Football League Players of the Future: Yado Mambo

In a never before seen feature on Total Tranmere, Henry Hudson takes a look at a potential star of the future in and around the lower leagues in the shape of Charlton Athletic's Yado Mambo, currently on loan at non league Ebbsfleet United......

On this site in the past you would have heard about the progress of the Tranmere Rovers youth team, and I’m sure that many Rovers fans are excited and optimistic about what the future may hold for Tranmere Rovers.

However what about their League 1 rivals?  What do the enemy have that we at Tranmere may not? In this piece I will focus on one particular player that I believe will soon be a familiar name in the minds of not only Tranmere fans but other Football League fans across the country.

This name will most likely not be a familiar one as it is not a name that has been held in high regard by Football League analysts. Unlike players such as Matt Lecointe and Kezie Ibe (the latter now of Liverpool) this man has not been talked up by the media, or even really been given any attention whatsoever.

This man plays for table toppers Charlton Athletic, he is a centre back and his name is Yado Mambo. He has been on loan at Ebbsfleet United since mid-September, Ebbsfleet being my local club. I have seen Mambo a few times and he has quite impressed me as well as the majority of the 1500 others who attend Stonebridge Road on a regular basis.

Before I tell you why he has impressed the Ebbsfleet fans, there are facts I would like to share about him. For one, Ebbsfleet’s win percentage with him in the team is significantly higher than our win percentage without him, which already says a lot about how influential the player is even at the young age of 20.

Secondly, while many of his former teammates at Charlton’s youth academy were released in the summer of 2011, the Athletic manager Chris Powell, himself a world class defender in his prime, considered Yado to be worthy of a new contract in the summer of 2011, a time where Chris was transforming the face of the squad, and so many players were let go, Powell clearly feels that Yads is a great player and has a future in the Charlton Athletic squad.

Yado Mambo (in action for parent club Charlton), is currently on loan at Ebbsfleet United

Yado is an incredibly acrobatic player, which really helps him get an advantage when against his marker. Despite the brutish physicality of the more barrel chested forwards in the Blue Square Premier, he will often come out on top in the 50/50 duels he enters. Being in the BSP, most teams stick to the uncomplicated style of punting the ball forward to the centre forward(s), and hoping for the best, so the impressive aerial ability of Yads is vital in such as division.

Although he has received two red cards in his time at Ebbsfleet (against Lincoln & Kettering), when he keeps his discipline he is a very solid and consistent player and does not make many errors. The partnership Yads has formed with Paul Lorraine (one of the Fleets key

players last season) has been vital, as the Fleet are twelve points clear of the drop zone when, in pre-season, they were tipped to go straight down without a fight.

However this young defender could face a problem when he returns from his loan back to the Valley at close season. What seems to be Charlton Athletic’s inevitable promotion could be bad news for Yado Mambo. A Charlton promotion this season would mean that Chris Powell has even more cash at his disposal next summer, and as much potential as Yado may have I doubt he will be able to compete with the high quality of players that would be brought in.

In this event, Yado would have to rely on a manager in League 1 or 2 realising his quality in the way myself and other Ebbsfleet United fans have, otherwise, like so many promising players wind up playing in non-league and never fulfilling their potential. As much as I would love Yado Mambo at my local club on a permanent deal, I know he is better than the Blue Square Premier as do all Ebbsfleet United fans as well as other football fans that have seen Yado Mambo play in the past few months.

Yet, hopefully, for the player, and of course for League 1, Mambo will be playing for a football League team next season, under the right manager, with the right management. So to summarise Yado Mambo is a player that the Prenton Park folk can expect to see playing for an enemy in future seasons and when you see him towering above your star centre forward to win a header or floor your star midfielder with an inch perfect tackle, remember where you heard the name ‘Yado Mambo’ first.