Binfield's youngsters thriving at Hill Farm Lane
Published 9 Nov 2012 12:30
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BINFIELD'S quest to find the next big thing shows no sign of abating thanks to an impressive conveyor belt of talent coming through at the club.
The youth set up at Hill Farm Lane is clearly doing its job with three former Allied Counties players making the step up to the senior squad this season.
Seb Bowerman, Jordan Rowland and Jake Butler have all come through the Moles' youth system and have certainly made their mark on the team.
Bowerman in particular has been having an impact. The 17-year-old winger has already given a decent return of four goals from his 15 appearances.
Indeed, he scored in the recent win over Shrivenham after coming on a substitute, with Tallentire insisting that he could have bagged a hat-trick.
Speaking about Bowerman's incredible impact this season, Tallentire said: "He's taken to it like a duck to water. He's got fantastic ability, he will cause people a lot of problems because of how he plays."
He has the ability to turn a game with his abundance of pace, as he showed at Shrivenham and that is how Tallentire intends to use him this season.
Another promising prospect is left-back Rowland, who has started four of the last five games.
The left-footer also recently scored his first senior goal with a curling free-kick against Shrivenham.
Finally, there is 18-year-old Butler, who broke into the first-team squad last year and scored his penalty in the shootout in the Berks & Bucks Senior Trophy final. Though he has mainly been on the bench this season, his time will surely come.
Tallentire is very happy with the progress the trio are making.
"All three of them are beginning to now understand what it takes to play at this level and the need to ally that with a bit of commitment.
"All of them have got great futures in the game and we are fortunate enough to have them at Binfield."
The success of the trio in breaking into the first team should certainly spur on the current youth team players, knowing that they will be given a chance if they are good enough.
Tallentire added: "It gives the young lads hope. At the Shrivenham game, there were four to six youth team players standing round the dug out cheering. They are all looking at Seb, they want to be like him and get into the first team. It's healthy for the club."
However, it is no coincidence that youth team players are now making the transition, because since Tallentire took over, he made it his priority to fast-track the most promising players, such as Rowland and Butler, into reserve team football.
That way, they experienced the rigours of senior football before they were 18 and were thus able to cope better when playing for the first team.
"It shows that all the teams are treated the same at Binfield and that ethos is really pushing the players through from a young age," said Tallentire.
The senior players are also doing their bit to embrace the youngsters into the squad, as Tallentire explains: "They're always there to help them. They've been absolutely exemplary concerning the young players, and they've taken them under their wing."
This article appeared in Bracknell News 08 Nov 12
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