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In a time of turmoil, budget cuts and all change at Vale Park, before his shock departure for Northampton Town, former manager Rob Page had expressed his excitement at the potential of the club’s three new youth graduates, one of which- 17-year old forward Dan Turner, has already made his debut; a two minute cameo in the 4-1 home win over Rochdale back in April.
The other two who have also been offered their first professional contracts are 18-year old right back James Gibbons, and goalkeeper Harry Pickering, also 18 years of age. All three have impressed in the youth team and reserves over the course of the season.
During his stint as manager, Page was also quick to acknowledge the importance of the youth system in the future of the club, and is keen to continue blooding : “It is important we keep doing that. We are not a club that has the finances to go out and buy players so we have to develop our own”.
17-year-old Turner had certainly caught his former coach’s eye, and toasted his first professional deal in scintillating fashion, scoring two goals for the reserves against Morecambe three days after making his first-team debut. The first of his strikes, on four minutes, was a speculative 40-yard lob over the goalkeeper, which he executed with some style.
Reserve coach Mick Ede of the player: “He’s a goalscorer, he’s averaging nearly a goal a game for the reserves this season.
“He’s got a turn of pace and is as comfortable with his hold-up play as he is running in behind. He has a lot of technical attributes and tactically understands the role in and out of possession”.
James Gibbons, who has also been integrated into first team training, had been described as a “little terrier” by Rob Page. Ede wasn’t short of praise for the right-back either, the youngster showing his versatility by being deployed on the left side of the defence when required.
Ede has also tipped Gibbons as one to watch for the future. “He’s our silent assassin”, he said of him. “He gives everything with his heart on his sleeve and always trains and plays at 100 per cent. Whether you’re 5ft 6, or 6ft 6, Gibbo will hit you with everything he’s got, and when he does he’ll smile at you.”
“He has also developed the tactical side of his game, positioning and understanding the role of full back. Plus he’s a lot of playing reserve team football under his belt”.
Goalkeeper Harry Pickering has been exposed to less action in the reserves, primarily due to the fact he has been out on loan for much of the campaign at non-league neighbours Kidsgrove Athletic, whilst also training at Vale Park with first-team goalkeeping coach Dave Timmins. Mick Ede and Rob Page prior to his departure had been keen to get the young shot-stopper out on loan to rack some minutes of senior football under his belt.
However, the trio will be unable to rest on their laurels as four first year professionals from this campaign won’t be seeing a second year at Vale Park. Academy graduates Jonathon Kapend, Chekaine Steele, Omar Haughton and Lewis Bergin have all been shown the exit door after 12 months, the majority of which all spent out on loan. With the cut-throat side of the game rearing its ugly head, the current crop of youngsters will no doubt be under pressure to show their new manager their potential over the course of the coming campaign.
Is twelve months, however, really enough to determine whether or not a young player is maximising their potential? With the constraints of operating under a budget cut, Page, prior to his exit, still had the responsibility of drafting up the club’s retained list, and will have undoubtedly made his decision from the business perspective of the club, and waiting on youngsters for season-upon-season to show signs of development is something the club simply cannot afford to do. It is the cruel face of the game for young players these days, and only emphasises the pressure on young-guns at clubs across the country to hit the ground running and impress.
Page of the situation: “It’s always difficult when you see potential in kids. But have these young players developed enough within 12 months to have an impact on the first team? Probably not, and we have to look at the business side of it. If the budget is being cut then do we want one player in that is going to benefit the starting eleven, or do we want to keep hold of three that might take two or three years to develop? We can’t afford that luxury anymore”.
So what next for these three promising young players? It would be no surprise if-as it was with the others- the new manager, who is set to be announced in around three weeks’ time according to Chairman Norman Smurthwaite, looks for them to try their hand out on loan next season in a bid to develop them into players fit for the purpose of senior football – a tactic that Page himself often employed.
Despite loan spells not working out for four of Vale’s young guns, for another two it is a different story entirely. Midfielder Billy Reeves has been handed the offer of a contract extension after a promising campaign on loan at Witton Albion, but most of the plaudits will go to Vale’s 20-year old centre half Nathan Smith, who spent the 2014/15 campaign on loan at Stafford Rangers and this year has proved a big hitter at Torquay, scooping their young player and senior player of the year awards, having spent the season on loan at Plainmoor, competing at National League level.
Smith has another 12 months on his contract at Vale and may well find himself part of the first team in 2016/17, and his former manager was delighted with how the Madeley born youngster has thrived on the South Coast. Smith’s progress will also provide huge optimism and encouragement for how the current crop of first year professionals may develop over the next campaign.
Page of him: “It has worked well. We could have kept Nathan here playing reserve team football but I don’t see that as giving the lad the best chance to develop and become men.
“The youngsters have to go out and ply their trade where it does matter if you get beaten on a Saturday. Under-21s’ football is okay for getting the ball down and playing but I am not convinced that it teaches the physical side of the game and the mentality of winning as well.
Nathan has been exceptional from all the reports I have had. I have seen him play myself and he is developing”.
With a steady accumulation of first-team experience elsewhere, Page, before taking up the Sixfields post, at Smith in the upcoming pre-season to determine whether or the youngster is ready for first-team football or would be better off gaining more experience out on loan.
“He will be given the opportunity to prove himself and then the rest is over to him.
“Through pre-season he will be given an opportunity to prove himself and if we feel he is ready then brilliant. If not we will have a look at the situation again and if there are clubs out there that we think can benefit him and give him that next step-up for experience then we’ll take a look at it”.
And with a new manager heading into Vale Park over the coming weeks, it is highly likely that young Smith will be given his chance as the new coach gets to grips with the personnel at his disposal.
With the club’s academy system proving fruitful in the face of some disappointment, the hierarchy at Port Vale has still had to be astute in finding and developing young players via different methods. One such policy has been bringing through ex-Premier League academy youngsters who haven’t quite made the grade, and giving them the springboard to grow and maximise their potential lower down the football pyramid. This system of development has proved fruitful in the past with young striker Jordan Hugill breaking into the first team in 2013/14 before moving onto Preston North End, where he featured in their promotion winning side in 2015.
The potential effectiveness of this system was highlighted further with youngster Enoch Andoh bursting onto the scene. The Ghanaian under-20 international has spent time on the books of the academies at Chelsea and Porto, whilst also having European pedigree, having featured in the Europa League for Cypriot outfit AEL Limassol.
Andoh made sixteen appearances for the Valiants in 2015/16 and was touting interest from Tottenham Hotspur, according to The , after some sterling performances on the left flank, before his season prematurely ended with an anterior cruciate ligament injury at Colchester. His contract is up in the summer but he had been offered an extension by Rob Page, who saw great potential in the player. If there was any truth in Spurs’ interest, this means of bringing through youngsters at Vale Park may yet prove a real money-spinner.
Vale fans can also be excited about the potential of another player plucked from under-21s’ football, former Everton and Norwich winger Sam Kelly, who Page expects to flourish next season after showing glimpses of his potential in his first season in senior football.
The 22-year-old made 28 appearances and nine starts in his first season at Vale Park, but has often made a big impression from the bench and chipped in three spectacular goals, all of which were goal of the season contenders. The winger is now halfway through a two-year deal at Vale Park, but having shown his potential in fits and starts, with a full season of senior football behind him, he will now surely be better off with having had that experience and fans will expect more from him on a consistent basis next season, as will his new manager.
This alternative system hasn’t fallen short in finding the Valiants what could be a quality goalscorer either. 22-year old forward JJ Hooper, an ex-Newcastle United academy graduate, was singled out by Chairman Norman Smurthwaite as a transfer target having scored 20 goals in the National League South for Havant & Waterlooville.
His 28 appearances for the Valiants have included only eight starts, since Rob Page was forced to ease the striker into the first team over the course of the campaign to avoid paying too hefty a tribunal fee to his former employers, given that the player is under the age of 24.
The £8400 that the club ended up paying for the striker could prove a real bargain if he continues to develop. Since his integration into the first team he has demonstrated his intelligent movement, has proven an effective finisher with five goals so far for the club, and shown he is blessed with strength and pace and a precise first touch.
Having won the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month award in April, Hooper is a player who has certainly made a big impression in the closing stages of the season, and with a full pre-season under his belt, the Vale may have a real player on their hands next season if he can continue to push on under the guidance of a new, more experienced coach,
All in all, it does seem well and good for Port Vale supporters to be excited about the potential of young players coming through the ranks at Vale Park. The youth system has developed substantially over recent years and for the first time in several years there is reason for optimism surrounding the club’s capacity to develop its own promising youngsters, a speciality for which the club has envied local rivals Crewe Alexandra over the past decade.
Earning a future in the game for young players is getting tougher, with little time for young players to find their feet since the club cannot afford to keep giving them closer to three-to-five years to prove their worth. Yet with the progress made at academy level, hope remains that players can come fresh out of the system and be ready for the first-team in one-to-two seasons.
However, it cannot be stressed enough that it is down to the players themselves to make the grade and fulfil their potential, which has already proved too big an ask for some. They will have to earn their stars quickly, for their old manager did not prove hesitant in swinging the axe, and it is unlikely that a more experienced coach, determined to make an impression on the club and push them upwards, will bide his time with such financial constraints either.
Time will tell if these players touted as future big hitters will prove to be such. It is this which will ultimately determine whether Vale’s two-pronged system of bringing through young players will prove an effective one, or simply fall flat. And with several players already heading through the exit door after Page’s departure, the club could really do with the lift of one or more of its young players stepping up to the plate. No pressure, lads.
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