Coventry v Rushall Olympic (2 Viewers)

clint van damme said:

is SW88 aware of this young pretender to his throne?!

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Esoterica said:

Would be an interesting experiment to get them to both text commentate on a game and see how differently 2 people perceive the game. When I say interesting, I mean probably just for me

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skyblueelephant76 said:

He's got an excellent touch on him and just seems to glide past players. He looked head and shoulders above Maycock last night and I can understand why other clubs are keeping an eye on him. I was impressed with Sayoud as well, he caused a lot of problems to their defence, always willing to take his man on and put in some decent crosses.

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A total of nine players out of 36 named on the teamsheet for Sunday’s FA Cup match between Coventry City and Boreham Wood were products of the Sky Blues highly productive Academy.

Eight were among Mark Robins ’s 18-man squad and one, Shaun Jeffers, representing the opposition with eight in total playing a part in the fiercely competitive second round tie at the Ricoh Arena.


But there’s one player who is creeping up the blind side and really caught skipper Michael Doyle ’s eye – a player who could follow in the Irishman’s footsteps and one day lead out the first team wearing the coveted armband.

Central midfielder Tom Bayliss went on for the captain in the 84th minute, gaining some valuable senior experience to add to the 15 minutes he was handed on his debut against West Bromwich Albion Under-21s in the Checkatrade Trophy last month.

“It’s great to see young players getting their chance and grasping it,” said 36-year-old Doyle of last year’s Under-18s skipper.

“Tom Bayliss getting his FA Cup debut on Sunday, for me, he’s an outstanding player.

“I have watched him for weeks now since he has come in to train with us and I’ve been really impressed.

“He has got all the attributes; size, he’s good on the ball, gets box to box and can score a goal, so someone like him, for me, he just keeps getting better and better.”

He added: “I am delighted that he played on Sunday because he’s been champing to be about it. He’s got a good manner about him and way he goes about things, the way he holds himself.

“As I say, he has all the attributes but that’s nothing new. A lot of people have known about Tom at this club for a long time.

“I didn’t know about him until I came back here in the summer but when I trained with him in the pre-season he certainly left a mark and he’s one of a number in a good group of Under-23s there, so that’s brilliant.”

As for whether he intends to take Bayliss under his wing and regard as his protege, Doyle – who expects incredibly high standards from his team-mates – revealed there’s no special treatment in store for the teenager.

“For him and any of the young players, once they are in the first team environment I will try to help them and I will also criticise them,” he said.

“I just treat them as normal.”

And while Doyle is delighted to see so many young players progress through the Sky Blue youth ranks, he firmly believes there’s a time and place for including them, and that has to be in a successful team.

“As one of the older heads that’s what you need and is great for the level that we’re at,” he said.

“The important thing for us is that we keep fighting to win games. It’s not about blooding young players.

“Hopefully this club is at the lowest it can go and hopefully these young players can be a part of a promotion side because that’s what we want.

“We don’t want young players coming in and getting experience in a middle of the table team because that’s no good for anyone. They will learn more getting promotions and things because once you get a little taste of that you want it every year.

“That’s what’s important for me.

“I know that when I went into Portsmouth that was the environment with a lot of young players but fighting relegation battles every year and it wasn’t good for them.

“So hopefully the more experienced players can help them and try to get promotion because I think that will help bring their careers on so much.”

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