Only one measure of success for West Brom coach despite final-day table leap
A win in their final game of the Premier League 2 season helped Albion under-21s climb above the academies of Everton, Leeds, Manchester City and Newcastle – but Richard Beale has other priorities.
Albion's young guns signed off with an impressive 4-2 victory over Leeds under-21s at The Hawthorns, with returning first-team striker Josh Maja in the goals with a double.
Fenton Heard and Harry Whitwell, two teenage attackers who have made their senior debuts under Carlos Corberan this season, also netted as Beale's team flew into an early 3-0 lead and survived Leeds' push for a fightback before Whitwell's fine late fourth.
Albion finished 21st in a newly-expanded division of 26 of all Category A academies around the country. Beale, though, who again used starlet Tom Fellows as a marker for other youngsters, insists the true story of an academies' success is graduates around the senior set-up, rather than any league tables.
"The most important thing is the players' development, without a shadow of a doubt, but the boys often tell me about where we are in the table and what's going on!" Beale said at the end of his third campaign at the helm of the under-21s.
"My experience tells me not to worry about that too much and I don't, it's really just noise.
"What it is about, whichever club you're at, is getting players in and around their first team and that's what I stress to the boys in the team talks. We always try to win every game, it's always nice to get a bit higher than we were before the game, so that's good."
The coach added: "We've competed in the league, I don't look at the table too much but finished above a number of bigger clubs than us that are spending more money. It has been a challenge at times, with a lot of young players play, but that's fantastic for their development.
"They've been fantastic, worked really hard and are due a good break now. Hopefully they can come back with renewed energy and try to bridge the gap to the first team."
Corberan and his coaching staff watched on at The Hawthorns as striker Maja played 80 minutes, scored twice and set up Heard all inside the opening 25 minutes.
"The boys worked really hard and got their just rewards," Beale said. "We controlled it for the most part and had a little mad 10 or 15 minute spell where we conceded a couple but showed good character to come through.
"It was really pleasing to finish with three points in the stadium."
Trialist defensive duo Ed Jones, 19, of Everton, and Wolves' Mo Diomande, 18, played a half each at centre-back for Albion as both try to catch the eye to earn an academy deal for the new campaign.
