I think there is more to it with young players than just saying give them a chance, they have to be in a position to be good enough to be given that chance and as much as i want them to be, i am not sure some of our youngsters are.
We do play young players, we needed a attack minded player, if Leko was better than Barnes, we wouldnt of signed Barnes, we needed a defender, if Fitzwater was better than Tosin, we wouldnt of signed Tosin, reality is right now our own players arent good enough for us, they may or may not be in the future.
Players develop at different stages, when we see them for the first time as its somebody new its exciting, Oliver Burke is a great example, three years ago he made 10 starts for Forest, burst onto the scene, since then he has moved for £25m in transfer fees, played under at least 6 different managers (including Salzburg and availability for Scotland national team, a nation not exactly blessed with a large pool of players let alone young ones)
In the two and half years since his initial impact, Burke made less than 10 starts, Are all 6 managers wrong or has he maybe just not developed from his initial impact? Same applies to Leko and Field for us, they burst onto the scene a few years ago but a number of managers have since decided that they arent good enough right now.
And thats the key, you can be the best at youth / academy level, you can stand out a mile, you can have that initial impact when you move up but when it comes to the day to day battle for a shirt to make yourself a regular, maintaining your initial standards, competing against seasoned pro's, when its dog eat dog, thats when the best players shine through and continue, football has thousands of players who have burst onto the scene who stood out a mile but after a while faded into oblivion or dropped down the leagues.
Field is a interesting one as when Big Dave took over he had a free hit, we were going to be relegated, we had a centre midfielder injured - Barry, another who was booed Livermore (taxi gate) and another who was bang out of form (Greg). Moore had worked with Field at every level from youth, to academy, to pro, we were crying out for a centre midfielder, we had a young one (Field) who would of got the fans onside, the manager knew him better than anyone, it was a no risk option, yet Mooro decided to instead convert a left sided player into that role.
That maybe suggests that Field just isnt good enough, whatever the rights or wrongs, Moore went with Brunt and he was part of a team that nearly pulled off the greatest of great escapes which shows that Moore was right. The issue Field has got is that he currently plays in a position we arent desperate for - a sitting midfielder. We have an inform Barry, Brunt (though i dont think he should be there) and even Livermore can play there, Harper on the other hand is a box to box energetic midfielder, exactly what we have needed so the way he plays is what we need. If we had a midfield full of Mulumbu types and needed 'a sitter' then Harper wouldnt be as in demand as he is now and Field would be the one getting the attention for the role.
Its not just Albion, Villa have Grealish a regular, they have a few others who are fringe players, Wolves have Gibbs-White, again they have others who are squad players, they are exactly the same as us, the best players will make it, lots of players will be talked up and hyped but managers and coaches see them every day and only the odd one makes it as a regular.
I know people keep saying about Tyler Roberts but he has been left a year now and at the time of writing he hasnt done anything of note at Leeds, of course that may well change but its too early to say we should of done more to keep him or it was a mistake as there is nothing yet to suggest thats the case.
The young lads who went to bigger clubs - Izzy Brown - had success in the champ when we were in the prem, Dhanda is now at Swansea and i think played one or two games, Sinclair is at Sunderland in league one.
You get the odd ones who come and bounce back, Roofe at Leeds and Wood at Burnley but both those had to drop down a league or two then work there way back which against suggests where Albion were at the time, they werent good enough, and i bet for every Roofe / Wood there is 5 or 6 players of that time who were highly rated who have dropped down the leagues (Nabi, Daniels, Manton, Garmston all spring to mind straight away) and the same may apply to our current crop in the future too.
Now and again you get a crop of youngsters at the top level (and until last season thats where we were and where we are high in the league pushing towards going again) but most clubs get the odd youngster every season or two who make it, our last was Berahino, the next looks like being Harper, in a season or two's time we will probably have another group who come through where only one, maybe two will make it with us, the rest will drop down, its just how youth and football work.
Look at the likes of Kane Wilson, two seasons ago he was on the bench for premier league games, came close to being our youngest player, now he has been recalled from Walsall and last season he wasnt a regular in a league two side. That would suggest that at the moment his development has stalled, its not the club or the players fault, its just human nature, players just develop at different times and most of the time dont fulfill their promise they show at 16 or 17, Wilson may kick on again or he may of found he isnt upto top level football despite the early promise, its not their fault, its just the way it is.
Personally i dont like the under 23's, i preferred the old pontins league but i suppose as the national teams are doing well at all levels, the system would appear to be working on that score.
However that is the elite level, what i dont like about the under 23's is you get players signing scholarships and pro contracts very young and on big money when they often have just burst on the scene and not really proven much, the club wants to protect their asset and the player isnt going to turn down a load of money!
Again using Burke as an example, he is probably on at least £20k a week with Albion, if your moving for £15m then your entitled to say i am worth x amount. There will be loads of young pros in the top two leagues especially who have signed pro at 17 or 18 and are now 20 / 21 and have hardly played any senior football in the two or three years previous, just under 23's, some will of burst on the scene and for whatever reason not kicked on, others will be happy saying they are a footballer and all the attention and perks that goes with without hardly kicking a ball competitively.
So your are a young bloke earning more money than makes sense and not really ever playing football, you have a lot of spare time, few commitments and more money than you could ever dream of, its what happens then decides if your good enough, the players who go on to play top level are the ones who see past the distractions and still make sure football comes first, some realise eventually after a few years, others just never realise at all and end up dropping down the leagues.
Out our current crop of youngters (Harper, Field, Leko, Edwards Wilson, Fitzwater, O Shea, Howkins, Palmer (i wont include Burke) my guess would be one maybe two will make it at the Albion, one will drop down and then get back to a similar level as Albion (based on where we are now - premier / championship) and the rest will play lower league football or abroad at a lower standard and as a approximate numbers guide thats how most academies will work in the top two leagues, not just Albion.
If there is hope that these players can go on and play regularly at champ level at least (not just the odd cup game every few months) then they have to be loaned out, except for possibly Harper who seems to be close to actually playing. They have to have the weekly pressure where results count and the intensity of the training, matchdays, etc that all that brings.