09Nov

Securing the future. But at what cost?

by Gary W

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Whilst a thrilling 4-3 victory over Northampton on Saturday was a welcome response to back-to-back defeats, it came days after a news story that could be set to change the future of clubs like Gillingham forever.  The newly-passed Elite Player Performance Plan means a controversial overhaul for the English player academy system. The EPPP is designed to ensure the best young talent gets the best coaching possible in order to secure the quality needed for the national side to succeed.  As a consequence, the Premier League would therefore have sole claim to the riches of the talent pool, extending the gulf between the top sides and Football League sides even further.  The plan consists of four levels heavily weighted in favour of some Premier League clubs.

The first level allows the best players from anywhere access to the best coaches located at sides with a £2.3million budget. This not only prices out almost all Football League clubs but some of the smaller Premier League ones too.  The second is possibly where many would hope to be.  Category 2 status allows clubs to train boys from the age of four and sign them from the age of nine but would be a financial burden to many and the very best players could still be taken by Category 1 teams.  Realistically, many of the lower league teams will fall into Category 3, which only allows the sides with that status to train boys over the age of eleven.  Category 4 is the status I would imagine hardly any side desires being only allowed access to released players or late developers.

In order to facilitate this, the 90 minute rule, which dictated that no academy player could move to a club more than an hour and a half away from their parent club, has been abolished.  When referring to boys of primary school age, a major factor in their development and eventual success is being around their family and attending a “local” club.  Theoretically, it would now be possible for all the best talented youngsters in Kent to leave home at the age of six to attend Manchester City’s or Newcastle United’s academies.  If the best players saturate top academies, how would they ever get a chance?

The major worry for the Football League clubs was a ceiling limit set for the maximum a club can be compensated for an academy player.  Previously a tribunal would often distinguish a market value for the player but that option would be forsaken in favour of a maximum £130,000 payment – a figure substantially smaller than many tribunal figures awarded.  For some with little history of bringing through youth players, the increase in funding provided for youth development would be most welcome, but for clubs that stay afloat by producing such players, a single tribunal fee is bad news.

The Gills are one of those clubs.  Matt Jarvis (Wolves) and Andrew Crofts (Norwich) are both internationals in the Premier League, and Ryan Bertrand recently pushed his way into the full Chelsea side, proving that the current Gillingham system alone is one that works well.  Clubs such as Crewe have a rich pedigree of producing great players and both sides could suffer greatly under the new system.  A reported 70% of the last England squad consisted of players originating from Football League clubs, emphasising the crucial role they have in the international game.

I find myself questioning whether a system where a handful of clubs with the best facilities hundreds of miles away is better than ninety-two clubs down the road with good ones.  Youth academies are not only a breeding pool for the best young talent either, it is also one for future coaches as well.  Who is to say that the best coaches are in the Premier League?  Players progressing through the ranks at Crewe have included Danny Murphy, David Platt, Geoff Thomas, Robbie Savage amongst others – clearly exceptional coaches can be found lower down.

Selling youth players is the lifeblood of many lower league teams who may now find their entire existence under threat.  And with fewer clubs available to send players out on loan to in order to gain vital league experience, many academy players could simply find themselves stuck at their club unable to get a chance to prove their worth.  Is that what we want for our kids after spending years away from home?  Would that really help produce the next World Cup winners for England?  I somehow doubt it!

Posted by Gillingham fan Gary Wade