6 March 2016
Loughborough University Youth Intake
I wondered how the youth intake would work at a club like Loughborough Uni. I was pleased to see how realistically the game handled it. The newcomers are all 18 years old, as first year university students would be.
Our facilities are very good for our level, so I was hoping we'd get some talented new players. How did we do?
Four players stick out from the crowd immediately.
George is ready to step right into the first eleven, an all-action midfielder who is comfortable in a variety of roles. He is creative and technically skilled, determined and defensively savvy.
Tall, strong, and powerful,
Howard dazzled my staff with his potential. They rate him as a future League One center back. He is good with either foot, fairly comfortable on the ball (a skill I want my center halves to possess). His low determination is his Achilles heel.
Tom Berwick has been playing so well that
Cunningham's path to the first team will be rougher than those
George and
Howard face...but
Berwick will turn 22 early next season and, therefore, can't be part of my long-term plans.
Cunningham would offer more pace, but I'm not impressed with his mental makeup.
Clarkson has promise; I can envision him as a solid backup to
Dale Minor, offering more pace but less skill. His Professional personality is also a real plus.
I'm not sure what I will do with the rest. Several of the others have some potential, but they're a long way from being ready for my first team.
There are now 40 players on my squad list, and I don't have a reserve squad or a B team. How will these youngsters develop if they never play? I have more players than I know what to do with. I might have to cut nearly half of them, and quite a few of the new lads.
In a way, youth intake day almost seems like a campus tryout, when first year students who want a spot on the team turn up so we can put them through their paces. If I get four solid players out of it, I suppose it's been a success.