Bristol City are losing out to Premier League cherry-pickers, says youth boss Brian Tinnion. By ANDY STOCKHAUSEN please log in to view this image Bristol City's head of youth recruitment Brian Tinnion. Brian Tinnion believes Football Association rules governing the transfer of young players are weighted against clubs such as Bristol City. Although City's academy was granted Category Two Status under the FA's Elite Player please log in to view this image Performance Plan in 2013, head of youth recruitment Tinnion fears the club's emerging talent is in danger of being cherry-picked by bigger clubs. Since a majority of Football League clubs voted in favour of the new system, City have lost three of their brightest stars to bigger rivals. Jacob Maddox (Chelsea) and Herbie Kane (Liverpool) were snapped up when aged just 14 in June 2013, while 16-year-old defender Aron Davies moved to Fulham in February of this year. In accordance with FA rules, City received just £80,000 for each of Kane and Maddox and £100,000 from Fulham for Davies. Tinnion feels the money received does not adequately compensate the Robins for the investment made in three players who joined the club aged nine. He warned: "We have lost three players who, in my opinion, were good enough to have gone on to make our first team. "EPPP has made it easier for clubs with Category One status to cherry-pick our best young players. Previously, the clubs would have negotiated and the selling club would have driven a hard bargain. Now the fees are all set under a sliding scale laid down by the FA. "If a Premier League club comes in for one of our players, they know they can get him on the cheap and there is nothing we can do about it. This has been happening since the rule change and it will continue to happen. "The system is weighted in favour of the Premier League elite and it is a real problem for clubs like Bristol City. We had Herbie, Jacob and Aron from the age of nine and invested a great deal in their development, but someone else is now benefiting from all our hard work. "Yes, we received fees for all three, but what can you do with that kind of money these days? It does not go far." While it can be argued that City have the option of preying on Category Three and Four Academies in the same way if they choose to, manager Steve Cotterill and director of football please log in to view this image Keith Burt are committed to producing homegrown talent. The Robins did recruit Gus Mafuta from Colchester United, a Category Three club, last year, but the midfielder has proved a rare exception to the rule. Mafuta moved on at the end of the regular season earlier this month. Tinnion added: "We have always preferred to develop our own players from the greater Bristol area and Steve Cotterill is very keen on the academy. "But if our best players continue to be picked off by bigger clubs before they even have a chance to get anywhere near our first team, then we may have to look at our policy again." http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/...ickers-ndash/story-26533928-detail/story.html It makes you wonder, is it worth all the effort, investment and expense?
This has always been the case I'm afraid. It's like nature; small fish are consumed by bigger fish, which in turn are eaten by even larger ones. The only way to beat it is to become one of the the 'larger' fish ourselves - which is what SL says he is trying to do.
City voted FOR this arrangement which allows BCFC to then do the same to Argyle, Exeter, the Gas etc. It is up to City themselves to convince parents that BCFC are the club of the region, and the logical choice. Speaking to parents and coaches City are not there yet, and have to look at themselves rather than a system they supported. Improve get cuter, spend more time 1 - 2 -1 and on. One Joe Bryan pays for the academy for seasons.
I know Herbie Kane well & is dream is to play for his beloved Bristol City...shame he is at Liverpool but the lad is doing well there.
