Scott High: Next In Line
Elliott Wheatbag-Bowen, Feature Writer
Twitter: @elliotthtafc
Source for image above: HTAFC
When life presents you with opportunities, there are two ways you can react, two potential avenues to go down, each of which has far-reaching implications and consequences. You can either, as every Town fan knows, take that chance or wilt under the pressure. Either way, the alternative timeline in the parallel universe where the opportunity was or wasn’t taken is unbeknown to you.
Nowhere is that truer than the harsh world of football. In such a competitive working environment where the margins of error are so minimal, opportunities are limited and there is no real room for sentiment. One person’s misfortune is often another’s opportunity to step up and replace them and more often than not, the person who is remembered is the one who took that opportunity, rather than the person who relinquished their chance – whether that was self-inflicted or by events out of their control.
Over the course of a congested and gruelling first half to the Championship season, Carlos Corberan managed to settle on a midfield three. What began with Ben Jackson anchoring the midfield alongside Jonathan Hogg with Alex Pritchard roaming in front of them has made way for a more balanced dynamic blend of Jonathan Hogg, Carel Eiting and Lewis O’Brien.
However, with a history of injury issues compounded by the relentlessness of the schedule and physicality of the league, the news of an injury for Carel Eiting seemed to be an unfortunate inevitability. The misfortune suffered by Eiting, who Carlos Corberan all but confirmed was the end of his season, has left the door open for one of the contenders to take his place.
Step forward, Scott High.
Having joined the club at Under-9 level, he is one of the longest-serving scholars at the club and one who has patiently waited longer than most for an opportunity. High was thrown to the lions on the final day of last season by Danny Cowley as he featured in the mauling at the Den. However, High’s prominent inclusion in Town’s pre-season ensemble suggested that he was very much in the plans of newly appointed Carlos Corberan. Add to that the club’s change in approach to the B team model, where there is a clear pathway into the first team for academy graduates, High may well be presented with a golden opportunity to not only feature in the absence of Eiting and Pritchard but to also cement his place in the side.
High needs to look no further than fellow academy graduate Lewis O’Brien. O’Brien has followed a similar trajectory to that of High. O’Brien, who massively impressed during a loan spell with Bradford City, has ever since been ever-present, and whilst High featured less during his own loan spell with Shrewsbury Town, he still earned his fair share of plaudits. For Steve Cotterill’s Shrewsbury side, High was deployed as a deep-lying midfielder as part of a midfield three, proving to be the perfect audition for High to demonstrate his capability to slot into Town’s very similar shape.
Whilst, High may take time to come to terms with Corberan’s methodology and the step-up in intensity as well as the heightened level of opposition, the challenge is not beyond him. The blueprint and precedent have been set by the likes of Ramani Edmonds-Green and Ryan Schofield who, this season, have stepped over the threshold from academy hopeful to dependable first-team regular. Playing for a manager who has full faith, not only in his own methods but those in and around him, must breathe great confidence into Town’s next generation, and Scott High who appears next in line may well be the next graduate to have a big chance to take the opportunity and run with it.
