EPPP - If it ain't broke don't break it!

 

 

Back in July 2012, the Premier League launched EPPP (Elite Player Performance Plan) a structured plan to supposedly raise standards in youth development. The six fundamental principles that were highlighted as key to the success of the EPPP were:

 

- Increase the number and quality of home grown players gaining professional contracts in the clubs and playing first team football at the highest level

 

- Create more time for players to play and be coached

 

- Improve coaching provision

 

- Implement a system of effective measurement and quality assurance

 

- Positively influence strategic investment into the Academy System demonstrating value for money

 

- Seek to implement significant gains in every aspect of player development

 

The previous system for determining compensation for players was reviewed with the Football League, along with the restrictions on player recruitment. This now gives clubs with higher graded academies free reign on other clubs' young talent and compensation schemes with much reduced, fixed fees replaced tribunals; meaning that those clubs losing players were likely to be much worse off.

 

In order to force through the proposals the Premier league forcibly coerced the football league clubs down a route many didn't want to pursue, under the threat of withdrawal of some of their TV money. Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parrish described it as:

 

"A brazen attempt by the Premier League's wealthy elite to cherry pick the best youngsters from the Football League clubs."

 

Yet Premier League clubs are now starting to see EPPP as having a potentially detrimental impact on their clubs as well. Jeremy Peace chairman of West Bromwich Albion said recently;

 

“The way it is for us in the short term isn’t working. And I’m not convinced it’ll work medium term. The way it’s structured these lads are going to go to the big clubs - that’s the seduction. Why are we spending £2.5 million (on infrastructure improvements and a similar amount each year in running costs) to be another club’s academy?" 

 

"We’ve invested in the infrastructure and we’ll see what happens over the next year. But from what we’re seeing so far it’s very disappointing".

 

“We’ve brought in a whole load of staff, all these facilities and then a club can come along with £200k and say ‘here you go, thank you very much".

 

Free movement amongst Category 1 clubs with a derisory compensation scheme, progressively getting worse the lower down the grading scale. Where is the benefit, for anyone outside the powerful ten or so teams, free of the threat of relegation, the powerhouses of the Premier League?

 

Some clubs have given up on their academies all together - Wycombe and Yeovil Town being two of the higher profile examples. Others have weighed up a decision with a significant number of pros and cons. A decision regarding which category to apply for was not a simple task.

 

Part of the process was to re-categorise Academies from one to four; one being the highest standard. Now, one year on, clubs have found out the results of the independent audit programme which saw Double Pass, a Belgian company, assess all academies against 10 Key Performance Indicators that assessed how each club scored against the criteria for their chosen grade. Pleasingly United's Academy has officially been categorised by the Professional Game Board (PGB) as a Category Two Academy under the new youth development system. A positive news story on the face of it.

 

Despite the success of the Blades' academy down the years the club admitted that it "had some work to do" to improve and meet the necessary criteria of a Category Two Academy. This involved investing heavily in coaching staff across all age groups.

 

The benefits of this investment are clear; guaranteeing a prestigious fixtures programme against the best teams in the area, added financial protection against losing players to predatory clubs and a seal of approval from an independent organisation that says the club delivers a high quality programme. That could be the key to attracting the right players in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

 

But this is where the EPPP plan actually contradicts what it is trying to achieve. Our academy has not been ranked outside the top 20 in the last 12 years; a stand out achievement for a club that has only had one season in the Premier League in that time.  Academy manager Nick Cox also pointed out:

 

"The auditors gave us special praise for our player productivity over the years. The Premier League's scoring system sees us ranked as the eighth best producer of talent in the last three years."

 

Consistently in the Top 20 academies, eighth best producer of talent, it is hardly broke, so why fix it? Or in this case, break it. With the success that United has had, investing heavily in youth development, producing two full England internationals and numerous age group internationals in that time, it seems a ridiculous scenario that they have chosen not to apply for Category 1 status. Whilst I don't disagree with the need to improve, surely that should be as much about raising standards of the many academies not the few.

 

Cox said that:

 

"Category One does not fit with the strategy of the club. Chasing Category One status would have been to massage our own ego rather than a common sense decision……Many of the benefits of a higher category do not fit with what we are trying to achieve, for example it would have allowed us to scout nationally from the age of 12 when what we really want is for our Academy to be developers of the best local players as a priority."

 

It is easy to read between the lines and see a financial cost as one of the major factors. A £2.3m annual budget is a considerable amount for a club outside of the Premier League without a benefactor, TV money/parachute payments and on annual turnover of less than £10m.

 

Category 1 status is about throwing money and resources at a perceived problem and we are all aware of examples where that has not worked well in football. Category 1 is not about player development or playing first team football at the highest level, it is certainly not about value for money. It is about creating a barrier to entry, for those clubs outside of the elite. Regardless of the initiative, investment and credibility previously demonstrated in player development, no cash and you are not in.

 

Club representatives have spoken of the need to recruit, develop and nurture the best young talent in the region, with the ultimate aim of continuing to graduate our youngsters into our first-team squad at Bramall Lane in the years ahead. In reality we all know that will subsequently mean player sales, to allow further investment in young talent. That is, unless a Premier league return can be achieved.

 

Our reputation for player development will hold the club in good stead and the salutary tale of Jordan Slew, whose career has stalled after leaving United after making just 11 first team appearances, may encourage a longer term commitment from academy graduates. Staying at Bramall Lane has had clear longer term benefits for Matt Lowton.

 

When, not if, player such as George Long and Harry Maguire move on they will have tremendous playing experience under their belts, that may not have been gained with premature moves to a higher level. Behind them their fellow graduates, such as Elliott Whitehouse and Callum McFadzean, will be forging similar careers and the next generation will be establishing themselves - see (England U17 goalkeeper) George Willis and (Italy Under 18 striker - from Chesterfield) Diego De Girolamo amongst others.

 

Another key factor could be the capture of the aforementioned Cox, who oversaw the graduation to first team football of 52 players in 12 years at Watford. He clearly has a keen eye. His arrival at Bramall Lane was greeted with congratulatory tweets from Watford fans I know, saying what a great capture he will be. Let's hope so.

 

United might survive the EPPP era better than most. Credit for that must go to Kevin McCabe who invested heavily in tremendous facilities at Shirecliffe at a time when few other clubs were following suit. This has given United a significant base to launch the careers of several promising starlets over the last few years. Encouraging the next batch to see Bramall Lane as a place to develop and grow as a player will be the key. Promotion to the Championship will also help.

 

But let's not pretend EPPP that this is helping arrest the slide of age group national teams in international competition so clearly demonstrated this summer. Let's not pretend that this is to benefit the national team - since when do the Premier League clubs care about that? This is about clubs stockpiling players that will no doubt end up back at their original clubs on loan, or on the scrapheap at 19 and 20; when chances are so few and far between and their development is stunted through a lack of first team football.

 

In some ways that may work in United's favour and also that of other Championship and League One clubs. If that happens, the best will still move to Premier League clubs and hopefully move on to international recognition. The wiser members of the remaining group will maybe resist the lure of sitting in the stands and develop their careers in surroundings and with coaches who have developed so many talented players to date.

EPPP - No Profit for Young Men

So on Friday another young and talented Blade left the club and was thus the cue for much gnashing of teeth, shaking of heads and barely hidden frustration at how it has happened again.

 
Ask any Blades fan and they will tell you that Matt Lowton is the latest example of the club selling off its prized asses, going way back to the late 60's and Mick Jones leaving for Leeds. A text from my Dad on Friday night only just fell short of listing them all but included the line;

"We are just an academy supply line for other clubs, it pisses me off!" 

Yet the modern day reality is that this situation will only get worse and the rewards from doing it will only diminish.

 

Again, whenever these sales occur, phrases like "lack of ambition" are bandied around and the board and Chairman are targeted for some stick. There is a belief that we are the only club operating in this way, yet if clubs such as Arsenal cannot hold on to their best players, what chance a League One club? Because, regardless of size, crowds, history, that is what we are. Yes, Tottenham held on to Luka Modric when everything pointed to him leaving for Chelsea or elsewhere, but a strong financial position and the possibility of success and trophies helps.  

 

And when a Premier League team come a knocking you either accept a price or keep an unhappy player. We all know the one at work, who is desperate to leave but for whatever reason can't. Whinging, whining, dragging everyone else down. Should we expect it to be any different at a football club? Especially when the aforememtioned employee was a key to the club's recent relative success and reportedly expressed a desire to play at a higher level.

Whilst there are clear financial benefits to the club from selling Lowton, the move doesn't massively help with the most pressing financial issue (assuming we are not facing cash flow issues) and that is the wage cap we are struggling to meet. I cannot believe that Lowton, who only broke into the team 18 months ago, is a high earner and so his saving is going to be small beer given the savings required. It is not as if the income from the sale hits top line turnover. Instead it is recognised as a profit on player registrations below operating profit, or in our case operating loss. £12.9m of loss in the 12 months to 2011 in case you were wondering. 

So what it does give is help in managing the books. Too few clubs operate in a sustainable manner and despite pledges from Kevin McCabe that this is his aim for United, I think he is finding it a much longer road than he anticipated. Trevor Birch, a man brought in on the equivalent of a high League One player's salary to manage this transition, lasted 18 months and departed with a £0.5m pay off for achieving very little. Certainly another season of third tier football will not accelerate that transition

Other sales are bound to follow. There is a need to reduce the wage bill and senior players may be offered for low fees to try and negate the deterrent that their wages generate. That will help with the salary cap. The younger players offer little savings in wages but generate pure profit and help plug the gap between costs and income. But how much longer can clubs guarantee that the gap will be plugged in this way?

Will the introduction of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) mean that the next generation of players such as Kyle Naughton, Kyle Walker, Jordan Slew and Lowton are gone before they make their first team debuts? Before they can make their names? Before they can generate anything between £10-£15m of transfer fees? The imposition of EPPP on the Football League, was an act of sporting coercion and blackmail that only the current machinations of the SFA and SPL can possibly emulate or outdo.

 

The blackmail arising from the Premier League threat to withold the £5m that it is due to pay the clubs of the Football League to help cover the cost of funding youth development until it voted in favour of the decision. This now remains in place for four years, but the ultimate pricepaid in return is much more.

The geographical limitations which prevented clubs from signing players from a radius greater than ninety minutes’ journey from their own ground are removed; creating a “free” market in which clubs take players on from anywhere. Alongside this the amount of money that they will have to pay in compensation has been drastically cut and is now determined by a fixed tariff card.

 

Compensation  levels are set dependent on how long the player has been at the selling club. For example, the fee is fixed at £3,000-per-year for a player's development from nine to 11-years-old. The fee from 12 to 16 is dependent on a club's academy status and range from £12,500 to £40,000.

Academies apply for a status based on criteria including financial investment in the academy. The status levels are from 1 to 4, with 1 being the highest. The academies are then audited by an independent body who will set the status for each club. The financial impact both in terms of running costs and funding is not insubstantial, the funding gap is £300,000 between Category One and  Category Two status and £270,000 between  Category Two and Category Three.

 

You would assume given the infrastructure and success of the academy at Shirecliffe that United have a high ranking status. Yet the reality is that it will probably be just Premier League clubs and a handful of Championship clubs that will go for Level 1. I assume United will be one of few teams outside of the Championship to apply for Level 2 status. It would be interesting to know what United applied for, as far as I can see it is something the club has never made public. Neither has the club made public how they voted on accepting EPPP, but with such a well developed, well-run and successful academy I can only hope that we took a principled stand, however futile. 

So what does this all mean for a club like United? Well, it is more than likely that clubs will scout younger players much more aggressively than previously. The fees for acquiring players in their mid-teens will be rarely above £100,000 and thus represent a minor gamble for clubs. The fear has to be that this leads to stockpiling - why not recruit 10 or 15 and see who make the grade and it will cost less up front than a Tom Taiwo or a John Bostock have cost Chelsea and Spurs in the past.

The Premier League argues the add-on amounts the selling club will receive if the player is a success at his new club will ensure it is a fair system. That is a fair point, for every Kyle Walker at United there has been a Lee Morris (£4m to Derby County) or a Wayne Quinn. Granted these moved later in their careers when established in the first team, however they highlight the gamble in investing heavily in young talent.

The danger is, with a focus on the elite,  how many players will actually trigger the add-on payments? A player is picked up for peanuts, doesn't make the breakthrough and left for the smaller clubs to pick back up, probably having not developed as well as they might have in the care of their original club. So yes they may find their way back to United and other non-Premier League clubs, but are "damaged goods" rather than how they might have develop

 

With the pick of the next generation of Blades stars likely to be plucked from Shirecliffe, long before they reach the Bramall Lane turf, and with little financial benefit to the club, it will be interesting to see how United manage the academy and their player relationships going forward. It will be as much about focusing on pastoral care for the player and closer communication and relationships with families and agents as purefootball development. Assuring them that the player's best interests are served staying with United.

The belief that "United always sell their best young players" is  something that will probably never go away as I can only see it becoming a more frequent occurrence but with much smaller rewards from doing it. For now, when the opportunity arises, with the club in the financial position it is in and in the league it is in, I can only see them selling. The sale may be unpalatable, the valuation on the player may be unpalatable, but it will be one of the few opportunities a smaller club has to realise profit on a player sale. This profit is a financial boost that makes a significant difference to both a club's solvency and profitability, soon that income stream will become a trickle.
 

It would be fascinating to hear the club's view on this, although little has been said since the announcement, apart from Academy boss John Pemberton expressing his disappointment about the position the club finds itself in regarding EPPP on a local radio phone-in. So here is an open invite to those in senior positions at Bramall Lane. Tell us how the club anticipate dealing with the imposition of the EPPP, what it means for our academy and the impact it will have on the club's finances going forward. I will be happy to post the results of any interview on here.

Interview with Brian Deane - Part 3 (Broadening Experiences)

As we left Part 2 (which you can read here) Brian was facing a difficult time at Leeds. In the end he was at Leeds for one more season before a return to the Blades.

The Summer of 1997, was it a surprise to find yourself back at Bramall Lane?

Yes and No. I came to the end of my contract at Leeds. I bought into what I was being told by the Chief Executive at the time (Charles Green) as to what they wanted to achieve at Sheffield United. I was really up for it. They even offered me a two year contract and I said, “Look, I’ll sign a one year contract and we will review it”.

I had been in the Premier League with Leeds on Premier League wages, although nothing like what they are today. It was a contract where I thought that if we aren’t promoted it is going to be hard for the club to be able to afford it in this division. At the time I was thinking that I really want to be here and if you’re telling me that we are going to build a team that is capable of going up and then competing in the Premier League, then I’m in for that. I’d seen Paul Merson go up to Middlesbrough, he was still at the peak of his powers, so they obviously had a plan and I wanted to do the same at United.

Sheffield United is that big a club, I think that Sheffield United deserves to be up there amongst the top of the top, as one of the best twenty clubs in the country in the right circumstances. I saw an opportunity for me to be right in the middle of that. 

I think the fans were led to believe it was going down that route at the time as well. Did the adulation received on your return make up for the abuse you got from an idiotic minority when you returned with Leeds?

I never really took any of that stick seriously. If you leave a club maybe the ones that are most disappointed are the ones that didn’t want you to leave in the first place. I have to take that on board, I enjoyed coming back and scoring – I know that! It was only because I think I had that kind of relationship with the fans. If I had come back and not performed then they would have been fully justified in thinking he can’t do it anymore. I thought whenever I am coming back I want them to know that I am still the same person they used to cheer and support.

It was a turbulent time in the club's history, things going incredibly well on the pitch then, out of the blue, you and Jan Aage Fjortoft left on the same day? How did the Benfica move come about?

It came about quite suddenly. I had always wanted to play abroad and in my previous spell at United, whilst Harry was the manager, I had been told of overseas interest. One day Harry had called me into his office and told me of interest from Marseilles. At that time it was quite a big thing. Chris Waddle had been there and a few English players had been abroad and I thought if I could define my career with a successful spell abroad it would help set me aside from many other players. I was keen to do that and I backed myself that if I could get to the right club I could do well. I had spoken to Feyenoord in the summer when I had left Leeds and also at some stage I had spoken to Fenerbahce, but at the time I chose to return to Sheffield.

There is a lot about leaving United that I still cannot get to the bottom of. There are some things that I am still in the dark about. When I heard that I had wanted to leave, I wondered where that came from. I never said that.

Well if you are in the dark, the fans have got no chance.

When Benfica showed an interest I honestly didn’t appreciate how big a club they were. I obviously knew about the European Cup final against Manchester United, but it was only when I went over there I really appreciated it.

70,000 fans at home games and huge travelling support to the extent that they outnumbered the home fans at some grounds. I’d tested myself against some of the best defenders in the country back in England; Bould, Adams, Keown, Pallister, now it was time for a new and exciting experience.

What would you take away from your time in Portugal and would you recommend it to any ambitious footballer?

There were positives and negatives. Lots of things went on at the club which were a mystery; at times we didn’t get paid, the president at the time - by all accounts - is in trouble with the Portuguese authorities at the moment.  At times it all felt a bit unsavoury.

I’d still recommend going abroad though. I think that is why we don’t so well in international football, because we haven’t got any players who want to go abroad and sample something different.

I think probably your most prolific spell after that was at Leicester was that due to being back with Harry and the fact that he knew how to play to your strengths?

Possibly, but it was more to do with the whole atmosphere around the club. It was a great place to be. The changing room was perhaps the best I’ve been in, in terms of that togetherness. Sheffield United was a different stage in my life but very similar. At United we were the underdogs and that unified us, but at Leicester we had the problems with going into administration and we had to pull together. We became very tight as a unit, in the same ways as we did at Sheffield United. There were some characters in there, we had a right laugh; Frank Sinclair, Ian Walker, Andrew Impey, Gerry Taggart. All are good, down to earth lads; funny lads.

A final spell at United followed a brief time at Perth in the A League. Obviously you had been hit with injuries, did you see this as a swansong at the time or were you hopeful of prolonging your career further?

I knew I was coming to the end of my career, I’d had a few injuries and I had already kind of retired when I came back. I was visiting Bramall Lane as a guest on the pitch and Kevin McCabe had seen me. He got in touch with Mick Rooker and asked him to find out if I was interested in coming back to play. Of course I wanted to, but it wasn’t up to me to decide that. I met with Neil Warnock, we had a chat and he explained that he thought I’d be good to have around the changing rooms and help us get over the line. I jumped at the chance.

I met some good pros and good people – Rob Kozluk’s a very funny bloke and Nick Montgomery is a very emotional character. Everything means a lot to him. There are very few people I have seen as upset as Nick is at losing. He really does wear his heart on his sleeve.

A nice way to finish though, with Blades fans singing your name for a third time?

It was. By then I was 38 and when I came back from Australia Mick Rooker said to me “you can’t go out like that, Brian.” It didn‘t work out for me in Australia because the players were not of a standard that I needed. I didn’t have a support network and the players were not good enough to get the best out of me at that stage of my career. They needed a Brian Deane aged 30. I needed more intelligent players who would be doing the running. I remember playing for Leicester versus Coventry and Gary McAllister played himself in a 5 man midfield and they were all like little satellites buzzing around him. In Australia I needed the ball put into the box where I could try and use my nous. We didn’t play that way.

I took a bit of stick out there and I could have responded, but I took it for what it is and came back. I played in a reserve game for United v Stoke and got a hat trick which showed what I could do. Realistically, out there, I was in a no win situation and the best thing for me to do was leave.

I am grateful to United for allowing me to bow out on the back of the club getting promotion to the Premier League. Just being part of it, even if it was on the outside, it was nice to be there. I was trying so hard. I had come off the bench against Brighton and nearly scored, then in the final game against Palace I came on and Danny Webber could have played me in, but didn’t. I was like, “Aaahh!” That’s life; it wasn’t meant to be. It would have been nice to have signed off with a goal, but it didn’t happen.

Why did you set up the International Academy for Football & Education? Was it based on your experiences a youngster, where you kept up your studies whilst at Doncaster?

Yes but there have been a few things. My own experience of trying to get into an academy left me feeling undermined. I had gone down and asked the director if I could do coaching whilst working towards my UEFA B licence. I was encouraged to do my bit with the lads and then one of the coaches said we were doing different things and I was frustrated, I knew that I had permission to do what I was doing. There was no point arguing about it, I realised that I would have to find another way to do it.

I got involved with Leeds University. Three years ago we had best team in country we won the BUCS Premier trophy. One of the players, David Syers, finished his degree, went down to Bradford City, scored ten goals and won Players’ Player of the Year in his first season. I do believe that there are boys out there who are still developing between the ages of 18-21 and who can go back into the pro game. The clubs don’t have the time and money to keep coaching them so it is an idea to get a qualification behind them whilst pursuing their dreams of playing football. If they make it, they have a career and a qualification. If they don’t make it they have a qualification they can use. It is not easy, but it is very rewarding. Especially if you have got both sides of it like Dave Syers has.

It is not like being at a club, I’d love to be at a club but that has not happened to me yet. I’m doing my apprenticeship as such and I am enjoying doing what I am doing. Setting up games against other universities or football clubs, I get an insight into being a manager and a coach. I can be a little bit fiery – I have standards. Sometimes kids don’t understand what it takes to make it all the way and that is my frustration. I try and be a mentor/guardian and give them the best advice and they can’t always see it. Having said all that, I absolutely love it!

On that positive note our conversation ends. At a time with EPPP and academies very much in focus it is great to hear how Brian is ensuring that late developers released by clubs get a second chance, or at the very least have a great chance of forging a different career with qualifications behind them.

Once again I would like to thank Brian for taking time out of his extremely busy schedule to speak with me. Again, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

The Future is Red & White

And the kids are United

Last night, Bramall Lane hosted its biggest crowd of the season as close to 30,000 attended the FA Youth Cup Final first leg between Sheffield United and Manchester United. The home side's superb ticketing policy allowing a full ground to watch some of the best under 18 year old footballers in the country. To understand how important youth development is for the Blades and what an achievement reaching the final is, this article I wrote for When Saturday Comes prior to the match will tell you more. So what did we see....

A noisy crowd welcomed both sides on to the pitch, but the home crowd were quickly silenced as the young Red Devils opened with a pace an intensity which the Blades struggled to match. The time and space afforded to the Blades by semi final opponents Aston Villa, which allowed them to play their passing game, maintaining possession for long spells, was not on offer from the visitors. Harried and hassled by opponents who looked physically bigger and stronger led to possession being lost and misplaced passes. However, unlike when the Blades first team misplace a pass, there were no catcalls or groans of discontent, just encouragement and patience. Despite being on the back foot, the best chance in the opening stages fell to the Blades, with Corey Gregory heading over whilst well placed.

At the other end of the pitch the movement of the Red Devils' front players started to pull the Blades defence around.  They then made their possession count when Lingard gave them a fortuitous lead, his shot looping off keeper George Long with Maguire unable to stop it on the line. Some thought that it hadn't crossed the line and it took referee Oliver several seconds before he gave the goal. The issue muddied further by Maguire's flailing hands being raised as he cleared. From my viewpoint behind the goal there was a fear that he had patted it away with his hands, although replays suggest a lack of contact and that the ball didn't cross the line. Certainly to the naked eye it was hard to tell how he cleared it, in the end it came off his head on to the crossbar and out.

The visitors built momentum on the back of taking the lead and George Long in the Blades goal continued to show the impressive form that saw him make his first team debut at the end of the season. Impressive one on one stops from Morrison amongst others and he continued in the same manner during the second half.

The Blades eventually started to settle and late in the half a break from the back by captain Elliot Whitehouse saw him eventually lay the ball off in the centre circle to Callum McFadzean. The young left winger who took the ball on into the space ahead of him, before unleashing a bullet of a shot straight into the bottom left hand corner. A fabulous strike from the youngest Blades player on the pitch and an example of the ability which has seen him playing above his age group for much of his academy career.

The Blades opened the second half much sharper, improving the possession stats with better ball retention and creating more chances than the visitors with better link up play and Slew ever willing to turn and run at the Manchester defence. The visitors were by no means out of it though and, after a spell of Blades dominance including having a shot cleared off the line, a very open game ensued with both sides finding plenty of space, particularly in wide areas. However, slightly against the run of play, the visitors again took the lead. The Blades getting caught out down their left, after an earlier warning went unheeded. The cross could only be deflected by Long into the path of Will Keane who tapped in with ease.

Within minutes the Blades were back level with the ever willing Slew willing to take on the shot and a deflection looping it past Johnstone. Further opportunities fell to both sides, with an majority falling to the visitors and Long again came to the fore with several vital blocks.

A 2-2 draw sets up beautifully an intriguing second leg at Old Trafford next Monday and an appreciative crowd applauded off both sides for what had been an evening of good football, open play and a demonstration of plenty of promise for the future for both sides.

For the home side, George Long pulled off some great saves, a couple with his feet and shows confidence in his actions. Commanding his box well, he looks like a keeper with instinctive actions and could have a key role for the first team in coming years.  He played a large part in ensuring that the tie is level going to Old Trafford and will be just as vital next Monday.

Up front, Slew and Ironside worked tirelessly. Ironside perhaps not as effective as in the semi final, but Slew's running in particular pulled defenders out wide creating space for others. His raw pace and willingness to turn and run at defenders is a commodity that has been rare in the Blades first team for some time. He was also willing to take on a shot, often out of nothing and that paid off for the goal. With little room to play with he squeezed out a shot off the defender and in.

At the back, Maguire and Kennedy faced a difficult challenge against the highly rated Will Keane and the deeper lying Ravel Morrison. They stuck to their task well, although you feared for them every time Morrison picked the ball up and ran at them. Maguire certainly has benefited from his first team experience and any player that puts Craig Bellamy on his backside so early in his career lacks little confidence. Kennedy looks a more accomplished footballer, yet without a significant late growth spurt you have to assume he would look to  a different position in senior football.  Both sides found space out wide and it's fair to say full backs and wingers on both teams impressed more going forward than for their defensive capabilities.

The midfield battle was intriguing. Both Tunnicliffe and Pogba impressed for the visitors. The Frenchman showing some brilliant touches, but also a fragile temperament. His run and lofted pass to the wing that led to a first time cross and a tap in for Keane was sublime. Judged to perfection dropping on to Lingard's boot for a volleyed cross. Other times Pogba's more casual approach led to passes not finding team-mates and a frustrated flailing of arms, seemingly because they were not on his wavelength. There was enough skills on show to see he is something special but will need careful monitoring.

Tunnicliffe was less noticeable in many ways, but for positive reasons and played the game with an ease and comfort on the ball which suggests both could step up to the first team over the next 18 months. Long denied him the chance to be a match winner in the last couple of minutes and my only criticism would be that he seemed to delay his shot too long allowing the keeper to close down the shot.

Pogba and Tunnicliffe were up against a more diminutive midfield pairing of Harriott and Whitehouse for the Blades, their physical size making them look like under 12's in comparison. Unsurprisingly they lost the physical battle against the Reds' pairing for much of the game, but they more than held their own in footballing terms. More  often than not they were the driving force, bringing the ball out of defence and putting the Blades on to the front foot, particularly in the opening stages of the second half. Late in the first half, it was a dogged run out of defence by Whitehouse, shrugging off several challenges and a tussle with Pogba, that led to the ball being laid off to McFadzean who advanced up field to strike the Blades' second goal.  

The central attacking pairing for Manchester United impressed greatly. After Will Keane's hat-trick against Chelsea in the semi final against Chelsea he was kept relatively quiet last night, his goal being a simple finish into an open goal. What impressed more was his work rate and movement off the ball. Easy to dismiss as a lanky target man, his movement and turn of pace is very good and, largely on his own, he led the line well.

The main attacking threat came from Ravel Morrison who showed glimpses of why, providing his personal life remains on the straight and narrow, he has the potential to go the very top in the English game. He had very much a roving role, in the mould of Wayne Rooney, coming deep to collect the ball and link play before bursting forward towards the Blades defence. His turn of pace was blistering and it took a good save by Long first half when Morrison eased free of the Blades defence. As the match wore on he clearly tired and came deeper and deeper for the ball, once or twice popping up in front of his back four, but always trying to make himself available to accept the ball and keep play moving.

You can see why both Keane and Morrison are highly rated and how the young Red Devils scored three against Liverpool and six over the two games against Chelsea. It could be another difficult night for the Blades defence at Old Trafford, but I am sure they will have learnt a lot last night.

Leaving the ground, the match left a warm glow as the sun went down and the temperature dropped. Football being played the right way, with short sharp passing to feet. Players of promise, some of whom you could potentially see in big tournaments in 4 years time. Sportsmanship, with a lack of histrionics and very few bad tackles. A Manchester United player took a nasty tumble after a nudge over the advertisement hoardings, but just got up, brushed himself down and ran back on the pitch to get on with the game. No petty repercussions or revenge. An appreciative crowd that warmed up as the night progressed to create a friendly and encouraging atmosphere. And Blades Academy Manager John Pemberton, resplendent in woolly hat, rocking backwards and forward on the edge of his technical area  like a modern day Randle McMurphy.

I look forward to more of the same at Old Trafford next Monday.