In an International break, thoughts and reporting inevitably turn towards anything that has any current or previous relation to Ipswich Town Football Club. The obvious target is usually players reporting for International duty, however it also provides an opportunity to look further down the football pyramid at loanees, former players and anyone else performing with a connection to the club.
It was therefore possibly a result of this scourge for any sort of information that unearthed a surprising headline in the last week:
Former Ipswich Town full-back Myles Kenlock has been called up to the 16-man England C squad for their match against Wales C this month.
East Anglian Daily Times
Elsewhere, there were also mentions for another pair of Academy graduates, Armando Dobra and Bailey Clements at Chesterfield, as their sides excellent form was rewarded with Promotion back to the Football League before Easter had even arrived. Special mentions here also to former Town Manager Paul Cook, aswell as his assistant, Ipswich legend Keiron Dyer, for overseeing this run.
This focus on former Academy players performing well at non-league level did help to bring some reflection on the direction Ipswich Town have taken in recent years and, more specifically, the expectations on Youth that have hopefully been left behind.
The Marcus Evans era, certainly its latter, largely underfunded part, came to rely more heavily than should have been reasonable on Academy Products. In the last few years of Evans stewardship (if that term is appropriate), a host of young prospects were relied upon to step into an increasingly underperforming first team squad.
When young players are promoted quickly to the first team, it is often seen as an indication of a burgeoning talent making their way into the game. It sets expectations amongst the fanbase, especially if they are given a run of first team starts. Yet history seems to suggest that players like Kenlock, Dobra, Clements, Brett McGavin should never have had that expectation place on them, particularly in an environment which was often less than positive.
Was this a contributing factor to those players playing out their subsequent years in the non-league system? Probably not. Did it help them to become the players they were hoped to be? Probably not.
Likewise, players like Jack Lankester, Andre Dozell and Teddy Bishop, all players who suffered significantly with injury and, perhaps, have not reached their potential as a result of the overreliance on them at certain stages of their Ipswich Town careers.
Not discounting some of the loanees over that period- it is hard to conclude that any of Luke Matheson, Keanan Bennetts or Anthony Georgiou got any benefit in their careers whatsoever by being thrown into the Ipswich first team during that time.
There is, of course, something to be said for the influence of money in all of this and no doubt Keiran McKenna has had better options to choose from. But there is also a clear strategy at play in the development of youth prospects now, as is demonstrated with Cameron Humphreys, Elkan Baggott, Corey Ndaba or Idris El Mizouni.
Better options allow for more patience and caution with young players, but recalling these players recently in the news has acted as a reminder of the poor approach to development under the previous ownership, something which seemingly was such a priority.
I can’t ask for any more effort. Whether the quality is there, nobody knows. There are a lot of young guys there that only know this club. They are having a hard time at the minute.
For me, it’s everything. The structure… everything. It’s not right, 100 per cent, the structure.
Paul Lambert, EADT 2021
Maybe, amidst some/most of his obvious failings, Paul Lambert had a point that just wasnt being listened to. Those times seem thankfully a long long time ago right now.
