I think we are starting to see the fruits of the change in the “90/60 minute” rule. I can’t remember which it was but it used to be that an academy player had to live within 60 or 90 mins of the training ground where he was playing.
They got rid of that as they said it was unfair if a talented player happened to live in, say, Cornwall and could only play for Plymouth or something. Any young player should be able to play for anyone and have access to the best facilities/coaching etc if they are good enough.
Seemed a decent idea on paper, but in practice it has meant that the top teams have supposedly just been hoovering up any young player who can kick a ball. This would almost certainly hinder development if you have multiple players in the same position in the same age group as there isn’t enough games/minutes for them all to play.
Can’t remember exactly when the rule changed but think it was about 5/6 years ago now so a lot of the players are getting to the time when they would be signing pro deals and there are lots of them at the top teams rather than more evenly spread around the country
They got rid of that as they said it was unfair if a talented player happened to live in, say, Cornwall and could only play for Plymouth or something. Any young player should be able to play for anyone and have access to the best facilities/coaching etc if they are good enough.
Seemed a decent idea on paper, but in practice it has meant that the top teams have supposedly just been hoovering up any young player who can kick a ball. This would almost certainly hinder development if you have multiple players in the same position in the same age group as there isn’t enough games/minutes for them all to play.
Can’t remember exactly when the rule changed but think it was about 5/6 years ago now so a lot of the players are getting to the time when they would be signing pro deals and there are lots of them at the top teams rather than more evenly spread around the country
