England U19 star has made a big impression for the Sky Blues
Thursday 27 September 2018 08:56, UK
With the help of the club's academy manager, Adam Bate looks at why Coventry midfielder Tom Bayliss is winning so many plaudits...
There is always curiosity when getting the first glimpse of a young player and it was no different when Tom Bayliss was given his league debut for Coventry against Cheltenham in December. It did not take long for him to make an impact. Within two minutes, Bayliss had fired off a left-footed shot that deflected over the goalkeeper and looped into the net.
He has not looked back since. That was the first of 27 appearances in Coventry's march to promotion from League Two - all of them starts. He scored in the play-off semi-final win against Notts County and played 90 minutes at Wembley. He is also now an England U19 international having played at the European Championship in the summer.
Bayliss is just the latest youngster to roll off the Coventry production line. James Maddison's successful step up to Premier League level underlines the good work that is being done but he is one of many. There have been 44 debuts for academy graduates in the past decade and one study ranked Coventry among the top clubs in the country for productivity.
Maddison was tipped for the top from a very young age, but Bayliss has his own story. He arrived as an U11 player on an open trial night - events that are arranged when scouts are not quite confident enough to recommend a player for an individual trial. He was picked up but his early teenage years were fraught with difficulties and setbacks.
Coventry academy manager Richard Stevens was there throughout the process. "He has had quite a journey with some bad injuries when he was 14 or 15," Stevens tells Sky Sports. "He had a fracture to his back that kept him out for six months. He has some speed bumps but I think those help. They are the little setbacks that make you take stock.
"He was even a late take at 16. I remember having the meeting with his mum and dad. We said that we needed more time because we were not sure and it was like his world had fallen apart. He walked off to the car park and I was not sure he was going to walk back in and train, but he did. He dusted himself down and got back into training.
"It was a month or two later that we offered him the deal. It was almost like that setback of not getting something that he wanted hit him because in that first year as a scholar he went on to play almost every game for the under-18s and he was captain of the team that won the division the year after that. He was incredible."
Bayliss is a tall midfielder with the ability to drive at defenders when in possession, unusual from a central position. It means that he is a player who can open up the game for his team and when coupled with intelligence, two good feet, and a refusal to be bullied by opponents with far greater experience of men's football, it has helped him make a swift impact.
After his debut, Coventry boss Mark Robins stressed that Bayliss would not play every week. He was right. He ended up playing twice most weeks. Just three Saturdays later, he starred in an FA Cup win over then Premier League side Stoke City. Team-mate Jack Grimmer praised his consistency. Midfield partner Michael Doyle called him outstanding.
The consistency of his performances have been a feature ever since and there have been reports of interest from Tottenham and Derby. But Bayliss signed a new four-year contract earlier this month and he has quickly developed into a player who Robins does not want to do without - something that was clear last weekend in losing 3-1 against Bristol Rovers.
Bayliss was absent having picked up a knock in training. "We missed his spark," Robins admitted afterwards. The hope is that he will be fit enough to return against Sunderland on Saturday. The clubs were two divisions apart in May but only four points will separate them if Coventry win. What's certain is that they will have a better chance with Tom Bayliss.
Coventry face Sunderland on Saturday in Sky Bet League One, live on Sky Sports Football from 12pm
