In Manchester United’s recent embarrassing 1-1 draw at home to West Ham, former manager Ruben Amorim opted to field the likes of Lisandro Martinez and Manuel Ugarte instead of Kobbie Mainoo and Shea Lacey when we were chasing a goal.
There had been much criticism of Amorim’s unwillingness to give Academy players a decent chance during his time as manager.
In this week’s draw against Burnley, Shea Lacey was given rare minutes by new interim manager Darren Fletcher and came incredibly close to scoring.
Speaking to the press ahead of Sunday’s match against Brighton in the FA Cup, Fletcher spoke about the importance of the Academy.
I just think historically this club is built around the Academy. We have a great Academy. Our record speaks for itself. I’m not going to sit here and say anything other than that. We have a great record. I think it’s hard to beat when it comes to the history of clubs around the world. I think we have some great players, some great talents. I think I see a lot of hard-working, humble young players who are not perfect because they are young, learning and still have a lot to do. I think sometimes we ask and expect too much from young people – in society and in general. And that’s not a criticism of anyone, those are just my beliefs. I think we have to let them learn, train them, help them, understand that they are going to make mistakes and do things that frustrate you. But over time, with good guidance from coaches, family members and first-team players, we all play a role. That’s our role, that’s our job, to develop them into Manchester United players and Manchester United people. So all I can say is my work with those players as individuals. Overall, in the Academy I deal with hard-working, honest, coachable, super-talented kids. We have a lot of talent in our Academy, and hopefully they can show themselves like Shea did when he came against Burnley and came so close to scoring a fantastic goal.
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