Let the boys become men

It's become very apparent over a period of time at Rovers that the club has a youth policy it intends to milk for all it's worth.

And with our first season away from the riches of the Premier League for over a decade set to kick off in just over a month's time budgets are set to be smaller, belts need to be tightened and cash needs to be saved wherever possible...

Sure, we've splashed the cash on the transfer fee of Leon Best and the wages of Danny Murphy, Nuno Gomes and some Portuguese chap that not even his own parents have heard of but with gaps still needing to be filled in a fairly thin squad cheaper options are likely to be explored from here on in... especially when the likes of Steven N'Zonzi takes his bad attitude somewhere else and Martin Olsson heads off to play in his proper position of left wing under a wiser leader who knows how to use him.

Luckily for Rovers there is an easy solution and it comes in the form of one of the few walks of footballing life that we have excelled in during recent times... the youngsters of the Academy. They're cheap (> insert massively overused joke about stingy owners here <), they're home grown and they're actually pretty fricking good too.

We've seen it work before at the club when Phil "Alien Head" Jones made his rapid rise through the ranks before heading off to pull funny faces at last minute title defeats in the red half of Manchester and there are plenty of other quality examples of who we may, or should see next campaign.

The likes of Jason Lowe will doubtless be a fairly regular sight again after his solid start to life in blue and white but with a new league and, with the greatest of respect, a lower standard of general play comes an opportunity for us to say hello to some lads who have been ripping up the teen scene.

With Olsson's likely departure a spot at left back is up for grabs. Some seem to be under the impression we can't name one left back on the entire playing staff, and they'd be right, there are actually two - Josh Morris and Adam Henley. Henley in particular should get a run in the side after showing beams of potential last time out at more daunting venues such as Old Trafford, Anfield and Stamford Bridge.

Add into the mix that young Adam can also play right back and hey presto, we have some versatility at our disposal and twice the incentive for the young man. I doubt the modest venues of Huddersfield, Ipswich and Hull will freak him out too much.

Elsewhere Grant Hanley should be nailed on for a starting spot in the heart of defence. He was a running joke and a certain failure about 18 months ago but from about January - April of this year I don't think there was a better Blackburn Rovers player, which of course isn't saying much given we were about as useful as a Piers Morgan interview but if you weren't impressed by the square headed Scots exploits at the latter end of the campaign I'd suggest you take a lot of impressing. Or that you're a closer misery guts.

Mark Bunn isn't exactly a spring chicken any more but with Robinson looking for all available exit signs his chance to don the gloves and step out of the Lancashire wilderness should come after years watching Paul Robinson flap at long range shots and hoof goal kicks to the opposition keeper. Having been with Rovers since a young-ish age he'll be begging for a shot and he'll deserve one after cruelly being robbed of his starting place at Christmas time, especially considering the performances he served up in his brief stint as Number 1...

There's Raheem Hanley, Hugo Fernandez, Jack O'Connell, Robbie Cotton and John O'Sullivan who would all not look out of place in small doses and with the right players around them. I'm not saying go all guns blazing and have an average age of 4 and 1/2 in the starting XI, merely that we have these products that we've spent time producing and mixing them in with the likes of Gael Givet, Danny Murphy and David Dunn would lead to quite an exciting blend of youth and experience.

*CLICHE ALERT* If they are good enough then they are old enough.

And if we can't unleash some of them on the Championship are we ever going to see the proverbial fruit of our lions?