The changes in the constraints on travel and the notion of compensation being restricted to smaller clubs, could also have a very negative aspect. Smaller clubs who see their youth academy as an additional revenue steam, would lose out on this valuable income, and it could render their programs ineffective. It would be terrible if small clubs had to abandon running their youth set-ups, and could effectively work the opposite way and kill youth development in this country. The changes could make the system more elitist, with finance dictating what category a clubs academy belongs to, and smaller clubs forced to close their academies due to the financial strain.
A large proportion of top quality Premier League and England stars actually came from the lower leagues and were produced by smaller clubs, so it would be a shame if these academies were eradicated. It seems that the changes-which seem to be coming from the Premier League instead of the FA-are not in the interest of the lower tier clubs, and clearly favour the bigger clubs, which poses problems. The Football League still have to ratify the plan before it gets the go ahead, but you would think that they would have to make some changes to the plan, as it does nothing to favour clubs in the lower tiers. Compensation levels need to properly weighted to ensure the smaller clubs can survive, and the restrictions in terms of access to young players need to be more lenient than they are set out to be in the plan. There must be a place for smaller clubs in the programme, as they have produced so many talented youngsters over the past few decades, they provide vital experience and more often than not can toughen up a player, before he moves onto a bigger side to progress his career.
The ideas behind revamping youth development are long overdue, but there are other changes that need to be implemented as well. The link between academies and the first team has to be stronger, as there is plenty of top quality talent at the bigger academies who don’t get a fair shot to make their senior side. If the big clubs are having first options on the nations talent, then they have to ensure that young players will be given the experience they need in order to give them the best chance of making it in the game. We don’t want even more youngsters to fall by the wayside, which seems to happen far too frequently in the modern game. At the top clubs, young players often sit and watch on as money is thrown about and foreign players are brought in, which render it impossible for them to breakthrough into the first teams.
The changes proposed-particularly regarding coaching time-are likely to overhaul youth development in this country, but other changes also need to made. The way children are selected for academies, the manner in which they are developed, and the transition between academy and first team level must be looked at, if we are to truly revamp youth football in England. The EPPP does propose some radical changes, but these are unlikely to have the desired effect on youth development unless the whole mindset and attitude around the youth system in England is changed as well.
The article was written by Lauren Rutter for FootballFancast.com. Make sure to check out the latest news, blogs and podcasts at FFC – ed.
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