There’s a new fad on social media: When someone still young in a sport achieves something remarkable, at a certain age we rush to create a reference point by linking the athlete’s birth date to a cultural reference that our peers understand. .
One example is immediately recognizable: “Winner X was born after the launch of the PlayStation 3.”
What we’re really trying to say is, “Don’t the mind play tricks, and oh God, we’re all getting old, time is coming at us faster and faster, like a speeding truck.”
Be that as it may, Lewis Miley was born after Alan Shearer’s last spell for Newcastle United and is now apparently old enough to compete with Paris Saint-Germain. I know it’s not terrible.
Except, of course, that Miley isn’t old enough yet. He signed his first professional contract just six months ago. He played four senior games. He is a boy with a boyish face. It’s a good thing Newcastle put him in the back row for the team photo before the Paris game, otherwise he might have been mistaken for a mascot.
The most attractive aspect of watching outstanding, extremely young footballers play for the first team is the maturity of their decisions. To a certain extent, you are expected to have speed and outstanding skills; Every elite academy produces technical footballers as England has seen a revolution in development over the last decade.
But intangible assets are a completely different matter. Look how Miley is falling behind as Bruno Guimarães and Joelinton move on. Watch how his fake run with no hope of catching the ball created space in front of Alexander Isak’s goal in Paris. Watch how he has three passing options and strives to pick the right one every time.
All this may seem like an excessive and unnecessary desire for praise. To which we would say: Yes, you’re probably right. But did we mention he’s 17 years old? What were you doing when you were seventeen? Actually, don’t answer that.
When you analyze it all, you have to say that there is hardly a better team to compete with at a young age. Newcastle United has a team spirit, resilience and general good humor that will make a child ask to join the group.
Joelinton runs around Miley like an enthusiastic Labrador, and Guimarães defends the ball as if it is his only possession. There is beauty, intelligence and strength to help you find peace.
Little of this is done intentionally and certainly not at this speed. Newcastle’s Champions League season has brought high hopes of what they can achieve in the coming spring, but it has also meant contract extensions for the club’s physios, who have been struggling with unprecedented shortages. Eddie Howe does not have fourteen experienced players and would obviously prefer to have more players at his disposal.
Miley was always judged, she was one of those young people who left the academy coaches aside and chatted with their senior colleagues over a steaming cup of milk tea.
There’s a reason he wasn’t sent out on loan this summer and was withdrawn from the UEFA European Under-17 Championships in May. Instead, Miley came on as a substitute on his debut against Chelsea and Howe wanted him there. But it never came to that, not even 90 minutes in Paris in November.
But don’t such distant dreams become reality? Just ask Marcus Rashford, who only made his debut due to injury, which was compounded by Anthony Martial’s injury in the warm-up. Each academy player relies partly on his own talent, partly on lucky coincidences and small strokes of fate. Things might have happened too quickly for Miley. But if you prove that you are ready to seize your opportunity as if it were the most natural step, then you will deserve to find your way.
There are no guarantees for Miley at this time. England’s last 15 Champions League appearances (he is sixth) include Stefan O’Connor (now a start-up investor working in legal and medical negligence) and Jude Bellingham (now at Real Madrid), as well as most of the people in between them.
Potential is everything and nothing at the same time: a full cup and an empty cup depending on what happens next.
But boy, the boy is talented. They’ve known about it for a long time, first in Stanley, then in Dursley Park and now on the other side of Newcastle. And for all your billions and government ownership, it’s clear-eyed schoolchildren like Miley who are dispelling fears about growing homogeneity. This makes it doubly special.
Source: I News
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.