We got new writers. I got a puppy. Bolton have good young players. Read on for more
Well then, this is a rare site- an article from me. I, of course, apologise for the lack of recent posts from myself. I`ve been rather busy with a few things. One of which is building a new team of writers for Vital Bolton. I`m determined to make this the best Bolton site out there for all of you and I`m desperate to see this community blossoming again. Jack Crosland, Tom Bevington, Robert Wilson, Tom Gornell and Mark Lawrence will feature in the new writing team here. We are still looking for people to write for us, so if you`re interested do email bolton@vitalfootball.co.uk. Our aim for Vital Bolton for the beginning of next season is for ALL posts to be opinionated and potentially light-hearted which I have learned is what you want in the future.
Also, on Sunday I picked up my new puppy. I shall leave it up to you to guess what his name is, but I will tell you that he is named after a current Wanderers player.
Learning how to look after a puppy again, has got me thinking about Bolton. Jack wrote about how the way forward for Bolton is to nurture and develop our own young players, give them a chance in the first team and build our success upon this. It`s obviously much harder than this, or otherwise any team with an academy would do well. Every team in the Football League has an academy, and I don`t need to tell you that not all teams do well.
Baby dogs can`t just be taken outside, expected to know how to walk with a leash. They can`t be expected to be able to sit. My little guy can`t even bark yet! In the same way 18 year olds can`t just get chucked onto a first team pitch and be expected to fit right in and play well.
Neil Lennon is adamant that he knows how to integrate youngsters into the first team setup. Shortly after joining the club, youngsters who hadn`t featured under predecessor Dougie Freedman such as Zach Clough, Josh Vela, Max Clayton and Tom Walker have thrived.
However, I do feel that Lennon got over-excited with regards to Tom Walker. He`s a very good young prospect, but I think he faded in a lot of games and especially against AFC Bournemouth he showed a lack of stamina.
I also would like to point out that Dougie Freedman was victimised a little. It is my understanding that he did ostracise Josh Vela and had him training away from the first team. I have, however, heard that he had pushed Zach Clough on a lot of clubs in an effort to get the attacker some game time on loan. He also signed Max Clayton himself. While at times it did look like all he had to show for his skills in nurturing youngsters was his ability to talk for days on end about how he brought Wilfred Zaha into the team, there was some substance.
Jack`s post was called ‘The Southampton Way`, and he mentioned the way the club had brought through players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott before selling them off for big bucks. However, I`d rather us hold onto the likes of Clough for as long as possible. Knowing our club, the revenue brought in from selling them will either not go into the transfer kitty, or will be poorly spent on bad signings. While I think Lennon has a good eye for a transfer, he can make mistakes.
Clough, Vela, Clayton and Walker all played pretty much every game they`ve been available for since breaking into the first team. With the exception of Walker, they`ve also all suffered injuries this season. That`s why I think that it`s really important that these players are offered a certain degree of shelter, in the same way that puppies require it.
Introduction to senior football should be a gradual process. Nicky Hunt said a few years ago that the Conference League is probably more competitive than the U21 league that Bolton play in. It is a huge step up and it is very rare that players are able to make the transition seamlessly, and few youngsters can cope with the pressures of playing 40 games a season.
That said, you can`t underestimate the impact of regular first team action in adjusting to the pace of senior football. It can do wonders for players, and it has certainly helped Josh Vela in particular.
It`ll certainly be something that Neil Lennon will have to look at: how much first team exposure is too much for the young`uns.
I`ll have to end there, the little guy`s needing some attention. Take a wild guess at which Bolton player he`s named after.