The system is geared for and by the big six clubs who are controlling the games rules to their advantage, and its getting worse, much like our academy. SAFC can do little about the former but are solely responsible for the latter. Give the players the route that the Jordans went down and things like this may be avoided, and who knows, maybe the academy is surplus to requirements and top class talent spotters might be more advantageous in our position. Sad that this should even be considered, but the playing field seems far from level. Money money money.
would like to see some form of guaranteed add-ons for varying stages of future development of these lads otherwise the rich clubs are just hoovering up talent at little cost to them and no real compensation for the original club.
Reading these links again makes you realise how good our young academy actually is. Its just a shame we barely see any benefit from it because half of our kids get picked off before they even get anywhere near our U23 squad, nevermind the first team.
It's very much geared towards the big 6. I was speaking to a disgruntled Everton fan today who actually believed that the gulf between Liverpool and Everton is bigger than the gulf between Newcastle and Sunderland right now. It's an interesting perspective that I couldn't really disagree with. I think it's more likely that we compete in the bottom half of the premier league before any bottom half club breaks the top 6.
If I had a son who was in our academy but was being eyed by big clubs I would have no hesitation in encouraging him to choose one of them . Yes he could stay on a relative pittance at his boyhood club and the chances are he wont make it much above pub league level. By joining a club like United he gets big ( comparatively )money on a long contract and if/when he does fail he will likely get a pub team come along and sign him. Very very few players really make it..that is an irrefutable fact. To weep and wail about the venality of modern day football is silly. He can look back and say either I spent 3 ( or more )years on United's books and they let me go. I saved enough to buy and own my own house by the age of 22, or I stayed at safc and I played half an FA cup against Exeter. Now I work in a warehouse and play Sunday league. This claptrap nostalgia and reminiscing we have about the old days of football is an utter crock.
But really when was it not that way? It irks but that is the reality and it is tv and social media that have highlighted this stark fact. Yes every now and then you will have a fairy tale like Leicester, but that is an aberration. We were the bank of England club in the 50's and were poaching players like shack. None of our fans would be lamenting the state of the modern game had that status quo been maintained.
Sorry but you’re wrong. I coached my sons team for a few years and saw the “big club” thing at first hand. They don’t get big money at all. They get very similar money as a kid at United etc as they do at SAFC. They get publicity as the press find out about them but no more. As a kid it makes no difference where you are. Tens of thousands are picked up and,less than 1% make it. The difference with a kid staying at SAFC would likely be that parents keep their feet planted. Kids get picked up by Man U etc they just think they’re it and ignore any other career aspect. They get spat out and end up with no life skills. sad reality of modern football
What about the incentives? In other words what do the parents/family get offered that the smaller clubs can't match? I'm sure i read somewhere last season that a 14/15 year old moved because part of the off the record deal was a new home for his parents. I agree with the last 2 sentences by the way as well.
One thing is that I don't think compensation payments have kept pace with the transfer market inflation. Currently there's no point in having an academy - any really good kids are known about early, and clubs will just come and take them before they're 16 knowing that the compensation is chicken feed. They could take 100 and if only one makes the grade they're probably laughing. I'd like to see a restriction on the numbers of kids allowed at each club, avoiding the situation where Chelsea seem to have the equivalent population of a small town in their youth set up. Furthermore I'd like a limit on how many in each age group you're allowed to loan out. If you want them, you keep them, you train them and you pay them. None of this hoovering up talent then getting others to pay their wages before you cash in if they become any good. There's obviously a need to loan some kids out, but if you've got 20+ out on loan there's an issue. In many ways it reminds me of the housing market, someone with plenty money hoovering up perfectly good property and letting others pay off the mortgage so they can capitalise on it later instead of the tenant actually being able to pay for a house that they'll eventually own.