This club needs players like Luke Hyam; young, hungry and a breath of fresh air.

That isn’t to suggest we should be blinkered in our use of the Academy. Just because Player X is home-grown doesn’t mean he should be playing. More than ever we need players who give it everything, who want to wear the shirt and who know what it means to wear the shirt. And it helps if they can play a bit too. Make no mistake about it, we have one of those players in Luke Hyam.

It should be noted, though, that Hyam very much became an outcast under Paul Jewell, with a willingness to work and improve forcing the Liverpudlian to realise that he was worth keeping around. I’m delighted that, from the outset, Mick has realised that he has the capability to be an integral part of our team.

While we’ve been inundated with experienced central midfielders this season, I was crying out for one of the youngest players on the books to get a look in. Take the first game of the season against Blackburn. Luke and Massimo Luongo bossed the midfield, easily outplaying their direct opponents in Danny Murphy and Dickson Etuhu, both richly experienced in the top flight.

Although I wasn’t at the game, I read that similarly colossal performances from Luke and the Aussie against Watford gave us something to build on in the 1-0 win at Vicarage Road.

While results went awry after that it was patently clear that Luke was a player we should be building the team around, or at least making him one of the first names on the team sheet. Although he is only slight, he is a neat and tidy player and has made his presence felt in the majority of games I’ve seen him play.

The Nigel Reo-Cokers of this world are, unfortunately, always going to be a shoo-in for a starting berth. From reports I’ve read, and having watched the draw with Peterborough at the weekend, it’s become apparent that Nigel isn’t quite the answer to our prayers. But did we ever think he would be?

The last loan player I can remember being genuinely excited about was that wonderful little Mexican magician, Gio Dos Santos. Anybody who scores against the Canaries is fine by me, but in his short stint he lit the place up, got fans excited and seemed eager to play. Luke is the first player to make me feel this way since Gio. And, as the chant goes, he’s one our own.

BillBlue added 11:07 - Nov 28 While agreeing with your sentiments Will I cannot accept that MM has had a sudden revelation. Remember Luke was only playing because Reo-Coker was injured and only when MM states that Luke is his No.1 choice will I start believing. I don't know how you guys feel but i feel as though a whole big load has been lifted off my shoulders, I had not realised how I had allowed our predicament to affect me! COYB

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rosseden added 11:14 - Nov 28 Mick said he needs experienced players to take the flack when were down in the doldrums..... if Luke can prove his head is more experienced than his date of birth suggests, then MM wont have any issues keeping him there..... As it stands i think its Lukes place to lose for the upcoming games..... when NRC is fit again he might struggle to get back in if we keep doing well, if we're not, then expect to see NRC back in for a stint.......

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will09 added 12:01 - Nov 28 Bill, I agree with your point. I should probably put emphasis on the word 'capability'. He's by no means the finished article but the fact that Mick put him in ahead of Drury suggests to me he realises he might have a good player on his hands.
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MattinLondon added 14:24 - Nov 28 Experienced players tend to be able to 'write off' a bad game simply because they can point to the good games that they have under their belt. A good example being Reo-Coker. Younger players do not have this luxuary and so a poor game by them stays in the mind for longer...think this goes for managers and fans alike. With the benifit of hindsight I do not think that the club would be worse off if PJ had played Lawenson, Merriot etc as opposed to the experienced loan players...and to a certain extent JET and Chopra. If (and its still a big If) we continue to pull away from the bottom three and the club finds itself in mid table 'luxuary' with a few games to go then I will think that MM will go with more youth. But at the end of the day it is the responsibility of the younger players to play well in the U21 and force MM to consider them for the fisrst team - even if we stay in a relegation fight.

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Edmunds5 added 14:42 - Nov 28 I can't disagree with much of what you've written, it makes sense. For me it comes down to attitude, fight and determination as well as combination and balance. Whatever people will say, Luke Hyam will always have more enthusiasm and willingness than Reo-Coker at this time in both there careers. Luke is a local boy, he probably hated seeing us struggling just as much as anyone of us, I'm not sure the likes of Reo-Coker have the same outlook. That doesn't mean loan players are all like this, its down to personality and strength of character, N'Daw wears his heart on his sleeve and the fact he was angry at being left out by Jewell shows how much he wants to impress. Him and N'Daw complement each other because they will both run a marathon for us, they're both honest people who are indulged in there previous success, they just go onto a football pitch and give everything. But it only works if they both do this, then we look a solid 4-4-2 and a competetive team, with Reo-Coker we look more of a 4-3-2 and you cannot carry anyone in the Championship.

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Edmunds5 added 14:44 - Nov 28 *who are not indulged i meant, sorry
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Michael11 added 21:30 - Nov 28 Totally agree with all the comments and the well written blog. Reo-Coker could still be a very useful player IF he gets fully match fit and IF his attitude to work hard for the team is there. However, i'd much rather play Luke Hyam than him every day of the week! Think we've got a real gem there but we need to play him and use him to his potential.
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TractorRoyNo1 added 01:28 - Nov 30 hear hear!
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Lombokblue added 00:01 - Dec 3 In any job , opportunity is a great motivator, sitting on the bench and having a half fit loanee from Leicester picked ahead of you must be dispiriting. Carson and Murray next hopefully
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