The Kids Could Be Alright

With Sheffield Wednesday suffering a demoralising defeat at the hands of Watford last week, manager Brian Laws has threatened changes. In this article Vital assesses whether Laws could give youngsters a chance to impress in the coming weeks.

There are certainly plenty of options for Brian Laws to look at.

In defence, the main area of concern in recent weeks, there are two young professionals. Max Wragg is a very accomplished full-back in the Derek Geary mould. Wragg is also very competitive in the air despite his smaller size.

Nick Wood is basically a replica of his older brother Richard. He's the same height, also left-footed and strong in the air. However, Wood Jr. is always going to be burdened by the expectation of fans to live up to his brother's high standards.

Midfield is perhaps the area of least concern for the Owls, but Callum Harrison could add a bit more height to the midfield and academy youngsters James Cottingham and Jack Barnett have the creative talents to make an impression in the Championship.

We've already seen speed-demon Nathan Modest at Hillsborough and the youngster has impressed for the academy this season too. Alongside Modest is Vadaine Oliver, a converted striker who has come on leaps and bounds in the last year. The Walkley product may only be tapping on Laws' door at the moment, but it shouldn't be long until he is really banging on it!

Liam Palmer is also one that could be in Laws' thinking. The Worksop-born starlet offers both pace and creativity and contantly looks a danger.

Other Championship sides blood youngsters readily, but Wednesday have failed to do so regularly under Laws. With the second years at the academy being heralded as the best we've ever had, why shouldn't they be in the reckoning for at least a sub appearance?

The performance at Watford was simply not good enough. Could anybody really argue that the youngsters would have performed even worse?

With Laws' tight budget and the fixtures coming thick and fast, we could well see some of the names above in weeks to come.

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