ADAMS LOVING HIS NEW FAMILY
STAINES TOWN’S on-loan starlet Brandon Adams is telling his QPR team-mates they should leave the Football League comfort zone and get their hands dirty in NonLeague football.
Concerns are growing that young players are too content with the more relaxed and pressure-free environment of pro clubs’ academies.
Striker Adams is already feeling the benefit of his youth loan, and on Tuesday night he scored twice to end Dulwich Hamlet’s unbeaten away record in the Ryman League Premier Division.
For his first, he glided past six Hamlet players before a composed finish opened the scoring in a game the Swans won 2-0.
“I’m enjoying it. I can’t tell you how much,” said the 18-year-old. “You can’t fail to enjoy your football when you are scoring goals.
“When I picked the ball up, I just thought ‘let’s see what happens’ and I carried on running.
“Everyone backed off. I found myself in the box and I thought I would have a swing at it with my weak foot. I managed to get enough on it for it to go in.
“The experience I am getting is priceless. When we’re playing in the league for QPR U23s, it’s more about individual performances and progression than actual results.
“Even if you were to lose 2-0, say, and ten out of your 11 players won their one-vs-ones then you leave the ground content. In NonLeague it’s just not like that.
“If everyone has had a good game and you lose, the manager’s not happy!
“There’s a more competitive edge to it. Take Tuesday night, we came off the pitch flying because we had won against a side higher in the table.
“I’ve been encouraging all the lads at QPR I have spoken to massively to do the same thing.
“Nothing beats scoring in front of a crowd, and you don’t get that at training grounds scoring in front of no-one at youth team level.”
Adams doesn’t know how long he’ll be at Staines, but he is up for making his stay a lengthy one.
“The way youth loans work are that there is no direct minimum players can stay, and there’s no direct maximum. It’s down to the clubs and it’s see-how-it-goes to a certain extent,” he said.
“I’m happy to stay for as long as I’m needed. I just want to keep scoring goals. really. and to carry on feeling the benefit.”