When Norwich beat Middlesbrough in the Championship Play-Off Final, Alex Neil’s reliance was on an experienced squad with an average age of 28. In fact, the youngest player on the pitch was goal-scorer Nathan Redmond, who was at least six years younger than the rest of his teammates. Whilst the use of experience worked in favour of the team, there was also acknowledgement by some that a chance to succeed in the first team was becoming an even harder uphill battle.
It was Cameron McGeehan’s move to Luton Town which would indicate the extent of the difficulty young players would face if they were to achieve first team football at the club. Calling the Under-21 league a “graveyard for a lot of players [which is] not a good standard of football”, it leaves fewer options and routes for players – leading to questions whether they will ever have to proper chance to play for Norwich City, or whether experience will always play a key part of every campaign Norwich pursues.
Last season was expected to provide City’s young players with a chance of playing amongst the first team, with Neil Adams’ appointment as manager. Adams of course was the manager of the U-18 side that won the FA Youth Cup. So it wasn’t surprising when he named eight academy players in the matchday 18, which beat Crawley Town 3-1 in the Capital One Cup second round back in August. This was repeated once again as Shrewsbury beat Norwich in the third round at New Meadow, with the bench consisting of only one experienced player in the shape of John Ruddy.
With City eliminated from both the Capital One Cup and the FA Cup during the early stages by Shrewsbury and Preston North End respectively, it remains unclear how Alex Neil will treat the Cup games now that Norwich are competing only to retain Premier League status and with fans lacking the excitement of a decent cup run for the past couple of years. If Neil does decide to test out their academy players during cup games, a definite name on the team sheet would be Josh Murphy. He’s a proven forward when it comes to Capital One Cup having scored two goals against Crawley Town and a stunner of a goal against Watford in the 2013-14 season to help the Canaries progress to the fourth round.
Involvement in Cup games may be limited for academy players, with progression in the rounds usually resulting in Premier League opponents who are better suited to an experienced XI. With a preference towards this experience, chances for the youth may be limited until they have proven their quality in the Football League rather than the U-21 League.
It was defender Harry Toffolo’s first spell away from Norfolk which would prove pivotal in his career. Having only reached as far as the bench for City, Toffolo’s initial month loan to League One side Swindon Town was a chance to test himself at “men’s football” which in his own words, “separates the best from the rest,” and as soon as Toffolo was rewarded with starting place after coming on as a substitute in his first three games, it was unlikely he would be losing his place – let alone be allowed to go back to his parent club. His loan was extended to the end of the season, with Toffolo ending the season with one goal and seven assists to his name after playing 30 games, along with a call up to the England U-20s in March.
He had been praised as “brilliant” by Town’s manager Mark Cooper for taking to the game like a “duck to water”. Cooper even suggested that “he’s got everything to be a top-class left-sided defender” due to his ability to “get forward, get back, play, tackle and head”. He was a vital piece in what would see the Wiltshire club reach Wembley in the League One Play Offs with 83 goals behind their belt.
With Javier Garrido released as a free agent, only Martin Olsson remains as City’s left-back option. Toffolo’s one-year option has been taken up but it remains unclear whether the 19-year-old will be given the chance to compete in the Premier League.
Another successful loanee who saw success at Swindon Town was midfielder Louis Thompson. A signing Neil Adams had made alongside Conor McGrandles whilst planning for the future, Thompson went back on a season-long loan as part of the deal. He was a player Celtic had eyes on before he had even signed his first professional contract, and one who Swindon were sad to see go on a “permanent” deal. In total, Louis Thompson racked up 78 appearances for Town including five goals in all competitions. In the space of two years as a First Team regular, Thompson has won praised for his dedication to the cause – most evidently during his race against time to appear at Wembley after picking up an injury in the dying weeks of the season.
Whilst it is unclear where Thompson will be heading next season, Alex Neil has already had a chance to run the rule over the 19-year-old during a short spell of training with Norwich during the season and Mark Cooper has been quoted in a press conference saying, “I know the new manager really likes him”. However, it is unlikely Thompson will be able to secure a place in Norwich’s midfield with the likes of Graham Dorrans, Wes Hoolahan, Nathan Redmond, Jonny Howson, Bradley Johnson, Gary O’Neil, Alex Tettey and new signing, Youssouf Mulumbu higher up in the pecking order.
Last season also saw Carlton Morris, Jacob Murphy, Remi Matthews, Jamar Loza and Josh Murphy experience loan spells. In fact, once Neil had settled into his role at City, he ensured any players who wouldn’t be getting a game under him would play elsewhere. Across the board, the majority of appearances for each loanee were limited. In truth, it was Jacob Murphy who found the most success at Blackpool and Colchester United, respectively, as he scored six goals, including a vital goal in keeping Colchester in League One. But forward Loza has also seen progress in his career on the international level with Jamaica, making the Reggae Boys’ reserve team for the North American Gold Cup.
It’s certain that these young players will likely experience a loan spell or another year of U-21 football before the decision as to whether they can make it in Norwich’s squad is cemented. If not, they may be heading for a similar path as the one McGeehan took this summer.
After failing to appear in City’s first team, McGeehan signed for Luton Town on a one month youth loan in January 2014. This loan move would only strengthen his aspirations and by the end of the midfielder’s month loan. His “attitude, performances, freshness and great work ethic” made John Still keen to extend it to the end of the season, which would lead to McGeehan collecting a promotion medal in his first season of professional football. Having scored three goals in 18 appearances and winning the Skrill Premier League Player of the Month for April, what would follow the next season was rather lacklustre.
After such success, McGeehan had hoped to further his chances in the City first team—only to be left playing in the U-21 league and sitting on the bench for Cup games. In January, he was sent out on loan to another League Two club Cambridge United, which unsurprisingly saw another successful spell away from Carrow Road. Three goals in four appearances, excluding games against Manchester United in the Capital One Cup, McGeehan proved himself once again. It only took a matter of days until Luton Town came asking for McGeehan after his loan had expired at the U’s.
This loan would in fact signal the release of the young midfielder from Norwich’s grasps. McGeehan was wanted by Luton Town on a permanent deal and he wanted the same. With loans the main option for players to gain experience, one can only wonder how many loans a player can experience before they make it or go elsewhere permanently.
On the other hand and not forgetting, players may go straight into the team as Nathan Redmond proved after his move from Birmingham City. After proving himself at Championship level, former manager Chris Hughton snapped him up for £3.2 million. The then 19-year-old had already previously played 82 games for Birmingham—40 of which being part of the starting XI—and with appearances for England, there was no surprise as he became a regular in City’s squad. Some may say Redmond’s success in the first team does not demonstrate the path Norwich’s youths could follow. Birmingham City are credited for his youth career and his first experience of professional football, but it could show the Canaries don’t exclude young players. Redmond may have several years of experience under his belt for his age, but could have easily slotted into City’s U-21 squad when he joined in 2013.
Having signed last summer, McGrandles is hoping for a similar chance at Norwich, too. At 19, McGrandles made the move from Falkirk to City for £1 million. He accumulated 78 starts for the Scottish side and eight goals. Since joining the Canaries, McGrandles has had to settle for being captain of City’s U-21 squad on several occasions, featuring just once in the first team as a substitute in City’s 6-1 victory against Millwall under Neil Adams. Whether McGrandles will follow in the footsteps of Redmond, carry on playing at U-21 level or go out on loan remains anyone’s guess and it’s likely that fans will begin the same debate they had when Gary Hooper joined the club—is the Scottish League at the same level and are the players good enough? Neil will have a better idea to that question than most of us and he has already encountered McGrandles on the pitch several times as an opponent when he played/managed Hamilton Academical.
There are, however, several players of similar age to McGrandles who were part of the team which helped Norwich City win the FA Youth Cup in 2013. These players in the shape of Cameron Norman, Reiss Awuah, and Cameron King are yet to make appearances for the first team, nor have they been sent out on loan. Other players, who were part of the same U-18 team, including Kyle Callan-McFadden and Ben Wyatt, have decided to depart NR1 for first team football.
But as more young players progress through Norwich’s youth system, more questions are raised. Will they get their chances? Will City always opt for an experienced lineup – is that what fans would prefer? How many loans will a player need before they can either make it in the team or decide to go elsewhere?
The unknown is alive when it comes to the future of the youths. Whilst U-21 football allows senior players to retain or gain fitness and young players to progress gradually with people of similar age to them after playing for the U-18s, there will be questions over whether the U-21 league halts or progresses development for Norwich City’s young players.
