Town’s Academy Manager reflects on 2018/19 Academy loans
- Leigh Bromby delighted with progress made by loaned out Academy players
- 20 Young Terriers went out on loan or work experience this season
- Senior football vital for Young Terriers as part of Town Academy’s strategy
Huddersfield Town’s Academy Manager Leigh Bromby has been delighted with the progress made by the Young Terriers that have played minutes out on loan or on work experience during the 2018/19 campaign.
20 of Town’s current Academy players have played a combined 23,041 minutes across a total equivalent of 256 games in the 2018/19 campaign.
For many of which, the spells have provided a first taste of senior football, with the Young Terriers featuring for clubs up and down the football pyramid, for example Bradford City, Notts County, Liversedge FC and more.
The loan and work experience systems are an integral part of Town Academy’s strategy, providing Young Terriers with vital minutes playing First Team football to aid with their development at the Club.
Town’s Academy Manager Leigh Bromby has been able to look back on the progress of the Young Terriers this season and has been impressed with the development he’s seen.
“Some of the feedback we’ve got from the players is that the social element has helped them a lot. You notice it when they come back into the building – they communicate a lot better.
“On the pitch, they have a lot more confidence in terms of giving other players instructions, taking on information and being able to communicate more.
“We’ve got loads from it. I’d say every player that has been out on loan has improved and that’s been really visible when they’ve come back here.”
Leigh has been impressed with all of Town’s Academy players to have played First Team football elsewhere this season but earmarked a few for particular recognition.
Dom Tear (above) was one of those players, having enjoyed a short loan spell at Northern Irish Club Larne FC. The winger scored twice in eight appearances and helped the Club to the NI Football League Championship title.
“Dom Tear went to Larne and did fantastically well, which we knew he would do. Rarmani (Edmonds-Green) had success at Brighouse Town helping them get promotion through the Play-Offs.
“But for me, Lewis (O’Brien)’s experience at Bradford City is the standout one really. I think he played 40 games or so, ended up with a relegation but that experience is massive for him. It’s not great for Bradford, but for us, he’s been in a fight for survival and he’ll come back a better player from that.”
Young Terriers’ midfielder Lewis O’Brien (above) spent the season out on loan at Sky Bet League 1 club Bradford City, completing 90 minutes in 37 games, playing in 46, and racking up a total of 3,928 minutes – the highest number of any Academy player to go out on loan in 2018/19.
The loans and work experience spells fit directly into the strategy of the Academy as it tries to provide the youngsters with different tests in the Men’s game.
“It’s different to academy football, if you perform well, you play. In the Academy, we develop players, we have to give them a certain amount of game time and make sure they’re playing.
“The idea for us with the loans is to tier it. From Under-18 level, we try to build-up a bank of 100 games for each player by the time they get to 20 – we try to give them a rounded challenge of experiences.
“It’s part of our strategy to get the players loans, it’s something we value. We’ve had 20 players out on loan this season – that’s something we’ll try and increase next year.”
