Game by Game - 4

Pre-Season Friendly: Hallam (A), 1-2

A trip to Sandygate on a pleasant Summer evening is never a chore. A fiver in, cheap bar, watching the match with a pint and decent snap from Ann's Tea Bar - tonight it was chilli and rice for £3 - attracted myself , Chris Wilder and 548 others to the oldest football ground in the World.

Last season saw a few first team fringe players join the Blades development squad up at Hallam. On Tuesday night the only one involved was Caolan Lavery and it was perhaps surprising that Jake Eastwood didn't get game time with Simon Moore and Dean Henderson now jostling for first team action.

With Regan Slater, Sam Graham, Harvey Gilmour and Calum Semple all out on loan, perhaps the most familiar (least unknown) player to those who aren't regular academy watchers (myself included) was young Welshman Rhys Norrington Davies who has enjoyed a brief cameo at the Keepmoat the previous Friday. Him aside it was a young development side with many stepping up from the u18s squad of last season. After participating in a four team tournament at Whitby ending at the weekend, United named just three subs, it really felt like bare bones.

With half of the cricket outfield encroaching on to the football pitch, the Sandygate grass had a two tone look. The long hot summer, combined with the infamous Sandygate slope meant that any heavy touch was punished on a hard, bobbly pitch. And in the early stages there were plenty of them from both sides.

From the first few minutes Norrington-Davies stood out above the rest. Most of United's best play came down the left and they were comfortably on top. Forward David Parkhouse looks a big lad and there was a decent touch amongst the hustle and bustle of his link play. His movement and aerial threat created space that strike partner Lavery never fully exploited. Parkhouse hit a nice curling shot  which hit the bar with the keeper Snaith watching on. Then after neat build up his back heel allowed Lavery to hit a curling shot past the keeper.

Norrington-Davies was influential and popping up on the right, you could hear the Hallam captain shouting "He's all left foot, he's all left foot". Sadly he didn't follow up on our wishes to put over a pearler of a right foot cross. However, it was noteworthy that the mouth was directed at their biggest tormentor. The Blades pressure paid off when Hallam saw his shot parried and Oure tapped in from close range. United were comfortable and Hallam looked ragged, making two early substitutions around half a hour in.

Whilst I was in a lengthy bar queue there was a substantial delay just before half time when Hallam's captain Reed went down injured. By all accounts there was no challenge but a ruptured achilles saw him eventually leave the pitch on crutches with United medical staff on hand.

Second half and kicking downhill United lost their way a bit and credit should go to Hallam who were now the better side, despite the upsetting loss of their captain. It'sinteresting how whenever I have been to Hallam, teams seem to benefit kicking up the slope. United's subs made little impact and Silva (a trialist) struggled to get into the game to the extent my friend Al asked if George Weah was his uncle.   Aside from a disappointing Lavery effort fired straight at sub keeper Darwent, it was mainly Hallam pressure.

Their goal came from a corner. A back post header was parried well by Dewhurst but the loose ball was shinned home centre back Griffiths. And it was Dewhurst's goal that was under most threat until the final whistle saw the crowd drift off into the side streets of S10.

Three final thoughts:

On a night like this you would expect Lavery to stand out, but unfortunately he didn't. Harsh to be singled out as the only senior player involved, but it says much about his future at United that he was. Anyone watching wouldn't have been impressed and an observation was made that he might be a player that drops right down the leagues. When he joined you thought there is something there; pace, aggression and a nuisance for defenders. What he lacked was goals and the loan at Rotherham did little to enhance his prospects. It will be interesting to see where he ends up.

There were 4 United players who stood out for me. Jordan Hallam looked composed and comfortable on the ball with a decent range of passing, as did Reece York who captained the side. Parkhouse showed promise but I read that he needs to contribute more goals and I can understand that based on what I saw, although he was unlucky when he hit the woodwork. Finally, Norrington-Davies was the stand out. He looked physically stronger than his team mates, had an excellent first touch on a challenging pitch, if anything his final ball could have been better, but he was always offering himself and getting into good attacking positions.

Finally, in the city of football we need to make sure our local teams are supported. Hallam, Sheffield FC, Handsworth Parramore (stuck out at Worksop) and Stocksbridge all offer affordable football, with a warm welcome. A great alternative when time and money mean a Championship away day isn't feasible. Hallam made the Northern Counties East Division  play offs two years ago and just missed out last year as the fixture backlog hit following the harsh winter. It will be harder to gain promotion from Step 6 this season, with no play offs following a pyramid reorganisation, so any extra support will only help. As it will at Handsworth (a league higher) and at Club and Stocksbridge (a further step up).

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.