareness - attributes that depend more on a kid's mentality than physicality. Even fitness is more about the willingness to train properly than natural physicality. How physically big or strong a 17 year old kid is has next to nothing to do with how he'll develop as a footballer in the years to come.

 

What pisses me off more than letting him go because whoever it was is a gormless dickhead is that Peterborough picked him up after 2 or 3 seasons playing at Cove. Fucking Cove?? What do our scouts do if they can't even notice talent in Cove? We'd be creaming over our midfield with a 22 y/o local boy who's of quality enough to be playing championship and U-21!! Perfect balance between the old boy and the youngsters coming through, or at least a nice transfer fee.

 

I suppose I'm just crying over spilled milk but this kind of short-sightedness is unforgivable imo.

Isn't the "too small" line just trotted out as a nice way of saying "you're nae good enough"?

 

If I'd been told whilst still in my early teens that "you're too small" then I'd leave Pittodrie thinking 'I'll fucking show them!' as opposed to having all my dreams shattered by being told I'm shite.

 

I'm sure it is an excuse that gets used when a guy is short AND shite, but I'm not aware of any other spl teams who's judgement has been as pish as ours in releasing Maloney and Coutts. Maloney is the type of player the modern game ruins - would have been fantastic in a team that, unfortunately but realistically, can't attract the number of quality (sic) players the OF or EPL teams can, but is lost in teams like Celtic or Villa.

 

Coutts may have had the "I'll show em" mentality but if it hadn't been for English scouts watching Cove (while the spl scouts did absolutely fuck all) he'd have been fucked. Many others could/would have given up sooner than the 2/3 years it took for somebody to notice him. That wouldn't just have been the player's loss, that would have been the game's loss in general.

 

I know they're exceptional cases but imagine xavi, iniesta or messi being lost to the game because of the stupidity of youth coaches. It's symptomatic of a difference in sporting culture. Spanish youth coaching is about developing skill. Nothing else.

 

I think a lot of the problem here is to do with youth teams focussing on results rather than development. At age 13, 14 the players who will ultimately be better are often not as effective as the bigger brutes because wee guys need to learn from experience how to beat the lumbering great fuds.

 

has now given up football all together

 

Tony Mowbray? Good. He's a massive bellend.