*Not the song by MGMT* You can`t win anything with kids? But they might just keep you in the division.
Whilst sitting and reflecting on a frustrating draw with Fulham, I began to consider that things may not be as bad as they look. There are undoubtedly a number of negative signs, signs which cannot be avoided. Firstly, obviously we are all aware of the financial situation of the club – administration would, without a doubt lead to us being relegated. The points deduction would simply be too big an obstacle to overcome. In addition to this, no-one is suggesting our league position provides any cause for optimism. In fact the team bottom of the Championship at Christmas has been relegated in each of the last 10 seasons. Finally, with January around the corner and taking into consideration the aforementioned finances, there is always a worry that key players such as Mark Davies or Zach Clough could be sold to provide much needed cash.
That`s enough doom and gloom. In this article I want to consider one particular reason why we shouldn`t be completely negative about things at Bolton. That reason is our youth set-up. When looking at our recent results, it is clear just from the goalscorers that players from our academy have played a big role recently. It goes without saying that the star attraction is Zach Clough. If we are looking to stay in the division, it is vital that we still own him by the end of January. When we brought him in to the team last year, I knew relatively little about him. From watching him a handful of times, I believed his best position was as an attacking midfielder, as he looked very much a classic number 10. His keen eye for goal has made me reconsider that view to an extent and I can understand why he has been pushed further forward than I had expected. At the beginning of the season he looked as though he`d misplaced his goalscoring touch. Getting back amongst the goals will give him confidence and I expect he`ll recapture the sharpness in front of goal which he displayed last season. His ability to pick a pass is also impressive. I`ve always said, how good a footballer is, is not entirely dictated by statistics. There`s more to a footballer than how many goals he scores, or passes he makes. The thing about Zach Clough is when you watch him, you appreciate his immense quality. His touch, ability on the ball, it`s clear to see. He`s gone on a number of incredible, mazy runs in his time in a Wanderers shirt and when you see him on the ball you feel anything can happen.
Clough is undoubtedly the most impressive product of our academy however he`s certainly not the only one. Josh Vela has proved himself to not only be versatile but also extremely talented. Hotly tipped to be the Whites` player of the year last year, he ultimately finished second to Tim Ream. That`s pretty good going when considering that during the second half of the season before Freedman had sent him out on loan to Notts County. In my opinion, Vela has reached the point in his career where it is important to establish what is his best position and allow him to gain more and more experience playing in that role. I believe Vela should be a mainstay in the Bolton midfield. As he matures he will become more able to control the game and less prone to the odd rash challenge, but all of these things come with experience. Rob Holding has recently looked to become a mainstay in the team as well, which could ultimately close the dilemma of whether Vela should be playing right back. He has seemed composed and looks as though he could nail down a place in the first eleven consistently before long. The fact that Clough, Vela and most recently Holding are able to come into the team and play such important roles is in my view one of the more convincing reasons to be optimistic for the future. I always hoped that dropping in to the Championship would give us the platform to play some of our youngsters.
Despite hoping our youngsters would get some minutes, I`d have never believed that they were our greatest hope of staying up. Now I do. I don`t doubt we have some good senior players: Mark Davies, Darren Pratley, etc. are more than good enough for this level. Despite this things have not gone as we had hoped this season. If anything can get us out of the predicament which we find ourselves in, it is our talented youngsters. It is no coincidence that young players are often able to play without pressure and without fear. Senior players feel a responsibility to the team, whereas youngsters are able to focus on expressing themselves. In my opinion, it is for this reason that they will be crucial for us. Couple the freedom which this allows them with their great talent and in my opinion, if anything keeps us up this season, it may well be the kids. Now, let`s see if we get to see Alex Samizadeh in the New Year, because I think he may well be the next of an ever increasing list of quality Wanderers` academy graduates.