Liam Wakefield

[selby]

 CGJ, page 2 of this forum under the heading  some promising youngsters. It was the U16s.

[anne honemous]

It's unfair to expect that given a few years our standard of academy players will improve.

You could get a run of decent young players in a particular year group which is what we had over a 3-4 year period with players such as Middleton, Lund, Ferguson, the McKays, Mandeville, Wakefield, Finnegan, etc, which could be followed by a year where the players aren't as good as their predecessors.

I don't think it's a mentality thing at all.

It's just the nature of the beast in what they're up against as other players in the same age bracket will be coming from PL academies, but wanting experience at our level (such as Jordan Houghton).

[DonnyOsmond]

It could be a mentality thing, look at Mandeville, he's technically one of the best players we've got but he's not playing nor does he seem like he wants to push on up the leagues as a footballer. He seems content as he is, disappointingly. Probably the only one we've brought through recently that looks like he has ability to play at a level above League Two since Husband or Green before that.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

As said, I'm not sure about the hunger and desire. I remember Liam having a cracking game at QPR, filling in at full back, but he was looking to be a centre half. We thought he had the potential but in comparison to Joe Wright, Liam didn't progress during the close season. He emerged in the same physical shape, not being strong enough for centre half and not quick enough to be full back.

There lays the issue for all potential youngsters like Mandeville, Beestin, May and many more before them, it's making the transition from boy to man.

[CGJ]

CGJ, page 2 of this forum under the heading  some promising youngsters. It was the U16s.

Thanks Selby. I was at that game and the Rovers fielded 3 U16s, 2 trialists and the rest were U15s.

[WestYorkshireRover]

Wakefield goes to our gym, I think his biggest problem is he is just no physical presence, young players can be world beaters but if their body doesn’t develope they don’t stand a chance unless they have a real gift and if so would never be in our  academy as they would be cherry picked by elite academy’s. We may be in tier 3 but it is littered with elite atheletes. He does seem a nice lad though with his head screwed on as he’s not just chasing the dream. Good luck to him you never know what will happen if he fills out over a couple of years.