Blake looking to Elite
By Nicholas Veevers
Monday, 27 February, 2012
Head Coach to cast his eye over young talent.
Ticket prices for the game are £3 adults and just £1 for children and concessions
Ticket hotline - 0871 310 1883 or visit www.leytonorient.com
Noel Blake takes his U19 squad into action for the first time in 2012 on Tuesday night, as they face Czech Republic at Leyton Orient in what is their final match before the next round of European Qualifiers in May.
After a testing campaign so far for Blake’s men, he wants to use this game as a final indicator towards his selection for the Elite Round matches in May.
"Our fixture programme so far this season has seen us come up against the likes of Holland, France, Portugal, Ukraine and Denmark, and the players have given some impressive performances, both individually and collectively, overall,” said Blake.
"Czech Republic will represent excellent opponents. I expect them to be well organised, disciplined, athletic, technical and tactically very good. They have also qualified for the Elite Round and I expect a very difficult encounter on Tuesday.
"They have had a great reputation of producing quality players for their senior squads from the development ranks. The likes of Jan Koller, Petr Cech, Milan Baros and Tomas Rosicky have all come through their youth teams in recent years .”
With the match being screened live on FATV too, the game gives people across the nation a chance to watch some of England’s brightest young talent in action as they battle to both beat the Czechs and impress Blake enough to place a marker in his mind for the future.
England caretaker boss Stuart Pearce will also be at the game whilst Director Of Football Development Sir Trevor Brooking is co-commentating for FATV, so the platform is there for players to perform.
"This is another good opportunity for the players to showcase their ability both on and of the pitch again, and stake a claim for a place in the squad for the Elite Round,” added Blake
"After Tuesday’s game, in consultation with the technical staff, I should have a pretty good idea of who is likely to make up the 18-man squad for those important matches in May.”
You can read more from Blake in the match programme for Tuesday’s game.