With a high investment into the academy including the recent development of a ‘Category One’ set up, the Under 21’s at Wolves are struggling for form. Academy guru Compton stars shares his thoughts on why there is nothing to fear down at Compton and the need to look beyond the league table.
Should Wolves fans be worried at the U21’s lack of form and poor results this season? No not in my opinion. w
Whilst it’s obviously productive to win games and build a winning mentality, youth football is about development and learning. The hard facts are that the majority may not make it at Wolves. If the academy can get one or two players a season through the system and into the first team squad, then they are doing well.
If they don’t make it at Wolves, hopefully they can still go on to have a good career elsewhere in the game.
Under 21 results have been poor this season. Winning only one game out of thirteen in the league with five draws leaving the team in 11th place out of a twelve team table with only Stoke lower. The performances haven’t been too bad, a few last gasp goals have turned winnable games into draws.
I won’t mention names because I feel it’s disrespectful but some of the older U21 players have lost their form. They either need to get regular 1st team football via a loan or they need to move on to progress their careers on a more positive note.
Wolves U21s have promoted some Under 18’s this season with Regan Upton, Aaron Hayden, Tendai Matinyadze, Bright Enobakhare, Mekhi Leacock- McLeod and Conor Ronan amongst others all getting good U21 minutes.
I am of the opinion that the whole U21 League system isn’t fit for purpose. Essentially because the average age of a team can fluctuate so much you can have some teams playing with 16/17 year olds vs 20/21 year olds. This format can cause inaccurate results.
While I encourage moving players up an age range if they are showing promise I feel that this can go only go so far. The development between a 16 year old boy in size and their playing development will be far different to 21 year old man.
Furthermore, there aren’t near enough games with on occasions a few weeks between games. Combine this with unimportant training ground friendly’s plugging the gaps, this really needs to change as competitive football is needed regularly.
I urge Wolves fans to have a different mindset when judging the Wolves academy. Look at how players are developed & promoted through the levels and hopefully onto the 1st team rather than where they stand in a particular league.
For the latest development news and results, follow Compton Stars on Twitter – @Comptonstars
Leave a Comment