[Archived] News Article -> Checkatrade Chance For Youngsters

[Kamy100]

At his pre-match press conference Tony Mowbray has heaped praise on the performances of the under 23's this season and is set to give them a chance in the Checkatrade Trophy match tonight at Rochdale.

The under 23's have been in fantastic form this season, Damien Johnson's side have lost just once this season.  Mowbray said  “I love watching our Under-23s, I think they’re a great football team with great camaraderie among themselves and I have no questions over their desire and heart, If they keep doing that then I do like to blood young players but we have to win football matches and to ask them to do that is difficult.  But to drop one in every now and then it’s good and if they can grab their chance like Nuttall has then they will stay there.

“Let’s wait and see, I do feel that sometimes it’s a man’s game and needs a man to do the job and it can be difficult to ask an 18 or 19-year-old to get the job done but there’s a lot of quality at this club bubbling underneath."

Mowbray added: “I would like to play a lot of the Under-23s who have shown some scintillating football when I have been and watched them.  Can they reproduce it against men and the pressure of playing against experienced pros?  I won’t throw them all in, you can’t with the competition rules, but we would like to dip some in. We want to go to Rochdale and win but I will sit down with my staff and pick a team that we feel can be competitive and get a result.”

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[AllRoverAsia]

"We want to go to Rochdale and win but I will sit down with my staff and pick a team that we feel can be competitive and get a result.”

TM confirming where it all goes wrong.

[Oldgregg86]

BUT it's the senior lads poker night so we might struggle for numbers and quality

[RV Blue]

19 minutes ago, Kamy100 said:

“Let’s wait and see, I do feel that sometimes it’s a man’s game and needs a man to do the job and it can be difficult to ask an 18 or 19-year-old to get the job done but there’s a lot of quality at this club bubbling underneath."

Yet he signed 17 year old Harper, and chucked him into a big game away at Scunthorpe out of position , genius.

[Reedy You're A Star]

You'll never find out if they can do a job unless you let them try. Like he's been doing more recently, with Nutall (although personally I would have done it a few weeks sooner), I'd stick 2 or 3 of the U23s that are performing the best on the 1st team bench every week. If they do well coming off the bench, as Nutall has, then give them a start. If they don't perform, then they drop back to the bench, then back to the U23's and someone else gets a chance. No point talking about having quality in the youth / reserves if there's no progression to the 1st team as a reward for playing well.

[JAL]

6 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

"We want to go to Rochdale and win but I will sit down with my staff and pick a team that we feel can be competitive and get a result.”

TM confirming where it all goes wrong

Is this someone else calling the shots with Tony being just the spokesman in the head position ?

Edited November 7, 2017 by JAL