Bristol City may let more of the younger players go out on loan, says head coach Lee Johnson Lee Johnson has not ruled out the possibility of sending out more Bristol City youngsters on loan ahead of Thursday's deadline. Teenage goalkeeper Max O'Leary last week joined up with National League outfit Kidderminster Harriers until the end of the season. And head coach Johnson would like to provide Under-21 development squad members Zak Vyner, Joe Morrell and George Dowling with a similar opportunity to play first-team football, providing the right clubs can be found for them. The emergency loan window closes on Thursday and, although City are not expected to bring any new faces into the club, there is a chance that one or two could still head out of Ashton Gate. Johnson said: "I would love to see Zak Vyner go out on loan as well as the likes of Joe Morrell and even George Dowling. If there was the potential for that to happen (before Thursday), I would certainly be interested. "But all the circumstances have to be right for that to happen. You don't just shove them out willy-nilly, they have to go to the right clubs. "If you are sending a goalkeeper out, then you want them to get plenty of action. Kidderminster need a bit of help and, hopefully Max O'Leary will get what he needs there between now and the end of the season. "But it's a different kettle of fish for the likes of Vyner, Morrell and Dowling. They would need to be at the right club with the right coach, playing on the right surface and with the right philosophy on how to play. "If those things are not in place, then it is just a waste. I don't want to just drop them in somewhere and actually stunt their progression." Vyner has made dramatic progress through the ranks this season, making his senior debut in a 2-0 Championship win at MK Dons last month. Morrell made the bench for an FA Cup third-round replay against West Bromwich Albion, while Dowling has impressed in City's Under-21 side this term. Johnson added: "Providing the situation is right, I'd love to see our young players get first-team football. Under-21 football is all well and good, but there is no substitute for men's football. "The young players want to do it as well. They love it, whether it's a crowd of 200, 500 or 50,000, there is nothing quite like the buzz you get from playing in front of a set of supporters who want a particular side to win." Already blooded at first-team level, O'Leary joined Kidderminster in order to experience regular first-team football. He made his debut in last Saturday's 2-1 win at Lincoln City and could potentially feature in another eight games this season. "It's brilliant that Max has gone out on loan to get some games, because he is somebody we have real high hopes for." said Johnson. "We believe in him as a player and, by sending him out, we are setting the tone for next season. It is important we get our players out playing." "If Max has six or seven games and does well, we can then choose to let him out again next year, possibly at the same level or a higher one. " http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/City-eye-moves-younger-ones/story-28965203-detail/story.html
The more I read about LJ the more impressed I get, slowly but surely he is gaining my confidence, for what it's worth..
Same here - I was a doubter before he joined, but mostly because I assumed that the crowd would get on his back (though I suppose the acid test is still to come when we hit a sticky patch). He comes across as very astute and says the right things to the media - that, and most importantly, the results have been pretty great. Excellent start.
I've liked what I've seen so far from LJ. HOWEVER!!! I'm holding my judgement on him until next season. McInnes kept us up and then ultimately helped get us down the following year. So I don't think we'll get a clear indication of where we are going as a club under Johnson until Christmas time. Hopefully we'll still be in the championship and closer to the top 6, than the bottom. The young uns need game time otherwise we'll just see what we've seen from the likes of Plummer, Artus, Jackson etc, loads of promise but getting nothing from them. So yeah, send them out! let them get experience, no good being 20/21 years old and still not having played consistently in a competitive league.
It's got to be a good thing to get these youinger players out on loan playing 1st team football (I'm not a big fan of the U21 games)
Playing them in lower leagues ... difficult to assess, for a goalie can see it is an advantage as in a poorish team he will get plenty of practice .. playing them a league lower I can see the advantage .. when we go back down they have inside knowledge ...only joking!.. they will be getting game time and picking up a few tricks from the host of wily old dogs that often find themselves winding up their careers ..... ..... ..... .....
JG the U21 stuff is like playing in a testimonial - they would learn far more out on loan at somewhere like Yeovil (and yes learn those tricks)
bring back the old football combination/reserves league, youngsters learned mutch more playing alongside old pros and first teamers coming back from injury in a competitive league.
Totally agree- Went to watch City's reserves play one day back in about 1971- Could see why at the time (I was only 11) but it was apparent when we got there that half of the double winning squad were playing that day for Arsenal, coming back from injuries. Arsenal won 1-0. Must have done our lads a world of good.
didn't attend many combo matches ... usually when there was prospect of seeing a player worth more than £100,000 ..... or a team 's reserves from the top echelon
Harry Kane was knocking around league one and the championship for 3 or 4 years before "suddenly" coming good. The time he spent clearly toughened him up and helped shape him into the player he is now...
