Finlay Armstrong

[sinkov]

One of our first year scholars now arrived on loan at Clitheroe. Usually I'd say that if we're loaning them out to this level then they're being sucked into the Gawthorpe Black Hole, normally the loanees are 18 year olds, and if you're only good enough for this level at 18, then that's probably where your future lies.

But Finlay isn't 18, he's only 16, and just had a month at Padiham, now he's going up a level and really playing with the big boys. They don't play for fun at this level and at Clitheroe he'll be playing alongside Craig Stanley, 36 years old and a vastly experienced ex league player with Morecambe and Bristol Rovers amongst others. Finlay will learn more in a couple of months playing alongside Stanley than he would in a year playing with schoolkids at Barnfield. He's also coming into a very successful and rapidly improving Clitheroe team that just can't stop winning, Ossett United were pasted 6-1 in Finlay's first game yesterday, hopefully this will bring him on in leaps and bounds and his next loan spell will be at a much higher level. Good luck to the lad.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

That's 100% consistent with a conversation I had with Andy Farrell a couple of weeks ago. The Gawthorpe coaching staff want to get the kids out on loan playing against blokes and not kids.

I expect half a dozen of them out in January.

[sinkov]

I've seen him a few times now and this lad impresses me. He's only 16 years old, a long, long way to go, but he's exceptional for his age. I'd back him to make it in League football at some level, but who knows how good he might be. The last one I tipped for the top was Alex-Ray Harvey, last I heard of Alex-Ray he was at Stafford Rangers.

[sinkov]

Finlay's gone back, the young Aussie keeper has gone back, we were down to just Mitch Graham, but Jayden Major made his Clitheroe debut last night up at Marske and we're back up to two. Apparently Jayden made quite an impression, but I haven't seen him myself yet.