Monday night saw our Under 21s extend their unbeaten run to 12, and they’re still to lose at home this season. Josh Kilmister looks at why we should possibly be looking to involve more of our development squad in the first team
I’m not suggesting we take four or five of our youngsters and shove them in at the deep end, that would be silly. That said, I don’t see any harm in giving a few more of our development side a chance to grab an opportunity at the big time before they reach the standard of our first team regulars.
Reading this, I know people will be thinking, “What’s he talking about? Hasn’t he seen Mo Barrow this season?!”, but although he still has his best years to come, Barrow isn’t quite as young as everybody thinks. Listening to TalkSport on the way home from the Arsenal game (when Barrow came on to make his professional debut), the presenter and those calling in to represent The Swans seemed to think he was nineteen years old; he isn’t, he’s twenty-two. Now I’m not saying twenty-two is old, but I think at that age Barrow would almost be expected to push for a place in the first team.
As most of you will know, our youth systems apply the same tactics to their games as Monk and Co. do to the first team, meaning that if disaster strikes and we have an injury crisis, we’ve got backup from the younger sides. This for me is fantastic, and it obviously optimises our chances of getting younger players to break through to the first team, and it’s definitely something we should look to take advantage of.
Watching Liverpool and Man United’s U21s on Sky last night (I definitely think more youth games should be televised), Gary Neville said that one of the best experiences for a young player is for them to experience the build up to a first-team match. Talking about Liverpool’s seventeen-year-old midfielder Sheyi Ojo - who has been named on the bench for the Merseyside team a few times this season - Neville complimented Rodgers’ style of management, allowing young players to make their mark in the first team before they become a regular.
Understandably, our youth system isn’t as good as the likes of Liverpool and United’s [Yet - Ed], but I think the same concept should apply. Players like new signing Matt Grimes, Aussie Gincarlo Gallifuoco and even goalkeepers Dai Cornell, Gregor Zabret and Oliver Davies should, in my opinion, be making appearances on the first team bench, even if it’s just for experience.
Zabret and Davies both have, from what I’ve seen and read, potential to be first team goalkeepers for us in the future, so why not start them off early? Of course we need to respect Gerhard Tremmel as he’s been a good servant for us, but from seeing his shambolic performances in the cup this season, he can’t be much better than our young ‘keepers.
Matty Grimes has only joined us this month so I fully expect him to play a part in the first team before the end of the season, while other midfielders such as Adam King, Josh Sheehan and Jay Fulton have already been given chances to mix it with the first team - though these chances have been limited.
How I see it is we have seven places on the bench, three of which can be used. Unlike the days when Alan Tate was seen as an acceptable backup goalkeeper, one of those spaces needs to be taken by someone who could step in should Fabianski get injured or sent off. As unpredictable as football is, I think there are games where Monk can afford to use at least one of those spaces on the bench to give one of the younger players some valuable match day experience.
From being part of a Premier League team talk to just having a kick about with the other subs at half-time, the chance to give the future a chance to become familiar with the atmosphere in and around a Premier League game from a players perspective is one that cannot be passed up, and while our squad is the sixth youngest in the Premier League with an average age of twenty-six (taken from October 1st), maybe dropping that number a little would benefit all parties involved.
Thanks to Josh for this latest piece - give him a follow on Twitter @JoshKilmister. I'm a big fan of involving youth in the first-team, and with Monk having already blooded several youngsters it's clear our manager is too.