Opportunity of a lifetime for Mehdi Abeid - starting at Berwick!

By Lee Ryder on Jul 1, 11 08:13 AM

It was Glenn Roeder who once corrected reporters about the roles of Toon players operating beneath the first team.

During his stint as Academy manager, Roeder's answer to a question about United's youngsters who had: "Their foot on the first rung of the ladder" was: "No, they still only have both feet firmly on the ground."

Roeder, of course, was completely right.

Making the grade in the first team of any Premier League club is tough - take note Mehdi Abeid.

The Andy Carrolls of the world do not grow on trees.

And progression to the first team is not a given.

Going back to Glenn Roeder's stint in charge he blooded players he'd worked with in the Academy in David Edgar, Paul Huntingdon and Matty Pattison.

Carroll may well be the cover boy at Anfield these days, but Edgar made four starts for Burnley, Huntingdon is plying his trade for Yeovil and Pattison now back in his native South Africa playing for Mamelodi Sundowns.

Of course there are more, many more.

But a look at three of Roeder's troops highlights the tough challenge of playing first team football.

Abeid must avoid being another Wesley Ngo Baheng.

Baheng arrived under Sam Allardyce but couldn't seem to make the jump from reserve team football to first team, even with Newcastle getting relegated to the Championship in his final term.

For Abeid he has the sort of opportunity that was handed to Sebastian Bassong in 2008.

Back then, the central defender arrived on Tyneside with a little known reputation and while a little bit older and despite the fact Kevin Keegan said in public that Bassong would be classed as a reserve team player, he went on to prove he could cut the mustard.

Abeid can only learn from Bassong who made the most of not only his chance but also some mitigating circumstances as Kevin Keegan walked out and Chris Hughton and Joe Kinnear, desperate to lift things, turned to the hungry defender to prove his worth in an hour of need.

Midfield man Abeid comes with a decent background from Lens with even Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheick Tiote rating him highly.

But the hard work starts in Berwick for the youngster when he may make his Toon debut against the Scottish Third Division outfit.

After that it will be up to Abeid to prove himself in the FA Premier Reserve League in the club's development pool and then it will be about catching the eye.

In summary, Newcastle United didn't sign a new player today, they signed a new prospect.