Since the start of the season, we have struggled with player performance and form. Slaven Bilic has not had an answer to our problems all year but I think we have to start using selective youngsters more regularly.
Throughout the years we have been a proud community club who are known for using their youth. Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick are just several of the names West Ham have allowed to blossom in the first-team. However, it has become a rare and infrequent sight over the past 20 years.
YouTube: 1999 FA Youth Cup Final 2nd Leg, West Ham 6-0 Coventry
Raw energetic exuberance is something which could be the answer to our lack of intensity. Players like Reece Oxford, Toni Martinez and Domingos Quina should be given a chance because of the fact that they cannot be any worse than our summer signings. Just because they are young it does not mean that they are not talented.
The only player signed in the summer who has made a difference is a youngster in Edmilson Fernandes. He showed a lot of promise and potential to be a great player for the future. He has been used in the first team often and showed why we should be using more young players like him. It would be nice to see us try and gamble on someone who wants to play for us. Someone who wants to show the world their talents and ability rather than a lazy older player.
Some clubs have been praised for their use of youth players and it seems that they have paid off. Southampton are always bringing through players but we have seemed to gone backwards in terms of using inexperienced players.
Of course, there are some young players who are not up to the step-up but if we do not give them a try then we will never know. We need to have confidence in our youth because some first team players do not deserve to play at all. I do not have any confidence in some experienced players and it is time for a change in attitude towards youth players.
