Football League votes through plan to change youth set-up

[EskWeston 696]

Football League clubs have voted to abolish the tribunal system that sets fees when clubs cannot agree a transfer for home-grown youth players.

The Premier League had threatened to withhold funding for youth development if the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) was not accepted.

The new proposals will guarantee clubs more funding for youth football over a guaranteed four-year period.

But it could mean clubs receive lower fees for players under the age of 17.

A Football League statement read: "Following lengthy consideration, Football League clubs have voted to accept the Premier League's proposals on the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP).

"The League will now continue discussions with the Premier League on the implementation of the EPPP across professional football."

BBC Sport understands the Football League reluctantly advised its members to vote in favour at Thursday's meeting at the Bescot Stadium in Walsall.

If clubs had opted against the proposals, the annual funding they receive from the Premier League for youth development - over £5m-per-season - would have been withheld.

The clubs voted 46 in favour and 22 against, with three no-shows and one abstention - while the Premier League decided in favour of adopting EPPP at a meeting in June.

But many in the Football League are concerned the current tribunal system will be replaced by a set of fixed prices.

The new tariffs will see a selling club paid £3,000-per-year for every year of a player's development between the ages of nine and 11. The fee per year from 12 to 16 will depend on the selling club's academy status - but ranges between £12,500 and £40,000.

The incoming system will put an end to the type of deal which saw West Ham sign Sam Baldock, 22, from Milton Keynes Dons for £2.5m in August.

Chelsea also reportedly paid the same club £1.5m, rising to £2m, for 14-year-old Oluwaseyi Ojo this week.

In addition to the sale of Baldock and Ojo, MK Dons have a thriving youth setup and have used seven players from their youth ranks in their first team this season.

But boss Karl Robinson, a former member of the Liverpool academy coaching staff, said: "If we lose our youth players for nominal fees how are we going to survive?

"I don't think it is fair. Kids develop at a phenomenal rate at the highest level but are these kids going to play in people's first teams at the age of 16 or 17?"

Peterborough director Barry Fry reckons many Football League clubs could eventually close their youth academies.

He said: "What frightens me is that a lot of clubs will pull out of having a youth system altogether.

"Lower league clubs will look at how much it costs to run their academy or school of excellence and think that, if the Premier League can nick their best players for a low price, what is the point of investing in it?"

Fry estimates the sale of home-grown players such as Luke Steele to Manchester United in 2002, plus Matthew Etherington and Simon Davies - both to Tottenham in 2000 - generated Peterborough in the region of £6m.

But he added: "We would not get anything like that under the new system.

"The Premier League wants everything and they want it for nothing."

EPPP will lead to the introduction of a four-tier academy system next season.

It will range from category one "super academies" down to category four status, where clubs will pick up 16-year-olds that have been released by other teams.

Clubs with category one status will have programmes that vastly increase the contact time with young players, with the aim of ensuring the most-talented youngsters have the best opportunity to fulfil their potential.

The new programme will also see the end of the 90-minute rule, which currently states an academy player must live within an hour-and-a-half's drive of the club they play for.

The Premier League is keen to stress the new proposals will result in an increased youth development payment for all 92 Premier League and Football League clubs over four years.

That money will be gratefully received by Football League clubs due to lost revenue from the latest television deal.

Source: BBC

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I understood up till the point they explained what the EPPP does.

Shed some light anyone?

[EskWeston 696]

I understood up till the point they explained what the EPPP does.

Shed some light anyone?

It will change the rules to youth development in a number of ways, the main ones being setting up a ranking system for Academies, the top academies being able to set up boarding school type facilities meaning that the players get much more training time than they do now, the flip side is that the lowest ranking academies will not be able to take players on till age 16. It is based on the number of full time coaches, and other things.

Additionally it will scrap the rule of only being able to bring in players within a 90 minute radius of the club. Also the current tribunal for setting fees for young players will be scrapped in favour of a more rigid approach with small basic initial fees and then the fees growing based on development and future sell on fees, but it will be the same for every player.

And very importantly the current reserve set up will be scrapped in favour of an U21's competitive league, which will be compulsary for every premier league club.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

It will change the rules to youth development in a number of ways, the main ones being setting up a ranking system for Academies, the top academies being able to set up boarding school type facilities meaning that the players get much more training time than they do now, the flip side is that the lowest ranking academies will not be able to take players on till age 16. It is based on the number of full time coaches, and other things.

Additionally it will scrap the rule of only being able to bring in players within a 90 minute radius of the club. Also the current tribunal for setting fees for young players will be scrapped in favour of a more rigid approach with small basic initial fees and then the fees growing based on development and future sell on fees, but it will be the same for every player.

And very importantly the current reserve set up will be scrapped in favour of an U21's competitive league, which will be compulsary for every premier league club.

That sounds really positive then! Especially that last point about a competitive league. It's about time such changes were brought in place!

[Madmax 9,219]

So any big club can poach a half decent youngster from halfway across the country at those nominal rates? Wouldn't like to be in the shoes of a lower league manager who's got some good young players at his disposal.

[EskWeston 696]

That sounds really positive then! Especially that last point about a competitive league. It's about time such changes were brought in place!

Indeed it is pretty big changes and in the long run will benefit the National team big time, it won't be fully seen for a number of years but these are really important changes for sure and it is very pleasing they have been passed. Yes the small clubs will be hit slightly but i think having to pay £1.5m in tribunal for a 14 year old is crazy anyway you look at it. We have allowed ourselves to be left behind in the youth development stakes against our European rivals and it was beyond time something was done.

I really hope the U21 league will be as beneficial as it could be, there are no official details about it yet. Unless there is a game every week like there are for the U18's then it is not positive enough, 2 games in a month is no way to develop a player at the key ages of 18 to 22 and that is what is happening now.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Indeed it is pretty big changes and in the long run will benefit the National team big time, it won't be fully seen for a number of years but these are really important changes for sure and it is very pleasing they have been passed. Yes the small clubs will be hit slightly but i think having to pay £1.5m in tribunal for a 14 year old is crazy anyway you look at it. We have allowed ourselves to be left behind in the youth development stakes against our European rivals and it was beyond time something was done.

I really hope the U21 league will be as beneficial as it could be, there are no official details about it yet. Unless there is a game every week like there are for the U18's then it is not positive enough, 2 games in a month is no way to develop a player at the key ages of 18 to 22 and that is what is happening now.

Although it does look like the "vote" was a bit of a farce. Considering the PL was threatening to cut vital funding for some of those clubs.

[francozola 2,040]

About time they scrapped the shit reserve set-up. It's so poor and must be a major reason of why there are fewer English talents compared to other European countries. The kids start off as being highly rated and talked about as having the potential to be a great player - but somehow they get lost along the way.

[EskWeston 696]

So any big club can poach a half decent youngster from halfway across the country at those nominal rates? Wouldn't like to be in the shoes of a lower league manager who's got some good young players at his disposal.

At the same time though should a young players ambition and talent be halted to make sure that lower league club gets more money? There are many different arguments to be had over this but the fact is we needed to do something to aid youth development in this country, the idea is that the best players will have access to the best academies. Clubs cannot just stockpile hundreds of players, there is a limit to the number of players you can have in an age group.

Plus the rates may be nominal to start with but should that player make it to the first team then those figures will massively rise. In reality that is the fairest way to deal with it and what the current ruling panel started out to but the figures have gone up and up dramatically over the recent years.

Change to any rules will upset someone, but i think this will benefit the game in England in the long run.

[EskWeston 696]

Although it does look like the "vote" was a bit of a farce. Considering the PL was threatening to cut vital funding for some of those clubs.

The Football League clubs will receive increased funding from the Premier League on the back of this but yes the Premier League did obviously put pressure on the vote, even with that it is suprising that the vote was passed.

About time they scrapped the shit reserve set-up. It's so poor and must be a major reason of why there are fewer English talents compared to other European countries. The kids start off as being highly rated and talked about as having the potential to be a great player - but somehow they get lost along the way.

Seen it happen again and again countless times, the lack of games and the quality of the games very obviously slows the development of players in that age bracket, loan moves only seem to benefit about 30% of players. Personally i would have taken it further and gone for B teams in the football league but that would never have got passed in a million years.