Why Cooper could be the right man to help Forest youngsters
FANS KEEN TO SEE IF CLUB’S ACADEMY PROSPECTS WILL GET A CHANCE
■ Q: Forest need to stop the shortterm thinking. We have highly-rated full-backs in the academy. I’d rather see them blooded than bringing in more loans. We’re not ready for the Premier League, so building over a couple of years is a much more sensible policy.
A: Forest do have some really good academy players. Look at Fin Back, for example, when he played early in the season; he was excellent. He slotted in well, and didn’t look out of place at all. I can’t remember him putting a foot wrong.
He is the future; players like him and Jayden Richardson.
Steve Cooper is the right man to have in charge when it comes to overseeing the development of young players like that. He’ll know when is a good time to blood them in.
The danger is, if you throw young players in at the deep end and it doesn’t quite work out, it can then set them back a bit. You have to take things gradually.
And football is a results-based business. Steve Cooper knows he has to pick up results; he has to pick up points and get Forest up the table. Everyone knows what happens if you don’t do that.
It can be difficult to rely on younger players when you’ve got that pressure. But at the same time, he would love not to have to rely on loanees quite so much.
Personally, I’m not sure Fin Back is quite ready to be playing week in, week out in the Championship just yet.
Longer-term, he is absolutely going to have a role to play and can be a big player for the club, but he’s perhaps not quite there just yet.
I think he would benefit from getting more experience under his belt first with a loan move.
Brennan Johnson made great strides with his loan spell at Lincoln, and it can make such a difference having regular game time.
Everyone wants to see academy players coming through - and they are the future - but you have to balance that with getting the right results in the present.
In the longer-term, they do have some ready-made replacements already at the club; they just need the chance to build up some experience first.
They do have a group of academy youngsters who are regularly training with the first-team, though and they are pushing the senior players.
■ Q: Do we need a right wing-back if
Djed Spence does leave, or could Mohamed Drager or Fin Back step up to the plate? Jordi Osei-tutu could also play if he gets over his injury.
A: Osei-tutu can play on the left or right. There’s still a question mark over when he will be available, though.
It’s the same hamstring injury he struggled with last season, so it’ll be something Forest will be wary of recurring again when he does come back.
It will be good to see him get some time on the pitch soon, though, because he is highly rated and did look bright in his couple of Forest appearances.
There was talk of him being back around December time, but Cooper has always been reluctant to put a timeframe on that.
Osei-tutu has been doing his rehab at Arsenal, so it’s difficult for Forest to see first-hand how he is progressing.
I do think he is still quite a way away from being involved, though.
If Spence does go, he would leave some big shoes to fill because he has been doing so well.
Back is the future. He’s got great potential and looks to have a bright
career ahead of him. But is he at the level at the minute to play week in, week out in the Championship? I’m not so sure. I just think he hasn’t had the right level of experience, and would suit a loan move in January.
It would be a big call to play him regularly in the Championship at the minute.
We haven’t seen Drager, so don’t know too much about him. Based on that, it would be a lot to expect him to step in for Spence and replicate his kind of performances straight away.
Given the doubt about Spence’s future, it will be interesting to see if Drager is involved in the coming weeks - that might give us a clue as to what Forest feel might happen in January.
If Cooper sees him as a potential replacement should Spence leave, you’d expect Drager to get some game time at some point soon.
Forest are light on options in the wing-back positions whatever happens, though. It’s something they do need to look at when the window opens.
■ Q: I know a scout for Blackpool, they couldn’t believe Forest were willing to sell Jordan Gabriel.
A: He could certainly still offer an option if he were here. But Jordan was keen to play regular football and it didn’t look like that was going to be the case at Forest.
Chris Hughton wanted to have a proper look at him in pre-season, after he did so well on loan at Blackpool.
But once Forest started to look for a right-back, it did look likely Gabriel would leave.
He is a promising young player, and it’s always a shame when they leave to go elsewhere, but it seemed like the best move for his development. It looked like he was going to be down the pecking order at Forest.
Blackpool were really keen to sign him, made it clear they wanted him, and pushed hard for a deal all summer - and he did have other interest.
He enjoyed his time on loan there, did well, and when you’ve got a club showing that kind of interest in you, that can be difficult to turn down.
■ Q: What fee did we get for Jordan Gabriel?
A: It was about £600-700,000, with a few add-ons.
■ Q: Could some of the younger players be blooded in the FA Cup, depending on who we draw?
A: I’d expect the manager will give some of them a chance when that does come around.
It’s a good opportunity for them to get minutes on the pitch, and valuable experience.
No matter who Forest draw, it will be a game they want to win, but the priority is the league, so there’s bound to be changes to the regular starting XI.
Maybe Dale Taylor could get his chance. It was great to see him make his international debut, and he’ll be hoping to get an opportunity for Forest now. He’s one to watch.
■ Q: Do you think Dale Taylor will get a run-out over the Christmas period or is close to the first-team? Could have another gem on our hands there!
A: It will be the same as all the younger players, it’s a case of deciding when is the right time to bring them in.
Cooper is as good a manager as you could have to make that call. A key reason behind his appointment was his track record of developing youngsters.
Forest have so many players in the academy who are tipped for big things, and they’ve got the perfect man in charge of the first-team when it comes to picking the best time to bring them through.
It will be great to see him on the bench at some point. It’s coming up to the busy festive run of fixtures, and injuries and suspensions are bound to start taking a toll, so you never know. I do think we’ll see him at some point this season. He’s earned his chance, now he’s featured for his country.