Willo the wisp
THE journey from Spotland, home of Rochdale, to nearby Old Trafford takes less than half an hour on a good day. In footballing terms, however, the two places may as well be on different continents, a fact that will not be lost on Willo Flood when the young midfielder lines up for City and, pertinently, against Roy Keane in tomorrow's Manchester derby.
Flood's fast-track progress to Kevin Keegan's first team squad has been as swift as it has been unexpected, coming just six months after the 19-year-old completed a difficult loan spell helping Rochdale in their efforts to avoid the descent into the Conference.
As a proverbial school of hard knocks, time spent in the thick of a relegation scrap at Spotland ranks amongst the toughest, yet the young Dubliner last year's Irish Examiner/TV3 Junior sports star for soccer showed enough in the rough and tumble of the basement division to suggest to Steve Parkin, the Rochdale manager, that Flood's progression onto the bigger stage would not hindered by any lack of determination, despite his lack of inches and slight frame.
And while it takes an enormous leap of faith to compare the experience of surviving in the uncompromising world of League Two to attempting to outwit your country's captain in front of 67,000 people, Parkin is convinced Flood possesses the traits required to succeed at any level.
"When kids like Willo come to a place like Rochdale from a big club like Manchester City, it can be a wake-up call for them," said Parkin. "They see how things are done at this level, realise that it's far more physical and they probably grasp just what they have being with a big club.
"Willo is a small kid, but he was never intimidated by the physical stuff at this level. When you are as slight as he is, you either look after yourself quickly or get found out, but he has a real tough streak in him and he was often the one who put the marker down by putting the first tackle in.
"And playing against Manchester United and Roy Keane on Sunday won't intimidate him. He's a tough kid and he has enough belief in his own ability to go there and just get on with his game."
A goal in this week's draw with Norwich, his first Premiership start, has triggered a startling amount of interest in a player who, prior to his impressive performance on Monday, was known only to the most ardent of City supporters.
Like any other fans, regulars at the City of Manchester Stadium treasure the appearance of any player that comes through the ranks, claiming them as their own no matter where they are originally from. But, tellingly, the expectation that has accompanied Flood goes way beyond that afforded to most young hopefuls taking their first faltering steps alongside the senior pros.
There is a real sense that this is a genuine talent emerging. A successful afternoon against United will only accentuate that belief and the contrast between Flood's youthful vigour and Keane's increasingly restricted role provides a compelling backdrop.
Any doubts that Flood has caught the imagination were emphatically removed in the aftermath of the Norwich game when Keegan insisted his young charge be kept away from an inquisitive media a sure sign that the manager believes the player's spell in the spotlight will not be brief. Within the club, though, few are surprised at what has happened. As David James, the England goalkeeper pointedly says, "Willo is getting the attention at the moment because he is good. It's as simple as that."
Not that James has always been aware of the talent that lay within the club's youth ranks. It took the arrival of Ben Thatcher, the left-back signed from Spurs last summer, to point out the young midfielder as a potential future team-mates. "Last season I don't think you would have thought much about him because he wasn't figuring in the squad and then Ben came in and he said something like "are you going sign a £50 grand a week contract then, Willo?," James added.
"And that made me think Ben must like him then! Then all of a sudden he's off. And the club had better watch out. He's great, and a quiet lad as well. And it is a testament to Manchester City's youth system because they have three or four lads coming through of a similar age."
Yet to those who have followed the progress of the slightly built midfielder, his quiet, understated transition from youth team hopeful to first team contender will generate barely a flicker of surprise. Flood has made a habit of punching above his weight throughout his young career.
Like Damien Duff six years before him, Flood was the youngest member of the Ireland squad that travelled to the U20 World Championship in the United Arab Emirates last year, playing against opponents two years his senior.
Comparisons have inevitably, if not necessarily accurately, been made. Flood made his debut for City in the UEFA Cup tie with TNS of Wales at the start of the 2003-04 season but had to wait until last month's Carling Cup fixture against Barnsley before making his first start, scoring in a 7-1 win. A new contract and Premiership debut, as a substitute at Arsenal, quickly followed.
For the midfielder, this season already represents a dream fulfilled. "I went on holiday to Magaluf with my friends in the summer and they were asking me what I wanted to achieve before the end of the season," said Flood. "I told them that if we did the same thing again in 12 months, I wanted to go back to Dublin and for them to have seen me on Match of the Day at some point. I can't believe it's happened already.
"Things are going brilliantly. I couldn't ask for anymore, really. I played quite a few games in pre-season and got on the bench a couple of times early on, so I knew I must have been doing something right."
Flood is just one of a clutch of young players attempting to persuade Keegan place his faith in youth, no mean task with a manager who has established a reputation of favouring over 30's with an international pedigree.
"I have set a benchmark now," he added. "It is one step on the ladder. Let's see what happens; hopefully I can keep making the bench. I know it is one step at a time. I will keep working hard and see how it goes.
"The gaffer has shown great faith in me. I have lots to be grateful for. He gave me my chance in football and I just hope that I can repay him over the coming years."
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