Back in the day 'SHOOT' magazine was the monthly of choice for teenagers who were too sophisticated for the terrible puns and embarrassing speech bubbles of 'MATCH' magazine.
SHOOT offered just a bit more actual analysis, more quizzes, and of course more respectable pull-out posters for your bedroom wall, and every year boys all over the UK and Ireland woke up on Christmas morning to find a copy of the 'SHOOT' magazine annual waiting for them. This was the case for me, as a 16 year old. Despite making it perfectly clear that I was too old and too cool for 'SHOOT' magazine, some relative would inevitably see the annual, remember that I liked football, and take the easy option when it came to Christmas gifts.
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I recently discovered the 10 year old annual (based on the football year of 2005) down the back of a neglected bookshelf, so I decided to have a flick through. Upon discovering the "Ones To Watch" section, I thought it might be interesting to find out what became of the youngsters SHOOT referred to as the future of English league football. These are my findings:
Scott Carson - Liverpool
Liverpool fans will be well aware that Scott Carson is no longer at the club. After proving he absolutely was not cut out for a club the size of Liverpool, Carson bounced around on loan before eventually settling at West Brom for a number of years. After adding himself to the list of English goalkeepers who made horrible errors for the national team, Carson eventually moved to Turkey, before returning to Wigan. He now plays for Derby.
Martin Cranie - Southampton
Tipped to be the next successful Southampton youth product, Cranie only made 16 senior appearances before leaving the club, and going on a series of loan moves. He then signed for the Saints bitter rivals Portsmouth, and again was loaned all over the place. When he signed for Coventry in 2009 he made over 20 senior appearances for a club for the first time in his career. After representing England at all age groups and earning 16 U21 caps, Cranie never got a full international cap. He now plays for Huddersfield.
Anton Ferdinand - West Ham
One of the safer bets at the time, Rio's younger brother was tipped to be every bit the World class defender his brother was, but it didn't quite work out like that. Rather unfortunately it seems that the lasting legacy of Anton's career will be his protracted court case against John Terry, where he accused the Chelsea captain of racially abusing him, resulting in a four match ban for Terry. Sadly Ferdiand's excellent form in the Thai Premier League for Police United is likely to be forgotten. He now plays for Reading.
Tom Huddlestone - Tottenham
One of those strange players who has so much ability but so little athleticism, Huddlestone's thumping shot and eye for a spectacular pass always seemed to make him look better than he was. While he was constantly on the verge of a breakthrough into a starting role for Spurs, it never came, and eventually he upped sticks and moved to Hull City. He became a starter for Hull and scored some impressive goals, but couldn't help the club avoid relegation last season. He is still playing with the Tigers, and has four England caps to his name.
Justin Hoyte - Arsenal
There's always a bit of buzz when Arsenal steal a young talent for someone, but Justin Hoyte eventually found his way back to Middlesbrough where he played the majority of his club career. There really isn't much to report about Hoyte. He is now playing with Millwall.
Tony McMahon - Middlesbrough
Tony McMahon was just breaking into the first team when this list of players was compiled, and he would remain at that stage for the duration of his eight year Middlesbrough career. He finally left the club in 2012 after being loaned to Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday, but the only time he was able to secure regular playing time was at Blackpool last season when the club could barely field a team. He was a strange selection for this list at the time, it looks even stranger now.
Tom Soares - Crystal Palace
Tom Soares did indeed look a promising player at Palace, but after moving to Stoke and upon their promotion to the Premier League, injuries halted his progress and he struggled to get game time for a number of years. Eventually after being released by Stoke in 2012 and training with Bury, he was offered a contract and remains at the club today.
James Morrison - Middlesbrough
Easily one of the best players on this list, but hardly a World beater, Morrison is one of the lucky ones to have enjoyed some career stability despite the obvious curse put on all of these players. A regular for West Brom and Scotland, you're probably fully aware of what James Morrison is up to lately, as he's a decent Premier League player.
Liam Ridgewell - Aston Villa
Probably most famous for a terribly regrettable Instagram where he was pictured wiping his arse with a £20 note, Liam Ridgwell was your typical low-end Premier League defender who never seemed to be able to escape a relegation battle. He won a League Cup with Birmingham in 2011 and played every minute of the final against Arsenal, and eventually found his way to the MLS, where he recently became an MLS Cup champion with the Portland Timbers, despite being loaned to Wigan for a brief spell this season.
Steven Taylor - Newcastle
Steven Taylor's chronic addiction to handballs and a long list of injures have impacted his career as he has never really grown into the commanding Newcastle centre-back most thought he would be. After captaining the England U21s he never made the step up to full international football, and now remains at Newcastle although he is now more of a token Geordie in the squad.
Mark Noble - West Ham
Another one who actually did become a decent player, Mark Noble is a one club man who has now finally been named captain of West Ham this season. He was expected to have a bigger impact on the international stage, but never made an England senior appearance and was rumoured to have been considering representing Ireland before realising he's as cockney as they come.
Liam Rosenior - Fulham
The final example of why the writers at Shoot really should have looked harder for home-grown talent is Liam Rosenior, who really wasn't worth watching at all as he struggled to find starts everywhere before carving out a role as a wing-back for Steve Bruce at Hull City. Upon relegation to the Championship last season, Hull released Rosenior and he moved to Brighton and Hove Albion where he plays today.
That concludes one of the least impressive 'Ones To Watch' prediction lists in the history of football. We sincerely hope you haven't been watching them all this time.
