DESPITE dwindling crowds there has been a lot of exciting and interesting events in the A-League this season, the takeover at Sydney FC, edge of your seats games such as the Central Coast Mariners going 3-0 down to Sydney only for the match to end 3-3 after a couple of late strikes, but for me the highlight of the season has been the the National Youth League.

As Brendan Gan showed us on Sunday night, the young players of the NYL have a big part to play in the A-League. If it was not for Gan’s late strike, Sydney would not have jumped three places into third spot and would be stuck behind the Mariners in sixth spot. Brendan, after around 30 minutes of Hyundai A-League football, has now scored the same amount of goals as John Aloisi, who has made 12 appearances and is being paid $1.4 million a season.

It makes you ask the question of why these young players were not introduced earlier because, as Frank Farina and his young guns proved last season, it can change a whole season around.

Don’t be too proud of Kossie yet though - sure, he put Gan on for the last 25 or so minutes but it was a long time coming and where are the others? If Gan, who is not even a striker, can score a match-winning goal for Sydney, imagine the damage the likes of Sean Rooney and Kofi Danning could cause.

Rooney, who is second on the goal-scoring charts to only Chris Grossman would surely give a better return then John Alo’missi’, so while Kosmina has introduced some youth players, I sure hope there’s more to come.

That brings me to NQ and a plea to Ian Ferguson, please oh please sign up some of these exciting young players. If you are impressed by James Robinson, you will be blown away by these guys.

Just to carry on the ‘Christmas spirit’ of writing up wish lists I have decided to do likewise, so here’s my top five youth players I would love to have at the club, in no particular order.

Sean Rooney
I probably could have chosen any of Sydney’s youth team they have been that good! All the talk has been of Brendan Gan and Kofi Danning lately while the NYL’s second top scorer Sean Rooney had slipped under the radar until his move to the Jets. Seven goals is not an easy accomplishment when you have a host of players capable of scoring around you even if it is the Youth League. He is a player I believe given the chance could score many goals in the A-League.

Chris Grossman
Those of you who read my blog two weeks ago would know I am keen on us signing Chris Grossman. For one reason or another Farina has decided not to use the ‘eight goal midfielder’ who now stands on top of the goal-scoring charts in the NYL.

Josh McVey
Another young Queensland Roar player who has been setting the Youth League alight with five goals so far. Along with Chris Grossman he is the clear the standout performer for third places Roar.

Mathew Theodore
Probably the most promising of Melbourne’s whole youth team, Theodore is the captain of a team that promised so much at the start of the season, but has so far delivered little.

Marko Jesic
The 19-year-old already has five Hyundai A-League games under his belt and a goal and an assist to go along with that. Jesic has been playing well in both the NYL and the A-League and would be a fantastic signing. The likeliness of him joining us are about the same as Newcastle finishing in the top four, but it is a wish list isn’t it?

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2009/10 Season Prediction #1
After three appearances, who knows how many wasted chances and zero assists James Robinson leaves NQ to head back to Perth.

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Feel free to post your top five players you would love to have at your club on the discussion boards below.