Category One status

[M Brook]

Interesting alternative PoVs -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... -game.html

http://www.wsc.co.uk/wsc-daily/1158-feb ... -academies

[72 bus]

Interesting alternative PoVs -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... -game.html

http://www.wsc.co.uk/wsc-daily/1158-feb ... -academies

Interesting point of view from a Palace chairman still smarting from missing out on Cat1.

[sandman]

WHERE IS SANDMAN NOW. WE HAVE CAT 1.

ANTON HAS DONE WELL

Right here little girl. Still won't stop bigger clubs from taking the best players we produce.

[winchester_royal]

EPPP is shit for those who don't get Cat 1, hence the importance of achieving it.

[winchester_royal]

WHERE IS SANDMAN NOW. WE HAVE CAT 1.

ANTON HAS DONE WELL

Right here little girl. Still won't stop bigger clubs from taking them.

In most of the cases actually it will.

[sandman]

Lets take another new "Ground breaking initiative" in FFP which is set to be introduced. Why do you think United and the like pushed through FFP and made it so it is based on income? Clubs like that aren't stupid they know what works for them and doesn't work for smaller clubs like Reading and West Brom. The sad fact is if these sort of rules don't benefit the bigger clubs then they don't go through.

You can call that moaning all you want but unfortunately it's just reality.

[winchester_royal]

Lets take another new "Ground breaking initiative" in FFP which is set to be introduced. Why do you think United and the like pushed through FFP and made it so it is based on income? Clubs like that aren't stupid they know what works for them and doesn't work for smaller clubs like Reading and West Brom. The sad fact is if these sort of rules don't benefit the bigger clubs then they don't go through.

You can call that moaning all you want but unfortunately it's just reality.

Yes, and given we're now one of the 'bigger clubs' EPPP will benefit us. The whole idea is to get the best young players matched up to the best academies, which we are now classed as one of. EPPP is also set up to offer a decent defense mechanism to Cat 1 clubs in terms of keeping their best players as an incentive to invest in youth.

You really will be negative about anything the club does these days eh

[USA_Loyal_Royal]

does this mean that we will be able to get better prospects and turn out more players like gylfi?

[sandman]

And who is he playing for? Because it ain't Reading.

It takes a lot of money to get this status, Category 1 clubs can still take players from each other which means that the bigger clubs can still take them from us at a young age before they get near the first team, and the set compensation we're given us doesn't tally with what we have to spend to get and maintain the status.

Still, it's a great soundbite from the clubs about their "achievement" and it's lapped up by people like winchy_baby and Roy90 but certain clubs might find the grass isn't always greener. In fact some of them have already started to sober up to the thought.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/ ... er-2033504

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/f ... er-4802779

[winchester_royal]

Yawn, you really think the likes of Hammond and Dolan would sanction this level of investment just for a 'soundbite'?

And of course the WBA chairman is blasting it, they don't have Cat 1 status.

[Deadlock]

Does anyone know how many other/which other clubs have a Cat 1 status?

Not sure, probably 90% of the PL and a couple champ. I don't think Newcastle got cat 1 although I might be wrong.

...and Wolves (snigger).

It's actually quite difficult to find a comprehensive list of clubs with Cat 1 status (I haven't despite googling for a few minutes). The best I can come up with is the list of Professional Development League 1 clubs from wikipedia. It definitely contains all the Cat 1 clubs, but also some selected Cat 2 clubs (Newcastle, Reading and WBA were in it last season, for example).

[URZZZZZ]

According to Sky we are 1 of 6 outside the prem who have cat1 status.

[Barry the bird boggler]

To quote nicky Hammond there are currently less than 20 cat 1 status clubs and because of the level of investment needed to maintain and operate such an academy I wouldn't have thought there'd be too many more coming along.

At the end of the day two things are important in this idea

1 that the kids themselves are looked after in a caring and respectful manner and that their general schooling does not fall by the wayside. Also that they are looked after both physically and mentally and educated that 95% of them won't be likely to make it in the professional game and certainly not with the wrong attitude

2 that when a player is taken on board by a higher level academy, fair and proper remuneration is given. At the moment I think these levels being set are ridiculously low, compensation should be calculated based on the amount of time player x has been with a club and therefore the overall cost that that club has invested in them plus an element given for potential

At the end of the day not every club can operate an Academy and those in each category should be more or less identical so there is nothing to gain by switching from a Reading to a Liverpool. At a so called "big club" academy there may be more kudos but there is likely to be much less chance of getting into the 1st team.

From Reading's point of view it's now about ensuring we get and maintain the very best teachers and coaches and other support staff needed for the thing to operate. Build your reputation that way and kids won't want to leave and will be looking to join as soon as they can kick a ball.

[Yellowcoat]

Some of those critical articles, cited by the usual moaners, are several months or even a year old. I appreciate one or two clubs are currently peeved that some young players are taking the chance to move elsewhere but this always happens anyway. Given the whole programme has only run for a year so far it probably is a bit too soon to be judging the benefits or otherwise of the new system. The whingers were complaining that we had not got category one status and now that we have they are still unhappy!

[sandman]

Yeah 2nd of July was like 10 days ago that's ancient history.

If you ran one of the super rich clubs with all their powers and influence would you allow something to be voted for that harmed your club? This isn't an FA policy this is a Premier League policy and who are most valuable to the Premier League? Is it the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and City or West Brom, Norwich and Reading?

It's a nice little achievement to have and well done for getting it but it isn't revolutionary as they'd have you believe and caution is definitely warranted.

[winchester_royal]

Ermm, this isn't just a PL program, it was voted on by the whole of the football league and had around 45 supporting votes. Not just the 'big clubs'.

At the end of the day there will always be tales of younger talent getting nicked by the biggest clubs, but a minimum fee of 200k for those younger than 16 is a big deterrent for that kind activity between Cat 1 clubs. Also, these young guys aren't just assets they're human beings and they are free to be wherever they feel they have the best chance. Therefore it's up to the club to convince young players both inside and outside the club that we're their best option. Being Cat 1 doesn't guarantee this, but it puts us in a much stronger position than we would otherwise have been.

Regardless of the extent of the benefits, it's taken an awful lot of investment and dedication to get an academy that didn't even exist 20 years ago into a position where it can be held in the same esteem as some of the best in the country, and this all involved should be congratulated and thanked as it puts the club in a very secure position moving forwards.

Honestly, if you can't be excited about what's happening around the club right now then I dare say you're not cut out for football fanaticism.

[The Cube]

There were 23 original applicants, of which 1 withdrew (Watford) and 4 were rejected (including us). I think that means 18 were accepted, although possibly some were still pending at the point they announced the 4 rejections.

A week or so ago, Leicester were accepted, and I don't think they were one of the rejected 4. So I imagine that today makes 20. Incidentally, Leicester's acceptance was front page news on the BBC website, but ours appears not to be newsworthy.

[Simon's Church]

Good

[Yellowcoat]

The BBC have mentioned it in an article about the HRK signing.

[URZZZZZ]

"Category 1 academies will have high contact time with young players, require a minimum of 18 full-time staff and an operational budget of £2.5 M.[4] Academies will be reviewed every two years and re-categorised if necessary"

2.5mil dont sound like a lot to me, all things considered