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The Crowd Says (10) | Page 1 of Comments

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  Zac Zavos said | August 7th 2007 @ 3:51pm | Report comment

  Stunning stuff. I’d like to say that I looked a bit like that as a nine-year old. Alas…

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• MIchael Taylor said | August 7th 2007 @ 3:54pm | Report comment

  Yes, yes its all well and good to sign a contract move countries and what happens when Osgood Schlatters disease hits, or lower back stress or god forbid he burn out and become distinterested. Look at Tiger everyone one says, Theo Walcott, Wayne Rooney, Kurtley Beale. For everyone of those successes, I’ll raise the blind by 1000 of hopefulls that didn’t make it. Naysayer, probably a little, but why not let the kid grow up well adjusted have a life outside of football as well and if he’s going to make it he will. Smirks of pushy parents (Why did they move from the Old Dart in the first place?) and grandparents looking for the yellow brick road…

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  Spiro Zavos said | August 7th 2007 @ 5:10pm | Report comment

  Zac, if you had looked even remotely as good as that I’d be retired now on the back of your fortune as a football player. There were a number of aspects of this video which makes me think that Michael might be wrong about burnt-out by this youngster. I agree with him that so-called prodigies seldom actually achieve the glittering career their potential suggests for them. But this kid could be different.
  1. the clips seemed to be from only two games which suggests that he has so many tricks in his bags he is not a one-trick pony.
  2. he took the tackles calmly and didn’t seem bothered too much about the inevitable hacking he is going to receive.
  3. he has good speed and a chunky build that is suited to football.
  4. he scored a goal with a lovely chip into the top back of the net, so he is a striker as well as a play maker.
  5. he was very adept at setting up team-mates for easy shots at goal.
  All the bases seem to be covered: temperament, incredible skill with the ball, field vision, the required athleticism and, most importantly, an obvious love for the game.
  If you had to make a bet about a future star this is the kid to make the bet on.
  Rhain Davis, go you good thing!

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• Sam Taulelei said | August 9th 2007 @ 4:51pm | Report comment

  How good is this kid?

  I’ve watched it three times and am still amazed.

  Parenting questions aside there is no denying the kid has a prodigious talent. I agree with Spiro, normally when you watch super talented kids play in a team sport they tend to be very selfish and hog the ball. In the footage it shows him acting as both scorer and playmaker and that in itself is very uncommon for his age.

  Michael your concerns are the same that most parents shared when hearing that he was signed by Man U at such a tender age, but at least he’s going to a club with an excellent reputation for nurturing and developing talented youngsters. I only wish that I showed that much ability at 9 years of age on the rugby field.

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• MIchael Taylor said | August 9th 2007 @ 6:16pm | Report comment

  Sorry boys you aint going to convince me that at 9 year old you should be eating breathing and educating in soccer and only soccer. Man U, do have a solid development program but football is a dollars and cents game now. They will drop him like a dirty rag the minute things go South. Shame on you Spiro, for overhyping a 9 year old. Haven’t the years taught you to be more circumspect about such precocious talent. A bad example but look at Jennifer Capriatti (yes I know she had early phenominal success but at what cost- and yes she did fight back to where she is now.) the drugs, the rehab the breakdown etc. Avoidable, possibly with more judicious guidance…

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• Andrew B said | August 9th 2007 @ 6:41pm | Report comment

  Michael,

  Do you know what the schedule of a 9yr old Man U contracted kid is? I don’t. I’m sure they would not over-do it and burn the kid out as that would be recklessly endangering their investment.
  You sound concerned for the kid, which is great – hopefully he has plenty of friends, family and coaches equally concerned who will help him along the way to becoming a great player.

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  Spiro Zavos said | August 9th 2007 @ 7:36pm | Report comment

  Not all sports prodigies end up badly, although I must admit many do. I think there is an important role here for the family of this kid. Sachin Tendulkar was disappointed about not being selected for a tour of the West Indies when he was 16 and when the West Indies had a fearsome fast bowling squad. He has turned out to be an exemplary sportsman despite starting his test career at a young age.
  It’s not as if, either, this kid is going to be put on a tennis circuit and so on. He’ll, presumably, be schooled and taught how to be a professional football player, rather much along the lines of what the Performing Arts School at Newtown does with its students who have performing arts ambitions and skills. Or at least I’d presume this is what will happen.
  The bottom line for me is that the kid has extraordinary skills and a nous for football which should be given every opportunity, provided he wants this, to develop and flower.

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• MIchael Taylor said | August 10th 2007 @ 1:05am | Report comment

  Your reference to Newtown Performing Arts is interesting and worrying, Spiro. As ex Head of Sport at Endeavour Sports High, I wonder why there is no mention of the Sports High School system in NSW yet you refer to performing arts HS. Something is being lost in the marketing. Premier League Clubs have tried to align with the Sport HS but it isn’t a good fit. They tend to want the world, return little and dictate when and where ‘their’ players represent the school. Harry Kewell is a product of the Sports HS system (Westfields Sports HS). More recently, Ewan Porter (British Open golf), Sarah Kemp (European Ladies Tour), Reece Lovegrove (Hull KR-Super League) are all making a footprint in Europe. For more input on the subject join http://www.englishbreakfast.nl Fridays 3pm-5pm AEST

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• rachid said | August 11th 2007 @ 7:57pm | Report comment

  WOW!
  looking at that footage i dont think there’s anything you can do to stop Rhain eating + breathing soccer, i think he’s been doing that for a while and good luck to him.
  every day children are relient on their parents for support in issues much more serious than sport [ i know it will come as a shock to some of you out there that there are things other then sport!]. there are parents who get it wrong but for every one of those theres thousands who get it right. most parents want only the best for their children, so lets hope the Davis’ are in the this category and little Rhain can enjoy playing the game for a long time to come.

  rachid

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• DF6 said | August 11th 2007 @ 11:26pm | Report comment

  I agree with Michael

  We also have to consider the thousands of brazillian kids out there whose parents dont have video cameras who have twice the talent. point is, this kid is great and good on him and his family for his acomplishment however soccer is a massive sport and i hope that his parents treat this situation right and not blow it out of proportion, because like all professional sports im sure man u have the rights to about 5000 kids and we all know they only put 11 out on the field

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