The future is bright, the future is black and white.
Well, hopefully that will be the case as the academy received some news today in the form of the 2020-21 EFL Trophy draw.
We’ve actually been handed quite a tough group if you take last season into account. Burton Albion were a solid mid-table team in League One and have done pretty well in cup competitions recently, whilst Peterborough only missed out on a playoff spot by the barest of margins after points per game were taken into account.
Cambridge United meanwhile were a lower mid-table side in League Two and should hopefully be dealt with easily if the team plays to its full potential.
But that potential needs to be utilised and realised, and that involves going deep in this competition, something I think this latest group of youngster is more than capable of achieving with some of the players we have at our disposal (especially Fabio Carvalho, seriously watch out for him in the future).
Do you care about how well the academy does in competitions like the EFL Trophy?
Yes
No
Breeding a culture of success at such a young level can provide great dividends in the future if any of these players make it into the first-team.
We’re proud of what we produce at academy level, and we’ve had some great sides in the past that have gone on to have great success, but I just feel in recent years our attention as a club and as a fanbase and arguably as a club haven’t really paid much attention to the academy apart from when that one player comes through like a Ryan Sessegnon.
And whilst they may not all go on to make mega million moves like him, we are still one of the better academy setups in the country, and nothing would set us up better for the future than by these youngsters putting on a good show in this competition and showing what they’re made of.