It will have been Billy Russell who will have pushed this through, he's the head of the youth department. I remember Pennock being a half decent keeper in the not too distant past. Just had a look at the staff roster on the website; what exactly is a Safeguarding Manager and why does ours have an OBE?
A safeguarding manager is someone who ensures no abuse of under 18s takes place and informs the club about potential abusive situations minors may find themselves in. I have no idea why ours has an OBE
Cant believe the Allams run an autocracy. They would not have got as far as they have in business if that was the case. To the best of my knowledge and experience in most companies decisions are taken on a collective basis, and this applies even to the US government. Decisions are reached by consensus by the management team as a whole with advice from experts taken into account but just like the buck stops at the Oval Office then in Citys case the buck stops in the "generating room" with Mr Allam. He is accountable for all major decisions but not necessarily responsible for reaching them. And to wit he seems to have a pretty good score on this account, Steve Bruce, the academy, on one side with at least according to some the Tigers affair on the the other side. All in all not a bad report card.
can he maybe stop this sort of thing from happening . http://www.southwales-eveningpost.c...les-hopeful/story-21286200-detail/story.html?
This is absolutely nothing like what happens at City. On football matters, where AA freely admits he knows nothing, he took Pete Chapman's advice on a managerial appointment and has subsequently taken Steve Bruce's advise on all signings etc. So on the football side of things, they are as you've suggested and it's worked very well. On business matters, AA takes advice from no-one, he thinks he's the greatest businessman who ever lived and runs his businesses accordingly. Everyone around him has told him to drop the divisive and pointless name change, but he ploughs on regardless. He doesn't see the fans as having any rights at the club, he sees us as an inconvenience and assumes that all the fans are far more stupid than him and should just do what they're told. If he took the same approach with business matters, as he does with football matters, we'd be in a far better place.
Wooah, hang on, steady here. That sounds almost as if you think that AA isnt the greatest businessman the world has ever seen, and that he should be taking advice on business matters. I'm sure I've got the wrong end of the stick and misread it or something but it does seem as if you might possibly think that?
Part 2... ‘Big plans to nurture future stars,’ says Hull City academy manager Tony Pennock please log in to view this image THE Hull City academy is on the move. At the former Ideal Standard site on County Road North, home for the last seven years, offices have been packed into boxes and the last whistles sounded. The old place will be missed. Those compact, tired buildings had a certain character, engendering a spirit its graduates remember fondly. Hundreds of youngsters came and went through its gates with ambitions of life as a professional footballer. More recently, though, the very same site has come to symbolise City's shortcomings in youth development. While the majority of Premier League clubs are able to nurture their best juniors in pristine, purpose-built facilities, the Tigers have been asked to make do with their modest base purchased in 2007. A chronic lack of investment has been laid bare by the advent of the Elite Player Performance Programme (EPPP) era, a national youth development scheme initiated by the Premier League three years ago. Unable to meet the criteria of either a Category One or Category Two academy, the Tigers have been left trailing in their rivals' wake with a Category Three rating. Something needed to give this summer and that has been the club's Ideal Standard site. When City's under-18s return for pre-season training on Monday it will be at a new base at Bishop Burton College, a leafy retreat on the western outskirts of Beverley. The move is designed to mark the dawn of a new era over the next 12 months. Offering improved facilities and an all-weather 4G surface, City are confident they can shed the unwanted Category Three status that has become the albatross around their neck. "Our plan is to have a Category Two audit at some point during 2014-15," explained academy manager Tony Pennock. "The earliest we can play Category Two football now is 2015-16. That was a decision the club made in January ahead of the audit in April. "We didn't have time to put the changes in place for Category Two for this season but we have big plans in place to take the club forward in the next 12 months." That, in truth, began with the appointment of Pennock in February. The 43-year-old successfully led Swansea City from Category Three to Category Two status during his five and a half years at the Liberty Stadium and has been handed the same remit with the Tigers. Staffing numbers will double along with City's move to Bishop Burton this summer and although a stringent audit awaits next spring, an indoor facility is the last major obstacle on the club's path towards an improved rating. "There are a lot of things we're doing already that are as good, if not better, than a Category Two academy," said Pennock. "With the move to Bishop Burton the only thing we're missing is an indoor arena to become a Category Two. "We went to London recently and without having the final assessment the verdict was that we're a very strong Category Three. "They know where we are in terms of staffing. It's changed massively. "By the start of pre-season there will be 22 full-time staff. "That fulfills that criteria and we also meet the hours of coaching for our youngsters. Things are coming together." The need to progress is of paramount importance. A Category Three rating leaves City's youngsters unable to test themselves competitively against the best under-18's in the country, while there is also no place for the Tigers in an under-21's Premier League. That is a recipe for stagnation and one City are eager to alter. "My remit is to become a Category Two academy and, along with the staff, produce players that Steve (Bruce) can put into his first-team squad," said Pennock. "For us it's important to have better facilities so that we can do our job and give the kids the best possible chance of progressing. "Being a sustainable Premier League club will have a big impact on what we're trying to do. Short-term the only aim is to be Category Two. "I see this as a long-term project. I'm not the type of person that jumps from job to job. "I had a few clubs as a player but I spent five and a half years at Swansea because I enjoyed it. "I like myself to get settled into a role and see it through. If we get Category Two status in 12 or 18 months I'm aware there's still a lot of work to do. "Are we going to get players in the first-team within 18 months? I doubt it very much so we have to keep improving in the years to come." And that brings us to a statistic that sits uncomfortably. Not since Mike Edwards, who made his debut in 1997-98, has an academy graduate gone on to make a century of appearances for City's first team. Plenty have offered promise from these parts, such as Will Atkinson and Liam Cooper, but a search for the next great hope goes on. Pennock is quick to stress this is no fault of City's academy staff, who he believes have worked with hands tied behind backs in recent years. Billy Russell, a servant of 14 years and continuing in a role as head of youth development, commands nothing but his respect. "Until recently the club hadn't invested in the youth department at all. This club spent two years in the Premier League (2008-10) but no money was spent on the academy or the infrastructure," said Pennock. "Without knowing the ins and outs of what they've gone through, I don't think you make a fair assessment. We've all got a massive part to play going forward. "Ideal Standard is a fantastic facility for a category three academy but for us wanting to become a category two we can't do anything with it. "That's unfortunate because I can see what Billy and the staff have made Ideal Standard into. It's a great environment for the kids to learn and play their football, but the ambition has to be build and grow as a club." And that brings Pennock to the essence of his vision. "We want to make sure the local community play a part and embrace what we're trying to do," he said. "There's nothing better than seeing a local lad in the first team. "If you're a Hull City fan through and through, watching a Hull lad pull on a shirt would give you a tremendous sense of joy. "It's not going to happen overnight but that's the target for us all." http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/8216...tory-21286536-detail/story.html#ixzz35dYcDzVI
We've lost another promising young gun. http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/High...n-James-8216/story-21286534-detail/story.html The sooner this bloody academy's sorted, the better. Although you'd have thought with the imminent move to bishop Harold Staunton or wherever they're going, and category upgrade to match Swansea, that this dan James might have stuck about.... What a ****er.
I see that they've got rid of AFC then. There you go again, you just cannot make 1 comment without attacking someone who hasn't got the same opinion s you. How was that even a negative comment, you arse? I thought you were ****ing off anyways? Make it a done deal.
I think that's been up a while now. It will obviously be changed again now. We must waste a fortune on signs and stationary.
He was probably the most highly rated youngster we had in that year group and after Max Clark, probably the closest thing we would've had to a home grown youngster breaking through. I mentioned him a while back when we were discussing youth players and it's a real shame (but hardly a surprise) he's chosen to leave. I know his Dad quite well as Dan's brother and my brother were in the same class at Hunsley. His Dad won't be happy though, his whole family are Cardiff fans
It says in the article that he's a Hull lad. It says he believes a move to Swansea means he has a better chance of reaching the Welsh senior squad. Er... Boaz Myhill, Sam Ricketts, James Chester... there hasn't been a problem before.
Although it's obviously a good thing this is finally getting addressed it isn't another Assam master stroke. The premier league is forcing his hand and have agreed funding over the next two years. So we are basically selling ideal standard for cash now and renting at bishop Burton again another facility not owned by the club. If we were building a new academy/training ground then great he would be leaving a positive legacy but I fear this is a short term fix. It pleases the premier league ,it keeps fans happy for a bit but it's short sighted to sell property and land you own in order to rent somewhere else. Worst case scenario we have an academy with out a home.
The primary aim is to develop players for the first. But also develop players that may not quite good enough for the first team, but who we can sell on for £1m-£2m to Championship clubs.
