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Whilst I can't dispute how he's been treated under +ve Nige, surely Wilder is THE man to help with his progression.
Hope he impresses at Chezzy! UTB
The reality of that situation is that the arrival of Wilder has basically shut the door on first team match day experience for the club's own up and coming lads. There is real value in first team bench time but there has been precious little of that. Between them Whiteman, Brooks and Reed had just over a handful of games on the bench and I think had just a few minutes playing time between them at most last season.
Contrast that with Adkins and even more so Clough and you will see a different, more results driven approach now. Neither approach is right or wrong but from the perspective of young lads hoping to make their way in the game it is obvious last season was a nightmare compared with previous seasons.
Promotion was the prime target for Wilder and he thinks experience gets promotion. Nothing wrong with that if you are prepared to 'lose' the goodwill of young players and send a message to every young player in the club that there is no 'Pathway'. Does it do the club a disservice over the medium term, well United were at the stage when short term was the be all and end all.
Philip Reed above is probably Reed's dad or uncle. The comment about team orders at Hillsborough last night has a certain ring of truth about it. So does the comment about ' ever pulling on a red and white shirt again' and that is a great pity and over-emotional to be fair, nor does it have a 'ring of being Reed's dad about it', hope not anyway, it's counter-productive.
Summer 2016 Wilder made umpteen decisions about players in the squad. Unfortunately for Whiteman and Reed he decided nothing about them personally so they both marked time last season. That was a mistake and affected the lads' development. Both Reed and Whiteman excelled for the U-23's but so what? They were past that stage long ago, they needed first team playing time on loan.
The first time I saw Reed play I saw quality. In his first team games at the age of 17, I continued to see quality interspersed with inconsistency. When a player plays through balls like Reed did at QPR away for McNulty's goal it's time to sit up and take notice. I went to the Newcastle friendly with a Geordie pal and after 20 minutes he said who's that little lad, he's quality? He has it in his locker and over the past year he has added aggression and concentration. Player of the Season for the U-23's which included Brooks for many games by the way. My cousin at Chesterfield says he is delighted with Reed to date and says he gets a foot in alright.
If Reed never pulls on a Blades shirt again it is us who will be victims of circumstance because the lad will make his way at least in the Championship and with luck higher. Good luck to him and I hope it is with us. How bold Clough was to play him at 16 years old. Perhaps Reed should go to join him at Burton.
Thankfully Wilder sated that there might be more opportunities for youngsters this season, maybe because we will be mid-table, but Whiteman and Reed are elsewhere anyawy.
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