Shrewsbury Town comment: Young guns developing into shrewd additions
Quietly, and under the radar, two young Shrewsbury players in their early 20s are putting their stamp on the first team.
Ryan Haynes, 23, and Alex Gilliead, 22, have been heavily involved in Sam Ricketts’ team over the past month.
And, while it may be unpopular to suggest it, the duo have been at the heart of a lot of what has been good about Shrewsbury in recent weeks.
Both players arrived at Montgomery Waters Meadow in the summer with decent pedigree.
Gilliead, a winger through the Newcastle academy with decent Football League experience, albeit little end product.
Haynes a left-back who had played almost 100 league games for Coventry by a tender age.
The duo have seen more first-team football in recent weeks and caught the eyes of supporters who, earlier in the season, wrote them off as not up to the required standard.
But Haynes, distinctive for his ginger hair and rapidly quick feet, has been Shrewsbury’s best player for the last two games as he aims to make the position his own.
And Gilliead brings a directness and pace to the team that, without the injured Shaun Whalley, they lack.
Gilliead is keen to improve his end product. He needs to. Three goals and a handful of assists is an OK start but, for his talent, he needs more.
Both penned two-year deals, meaning they know there can be some contingency as they look to progress further between now and beyond the summer.
The improvement has come under Ricketts and that is little surprise. Town’s new boss, a month-and-a-half into the job, has banged the drum about promoting youth, for young players to see a pathway into the Town first team.
There has been proof in that particular pudding with 17-year-old James Rowland, Ryan Barnett, 18, and Ryan Sears 20, all academy graduates, all involved.
But in Haynes and Gilliead, the club have young assets with good experience and a high ceiling.
Having such assets puts the club in a strong position to compete and have players who can move on for good value.
New signing Brad Walker, albeit spending the season with Wrexham, is a similar age (22), and will be one for Ricketts to coach and improve.
Ricketts has spoken, on former Coventry team-mate Haynes in particular, about the great potential of these players.
Under a progressive, forward-thinking manager like Ricketts, Town should reap the benefit as these sort of players improve with more game time.
Top scorer Fejiri Okenabirhie is a similar age, at 22, while regular Josh Laurent, 23, is also on the right side of the mid-twenties.
Both have come on since the change in management. Their improvement is thanks to Ricketts, but also a huge credit to Eric Ramsay – who has so impressed in his coaching methods since stepping into first-team affairs in November – and Danny Coyne.
The emergence of Haynes and Gilliead shouldn’t stop Shrewsbury looking for improvements in full-back and wide attacking areas.
It is no secret that Town have plenty of work left to do this window. Arthur Gnahoua left yesterday, the seventh out the exit door, with a couple more expected to follow.
Ricketts has identified positions he wants to strengthen and expect more new faces as the transfer window wears on.
But, with fine tuning – Town haven’t been far away in games under the new manager where there has been promise – these young, valuable assets could bear fruit for Shrewsbury.
Two players previously knocked back by fans are showing glimpses of the future.
