As NLA says lack of investment in the Academy means we only got Cat 2 which in turns means all the Cat 1 teams can take players like Edwards for less than 200k up front.
As NLA says lack of investment in the Academy means we only got Cat 2 which in turns means all the Cat 1 teams can take players like Edwards for less than 200k up front.
if the club feel like any available money has to go elsewhere rather than the our youth policy then we just gotta swallow it.
Id rather be able to afford to keep our first team players than lose a few promising 16 years olds.
true enough but the reason we have a player like Solly to keep hold of is that we had an academy to develop him in.
What is annoying is not that our players go to bigger clubs as that will always happen eventually but that they are now going to go even younger.
What really sticks in the throat is that everything was being set up to develop the academy, the plans were in place to get Cat 1, investment from the Community Trust, The council and an outside party were lined up to develop Sparrows Lane and then the plug got pulled, we were left with Cat 2 and so we are much more vulnerable.
We could have been the sharks but now we're the fish.
And the Club hasn't even announced that we are Cat 2 as far as I can see.
agree with nla entirely. youth is the way forward but now Cat 1 can cherry pick our best one's for a fee of 200k or less which is peanuts to the likes of utd. also means that the chances of a Zaha getting into the first team and then being flogged for 10m are reduced as those coming through are not the best as they have already left. very sad.
A minimum of £2.5m per year, including 18 full time coaches (with Uefa badges etc) plus a full range of facilities - such as indoor/outdoor pitches. astroturf and some other stuff as well such as on-going education etc. For that you get a two year licence which is renewable. Presumably applying for and getting a Cat 1 licence would mean a lot of one off extra costs such as building new facilities etc.
The commitment is serious and not just a case of stumping up an extra few hundred K over and above what we already invest.
It's easy for some to say that we should have gone for it/false economy etc - but the club is currently running a £7m/£8m loss PA and going for Cat 1 would no doubt shift that debt up a bit further. Where do we draw the line?
They may as well change Valley gold to something useful, maybe the car park pothole fund ?
Valley Gold isn't the problem. VG does a vital job and without the money it (ie the fans) donate the Academy would be even worse off.
The problem lies elsewhere.
sure, but as the rules currently are its a pointless investment
Not at all as without it we'd have an even lower status ie a centre of excellence rather than an academy and we possibly couldn't even sign the like of Edwards and Palmer in the first place
Think the problem is with the national set up not with cafc.
Should not be allowed for man utd to do this. Will destroy competitivness
Better to make the clubs wait till they are professionals and pay to poach em.
Otherwise u will get the big boys poaching em all at 14-16!
unfortunately i can see the line of thought that the only way we can have a truly world beating national team in this day and age is to have most of the players grow up with each other at the top clubs.
The commitment is serious and not just a case of stumping up an extra few hundred K over and above what we already invest.
It's easy for some to say that we should have gone for it/false economy etc - but the club is currently running a £7m/£8m loss PA and going for Cat 1 would no doubt shift that debt up a bit further. Where do we draw the line?
It is a serious amount but then don't go for it, run up a major cost and then pull out near the end. The strategy was to have a cat 1 academy, that was what was planned and a lot of money spent on new coaches etc.
I am absolutely gutted by this news,agree with what Henry says.This is the result of not getting Cat A status.The club has spent a great deal of time money and coaching expertise on these players from an early age and Clubs like Chelsea and Man Utd come along and take what they want.Not just us but any other Cat B status Club.It is not fair,but who said life was fair.What we receive is chicken feed in comparison to what these players could be worth.
Frustrating but smaller clubs will always lose players to bigger clubs. I'm sure we've nicked a few off the Orients and Barnets of this world in the past.
sure, but as the rules currently are its a pointless investment
Then no Chris Solly, Callum Harriott or any of the youth team players who have just won the U18, some of those are expected to make it to the first team.
Frustrating but smaller clubs will always lose players to bigger clubs. I'm sure we've nicked a few off the Orients and Barnets of this world in the past.
Sure we have and if we were Cat 1 we'd be doing the same as Man U and Chelsea have just done to us.
It's not the morality of it that annoys me (although I do think the system is wrong) but that we've thrown away an opportunity to protect ourselves from predators and take advantage of the system that exists.
Wouldn't surprise me if the Premier League reps have received a few brown paper bags, to ensure they set the huge financial guidelines for Cat 1, leaving the big boys to cherry pick the talent
Comments
not blaming the players but the system is all wrong, imo.
But in the want it all culture of success is finishing as high in the league as you can
Pwrhaps the signings if better players to ensure survival was the wrong gamble
But now we will have two years of theft and not a lot we can do about it
As we are in a league that the prem has decided to blackmail and people took the easy quid to allow it to happen
if the club feel like any available money has to go elsewhere rather than the our youth policy then we just gotta swallow it.
Id rather be able to afford to keep our first team players than lose a few promising 16 years olds.
So we potentially
Have no solly or harriot to look forward to meaning that we spend more on replacements
true enough but the reason we have a player like Solly to keep hold of is that we had an academy to develop him in.
What is annoying is not that our players go to bigger clubs as that will always happen eventually but that they are now going to go even younger.
What really sticks in the throat is that everything was being set up to develop the academy, the plans were in place to get Cat 1, investment from the Community Trust, The council and an outside party were lined up to develop Sparrows Lane and then the plug got pulled, we were left with Cat 2 and so we are much more vulnerable.
We could have been the sharks but now we're the fish.
And the Club hasn't even announced that we are Cat 2 as far as I can see.
The problem lies elsewhere.
A minimum of £2.5m per year, including 18 full time coaches (with Uefa badges etc) plus a full range of facilities - such as indoor/outdoor pitches. astroturf and some other stuff as well such as on-going education etc. For that you get a two year licence which is renewable. Presumably applying for and getting a Cat 1 licence would mean a lot of one off extra costs such as building new facilities etc.
The commitment is serious and not just a case of stumping up an extra few hundred K over and above what we already invest.
It's easy for some to say that we should have gone for it/false economy etc - but the club is currently running a £7m/£8m loss PA and going for Cat 1 would no doubt shift that debt up a bit further. Where do we draw the line?
Not at all as without it we'd have an even lower status ie a centre of excellence rather than an academy and we possibly couldn't even sign the like of Edwards and Palmer in the first place
Should not be allowed for man utd to do this. Will destroy competitivness
Better to make the clubs wait till they are professionals and pay to poach em.
Otherwise u will get the big boys poaching em all at 14-16!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2306844/Kasey-Palmer-cost-Chelsea-800-000-Charlton-move.html
Now we have the worst of both worlds.
Then no Chris Solly, Callum Harriott or any of the youth team players who have just won the U18, some of those are expected to make it to the first team.
Hear what u r saying but this is going to restrict the talent pool big time
It's not the morality of it that annoys me (although I do think the system is wrong) but that we've thrown away an opportunity to protect ourselves from predators and take advantage of the system that exists.
Announcement on future in 48hrs
Seems an odd thing to do as he is on a contract so didnt really need to announce anything