Thursday, 29 September 2011

Kedeem Harris

I'm a bit pushed for time today and so I'll keep this post brief, but I thought that a little "shout out" was deserved for 18 year old winger Kadeem Harris who I saw tormenting Preston on Tuesday evening.

The young Wycombe winger ended up on the losing side in a 4-3 thriller at Adams Park, but deservedly picked up the club's man of the match award and saw off opposing full back Conor McLaughlin who was given the hook after only 30 minutes.

I don't wish ill on any player and hope McLaughlin - who is only 20 himself and a Northern Ireland U-21 international - recovers and can eventually laugh off this mini nightmare as what it was, all part of the learning experience.

Harris would have given most defenders a run for their money the other night though and you could see why the Chairboys turned down a reported £50k offer for him from Fulham in the summer. He was League Two's Apprentice of the Year at the Football League awards in April and if he continues with this form (and he only made his full debut last Saturday in the win over Sheffield United), he'll be worth a lot more come the end of this season or the season after.

It's always about "ifs" in football though and one of the downsides of following clubs closely week in week out is that you often see some youngsters getting a little ahead of themselves once nice things are written about them in the media or said to them by fans.

I had a brief chat with Kadeem after the game and he also came across as a pleasant, level-headed lad. I hope I'm right because the key is to keep everything in proportion and to this end he is wise to stick with Wycombe for the time being and learn his trade properly.

A manager like Gary Waddock and team mates like Gareth Ainsworth will look after him, keep his feet on the ground when he's having 'stormers' and build him up again when he has the inevitable bad day. Because football is all about highs and lows and, if you don't believe me, just ask Conor McLaughlin.

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