Mariners boss impressed with City prospect Towler
GRIMSBY Town manager Paul Hurst admits Ryley Towler’s adaptation to the National League has surprised him with the on-loan Bristol City defender quickly becoming an integral figure in their promotion push.
Towler has become a fixture of the Mariners defence as they have risen to the top of the National League, four points ahead of second place Chesterfield, and the 19-year-old has suffered just one defeat in a black and white shirt in nine appearances.
Lining up as the left-sided centreback in Hurst’s preferred 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 system alongside the more old-school Luke Waterfall, Towler’s command of the ball in possession has stood out but also the way he has physically put himself about in the fifth tier.
Hurst accepts that when taking the former Mangotsfield School pupil to Cleethorpes there were concerns over how he would cope with the demands of the National League, a far cry from the relative comforts of Failand and Under-23s football.
“At the start of the game (Yeovil at the weekend), I thought he had a few testing moments and could have picked up better positions to deal with those situations,” Hurst said following his side’s 2-0 win over the
Glovers. “Overall, he’s been superb for us. He’s a young lad, just because he’s come in from higher up doesn’t mean that he will be a success, there is no guarantee that they will be ready or can take to it.
“Can he adapt to National League football? It’s so different to the Championship or 23s football.
“He has done extremely well and he’s getting better with each game. He says he is loving it and it is working for everyone concerned because he’s gaining valuable experience.”
Towler was one of only 11 City youngsters sent out on loan by Nigel Pearson this summer, a notable departure from previous seasons when the Robins regularly had in excess of 20 players on hire around the EFL and non-League.
Pearson’s rationale was that the development of certain individuals, such as Sam Bell, Saikou Janneh and Alex Scott – who is now a fixture in the first-team squad, would be better served staying at City.
■ Cheltenham Town host Chelsea Under-21s in the Papa John’s Trophy this evening.
The Robins cannot reach the next round of the competition, and boss Michael Duff said: “We’ll be young and I’ll change as many as I can, to be brutally honest. We can’t go through, so it’s an opportunity for the young ones and a chance for minutes for a few.”