Young players need to be good enough and after that golden generation our academy went into decline. We had a good 7-8 years where it wasn’t well run and we produced very little. I seem to remember Koeman bemoaning the lack of quality we had in the youth sides. I think it is better if JRob has the pressure taken off him. The team environment is hostile right now with the players getting booed off for drawing with Derby. Better to let the team settle and bring him in gradually.
The other side of the coin is that maybe his confidence will suffer if he is not trusted or "shielded". I think that he has already proved that he can make a positive impact and is one of the few bright sparks so far and I get the impression that he is an easy option for the manager to drop. The academy is on the way back btw, near the top of PL2
I am all for using academy players and watch them whenever I can. I loved SAA and wanted him to get more time on the pitch. I have seen no evidence JRob isn’t trusted, but right now the fans only want results. If he gets 15 starts and 20 sub appearances that is very good for a youngster. Plenty of time for him to get the minutes.
