The beginning of next season sees the introduction of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) which changes radically the way leading clubs scout, sign, coach and develop young players. The relative under performance of the current England team, the spiralling transfer fees and the scrutiny of coaching in the game in general means that the subject of young player development is right at the forefront of issues affecting the modern game in England. There is little doubt that the current system does not develop young players of sufficient quantity or quality to turn the England team into potential world beaters so the very fact that efforts are being made to change it is perhaps a step in the right direction. However, RTG has some severe reservations about the plan given that it seems to favour the ‘elite’ Premier League clubs and appears to ignore what RTG considers is a fundamental factor missing from current player development – education.
EPPP itself has been cooked up by the Premier League and the FA which suggests that most of the upside is going to benefit the Premier League rather than football in general. The Football League clubs did vote in favour of EPPP by 46 to 22 but that in itself does not necessarily prove they are behind it. In truth, there was a certain degree of Hobson’s choice about it as the Premier League, pending the vote, had suspended £5.4M of its annual solidarity payment to the Football League that is set aside for youth development. RTG tends to treat with cynicism, therefore, any change to the game initiated by the Premier League as it invariably tends to involve money or influence passing from the lower levels of English football into their already bloated pockets and egos respectively. And EPPP is likely no different. However, leaving cynicism aside for a moment let’s look at the positives. Firstly, it removes the rule banning clubs from recruiting from beyond a 60-minute journey radius for players under the age of 16 (or 90 minutes for over 16s). While it is easy to see the reasons behind this rule, it was never a level playing field. Physical geography and proximity to other clubs made this rule a nonsense. Secondly, EPPP presents coaches with much more face time with young players than before. Naturally this is a good thing.
Another key change is the end of the tribunal system under which disputed academy transfers are currently resolved. The Independent describes the detail extremely well here but the basic essence is that there will be in place set rules for compensating clubs when one of their academy players switches clubs where initial fees are far lower than at present but downstream earnings are potentially more depending on the success of the player.
But in RTG’s opinion education is just as important to the development of players but glaringly omitted from any plans the Premier League have made under EPPP. La Masia at Barcelona and Ajax’s academy could both be cited as shining examples of how to develop young players to a consistently high standard. Both of these place huge importance on educational development as an integral part of the make-up of a good footballer.
The brain is like any other muscle in the body. If used and exercised it works better. If ever you wanted a clear example of the educational failure of English players, look at England’s performance against a relatively inexperienced German team in the World Cup in 2010. Yes, England was unlucky not to be awarded a goal that would have evened the game up at 2-2. But even at 1-2, we were not out of it. If the England players had had the intelligence to adapt to the situation the game was in, they might have been able to weather the storm and respond. Instead we were treated to the embarrassment of watching English players mindlessly charging forward while the Germans calmly picked them off at the back. Sorry everybody if it sounds a bit harsh but the 'Golden Generation' was simply too thick to ever win anything.
RTG has long been a fan of a co-ordinated approach to coaching and development covering all aspects of the game from grass roots upward. We applauded the fact that the National Football Centre at Burton was finally being developed only to find that it is aimed at developing coaches and referees not players. Why we need a multi-million pound centre just for this is beyond our current understanding. Just like EPPP this is yet another stand-alone initiative in a totally disjointed and mismanaged process with absolutely no intelligent planning involved.
If the culture in English football continues to mistrust education – to the point where if you read a broadsheet newspaper you are considered to be gay! – then, EPPP or no EPPP, folks get used to a disappointing summer in 2012…2014...2016…
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