[Albion] Pointless loans

[andybaha]

I have a mate who hails from Doncaster so I’ve kept him company on away trips to Sutton and Crawley (last night). For the past couple of months Doncaster have had Albion loanee Todd Miller (Cucurella lookalike) on their books. In his time at Doncaster, I don’t believe he has started a game and last night he came on as a sub with about two minutes to go.

What is the point of loans like this? He would be better training and playing with the U21s than warming the bench for Doncaster.

 

[Originunknown]

Toughen him up, life experience in a bleak Northern outpost

 

[GT49er]

Loanees still have to push their way into the reckoning - small steps, but good for Todd to get a couple of minutes. Maybe Todd's loan is like Tolaj's to Salford before Christmas - brought in to replace an injured player who recovered much quicker than anticipated, so loan terminated and loaned to Dundee in January (which isn't working out well either!)

 

[CheeseRolls]

I have a mate who hails from Doncaster so I’ve kept him company on away trips to Sutton and Crawley (last night). For the past couple of months Doncaster have had Albion loanee Todd Miller (Cucurella lookalike) on their books. In his time at Doncaster, I don’t believe he has started a game and last night he came on as a sub with about two minutes to go.

What is the point of loans like this? He would be better training and playing with the U21s than warming the bench for Doncaster.

This was an interesting one, as I remembered that Miller actually played for Colchester's first team, before he joined us. It turns out he came on as a substitute for all of three minutes agianst Exeter, so this is very much about gaining experience. Brutally it is also an opportunity for many odf the squad to get a feel for what it means to make it as a professional footballer. The level we are playing at now, very few willmake it through to the first team squad. The U21s are now mainly filled with first year intakes (18 year olds), who are being tested to see how they step up.

 

[BNthree]

Shame he's not getting game time as all the recent U21 matches I saw him feature in he did well.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Different players will impress in different environments, so it's no slight on young Todd.

He's on loan to play. If they don't fancy him, get him back and send him a division lower, or even to the Scottish Premiership if he really can't get a game.

 

[timbha]

Different players will impress in different environments, so it's no slight on young Todd.

He's on loan to play. If they don't fancy him, get him back and send him a division lower, or even to the Scottish Premiership if he really can't get a game.

Can you do that outside the window?

It’s more than playing time. It’s about learning to be a footballer, eg living away from home, making sure you behave properly, doing your best in training, making contacts, toughening up, making sure you a ready to grasp the opportunity when it comes

 

[stewart12]

remember when we signed Ali Al-Habsi on loan and he was only available for 1 game of his loan spell?

 

[GT49er]

remember when we signed Ali Al-Habsi on loan and he was only available for 1 game of his loan spell?

Stoke, Birmingham. Crawley and QPR (Sima, Richards, Jenks, Richards again) will know all abut that!

 

[GT49er]

Different players will impress in different environments, so it's no slight on young Todd.

He's on loan to play. If they don't fancy him, get him back and send him a division lower, or even to the Scottish Premiership if he really can't get a game.

Can't do that - not allowed except in the summer and January windows.

 

[Swansman]

Can you do that outside the window?

It’s more than playing time. It’s about learning to be a footballer, eg living away from home, making sure you behave properly, doing your best in training, making contacts, toughening up, making sure you a ready to grasp the opportunity when it comes

If neither of the clubs or the player thinks the loan is doing anything useful, they can bring him home and he'll be allowed to play in PL2. Can't go on loan elsewhere though until in the summer (or if he's sent somewhere where the transfer market is open, like Sweden or Norway).

That he despite virtually no game time is still on loan there means that perhaps they foresee him playing a bit more during the final stages of the season, or that he feels he's getting something out of daily training with fully grown players.

 

[US Seagull]

Presumably he's failed to impress the manager at Doncaster so far. I'm sure they didn't sign him to warm the bench, they expected to be able to use him. Sometimes it takes a bit longer than expected to get a player to where the manager wants them. Sometime it doesn't work out.

According to this: https://www.transfermarkt.us/todd-miller/leistungsdaten/spieler/661052

He's made 5 sub league appearances for Doncaster for a total of 26 minutes. Not great numbers for sure.