Meltdown (youth "poaching")

[Gwladys St. Glory]

Well, it's all coming out of the woodwork now...SoccerNet article:


League Two club Crewe Alexandra have added to the debate over Premier League clubs and their pursuit of the best young players in the game by reporting an unnamed Premier League club to the Football Association for an alleged illegal approach.

The Gresty Road outfit have decided to make their complaint official following FIFA's decision to ban Chelsea from signing players until 2011, while Le Havre continue to push for FIFA to take the same action against Manchester United for their signing of Paul Pogba.

Crewe have one of the most productive youth systems in the lower leagues and have nurtured a whole host of Premier League talent, including David Platt, Danny Murphy, Seth Johnson and Dean Ashton

Director of football Dario Gradi said on Monday: "We have a situation where one of our 15-year-old's has been approached. He is an outstanding player by any standards and he has come in and told us that he wants to leave right now to join a big club.

"The big clubs are stealing other people's players and you worry financially for the clubs where the players are stolen from. What sort of compensation are we going to get for all the work that has gone into developing him? Any compensation is insignificant for the effort that gone in.

"I'm delighted with what has happened with Chelsea. I would hope all the big clubs are frightened to death. There is no excuse for breaking the rules.

"We lost a 12-year-old to Everton. He was our best 12-year-old. The lure is that the bigger clubs pay big expenses.

"This kid will be getting several hundred pounds a week in expenses. We pay expenses but nothing like that. It's more a case of giving out £20 if someone can pick a kid up en-route.

"It is so hard to protect your players. All this goes against the morality of the game - it's the rich robbing the poor. At least Fifa have given the smaller clubs hope.''

 

[chicoazul]

Blimey.

Wish I was better at footie when I was younger.

 

[Robert Jarvis]

Have to say Everton are no angels either notwithstanding their complaints about City over Lescott.

A good idea which has been put about recently is forbiding young players from moving away from their founding club until they reach the age of 18.

 

[Blue Wiz]

I think even smaller clubs would suffer if they didn't get to "sign" players from other clubs when they are young. If that came true, and you knew as a lad that:

"If I start to play for this small local club I won't be able to play for any other club until I'm 18. No matter how good I turn out to be and no matter how crappy my teammates will be in the future."

I think many young kids will try to get into one of the big clubs in the vicinity instead. If you could choose to join an academy for Spurs, Everton, Villa, ManU or join your local neighbourhood team... what would you choose? Now you can join a smaller club and if you're good enough join a bigger one to develope further. And what will happen if a family moves? Would the kid be banned from playing for another club then?

I bet my salary for a year that if you look back then Crewe have drafted in kids from smaller clubs near them to their youthsystems as well. No club is without blame in this.

 

[atrottel]

Yes, but to a certain extent this is all a load of bollocks.

Where did Leeds "nick" their players from? Harrogate Juniors? Or Hamburg? "Stole" Mustafi off SV Rolenburg or 1. FV Bebra?

 

[Gwladys St. Glory]

A good idea which has been put about recently is forbiding young players from moving away from their founding club until they reach the age of 18.

Considering how tiered football is and just how many clubs there are it's a wonder that rule wasn't put in place back before most, if not all, of us were born.

Good point/s by Blue Wiz, though...it's a catch-22.

 

[kenada_blue]

Its being blown waaaaaaaay out of proportion because of Chelsea poaching some yoof from France.

The FA want more homegrown talent coming through. What are clubs meant to do, just give trails and sign players locally and not touch or go near youth from other academy's?

 

[NSNO1878]

Well, it's all coming out of the woodwork now...SoccerNet article:


League Two club Crewe Alexandra have added to the debate over Premier League clubs and their pursuit of the best young players in the game by reporting an unnamed Premier League club to the Football Association for an alleged illegal approach.

The Gresty Road outfit have decided to make their complaint official following FIFA's decision to ban Chelsea from signing players until 2011, while Le Havre continue to push for FIFA to take the same action against Manchester United for their signing of Paul Pogba.

Crewe have one of the most productive youth systems in the lower leagues and have nurtured a whole host of Premier League talent, including David Platt, Danny Murphy, Seth Johnson and Dean Ashton

Director of football Dario Gradi said on Monday: "We have a situation where one of our 15-year-old's has been approached. He is an outstanding player by any standards and he has come in and told us that he wants to leave right now to join a big club.

"The big clubs are stealing other people's players and you worry financially for the clubs where the players are stolen from. What sort of compensation are we going to get for all the work that has gone into developing him? Any compensation is insignificant for the effort that gone in.

"I'm delighted with what has happened with Chelsea. I would hope all the big clubs are frightened to death. There is no excuse for breaking the rules.

"We lost a 12-year-old to Everton. He was our best 12-year-old. The lure is that the bigger clubs pay big expenses.

"This kid will be getting several hundred pounds a week in expenses. We pay expenses but nothing like that. It's more a case of giving out £20 if someone can pick a kid up en-route.

"It is so hard to protect your players. All this goes against the morality of the game - it's the rich robbing the poor. At least Fifa have given the smaller clubs hope.''

The unamed Premier League club is ahem ****pool

 

[teppic]

these youngsters in the game should follow my example.

i played park football all my life and never one had my head turned by one of the big clubs.

 

[DENNIS STEVENS]

It's of questionable morality to tie children to long term contracts anyway - until they are adults they should be free to go wherever they want to.

 

[AdamTheGreatOneB]

It's of questionable morality to tie children to long term contracts anyway - until they are adults they should be free to go wherever they want to.

Not really. That's how youth schemes work and also how a lot of small clubs stay in business. If they were not under youth contracts then big clubs could just scoop them up after the smaller club has done all the hard work of developing the player. It's completely right that the small clubs are compensated. There's already too many teams in the lower leagues in danger of going under, doing away with youth contracts would finish a lot of them off.

 

[DENNIS STEVENS]

Not really. That's how youth schemes work and also how a lot of small clubs stay in business. If they were not under youth contracts then big clubs could just scoop them up after the smaller club has done all the hard work of developing the player. It's completely right that the small clubs are compensated. There's already too many teams in the lower leagues in danger of going under, doing away with youth contracts would finish a lot of them off.

Economic "necessity" on the part of the small clubs doesn't make it morally right to tie children to any club. If that means clubs need to look again at how they operate or go under : tough. If any club is dependant upon profiteering off the back of children's talent in order to survive maybe they should just pack it in.

 

[Neiler]

Economic "necessity" on the part of the small clubs doesn't make it morally right to tie children to any club. If that means clubs need to look again at how they operate or go under : tough. If any club is dependant upon profiteering off the back of children's talent in order to survive maybe they should just pack it in.

That said mate, how would we feel if the same thing had happened if Rodwell had been poached by Arsenal or Utd at 14 as they tried to do.

Still although i feel the deal for Garbutt was excessive as these things go i can see Leeds point of view, if turns out to be a senior England quality fullback we will have gotten him for peanuts - the only way to cut out the practice compleately is for the authorites to start deducting points really.

 

[Mutzo Nutzo]

(youth "poaching")

I prefer my youths gently fried and served on toasted rye bread

 

[DENNIS STEVENS]

That said mate, how would we feel if the same thing had happened if Rodwell had been poached by Arsenal or Utd at 14 as they tried to do.

Still although i feel the deal for Garbutt was excessive as these things go i can see Leeds point of view, if turns out to be a senior England quality fullback we will have gotten him for peanuts - the only way to cut out the practice compleately is for the authorites to start deducting points really.

If minors were free to change club should they wish to & Rodwell had made that decision it's just be one of those things. But if the rules governing this aspect of football changed then I suspect the structure might change. Perhaps youngsters shouldn't be tied to clubs but local Football Associations.