Opinion: Will Zola Give Youth A Chance?

Recently, I watched a Manchester United youth team play at Old Trafford against Southampton in the FA Youth Cup. The thing that struck me the most was that they had some of the best individual players I have seen at this level. Some of those players will make it for Premier League teams, I have no doubt about that. But why am I mentioning United? Because they lost that game. If individual players do not play as a team, then results don’t come.

In contrast to this, I have seen Birmingham City’s youth team a few times this season and it is noticeable how well Beale has knitted the players together as a team. Everyone knows their role and the team press as a team rather than as individuals. The positive effect that this has, is that if players do get moved into the first team squad, then they are capable to make the transition. Despite the intensity and pace being faster for the first team, the basic team shape and concepts are very similar throughout the whole set up. I must say, this is certainly a Gary Rowett legacy and it is a vast improvement on previous years.

The negative for this, is that often individual players don’t stand out as much as they would do in other teams. Raheem Sterling stood out in his Liverpool youth side because the other players just gave him the ball and allowed him to express himself, rather than everyone contributing as a team. So there a pluses and minuses to this approach but for the club as a whole, it is really effective.

However, a player that has really stood out these past few months is Viv. The winger for me, deserved more of a chance in the first team under Rowett and to see him on the bench in Zola’s first team selection is certainly a big boost for the youngsters. Not only do I think Viv has the skills to add to our first team squad, I also think that by adding youth into the set up, it means that the other young lads can be motivated to work harder in order to achieve. It also means that Viv himself will get familiar with the set up and it’ll improve his confidence.

Zola also has a track record of trusting in young lads. Sears at West Ham United is a notable example whereby Zola trusted in him and gave him a new contract under his time as manager for the Hammers. He did show a huge amount of confidence in Josh Cogley on Saturday. Despite this back firing somewhat against Brighton, it does indicate that he has confidence in the young players and that they will get chances so overall it is a positive for the whole youth set up. But he does need to learn to use these lads at the right times and in the right games.