The Elite Player Performance Plan From these Football Times By Daniel Yoe A great article about where football is at in the EPL in regards to the EPPP. An analysis of English footballs Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) and the merits of the scheme after its introduction in 2011. What effect has it had on the national game and does it represent equality and fairness? Making the grade in English football is extremely tough. From initially getting scouted as a child to actually being selected to appear in a Premier League squad, the journey is an arduous one. The competitive nature of professional academies means that simply getting noticed is only the start; it takes an exceptional amount of time, dedication and personal sacrifice – not to mention a fair bit of luck – to succeed. Gareth Bale’s recent move to Real Madrid is the kind of thing every child dreams of and his world record transfer will only further encourage youngsters that their sporting ambitions are attainable. After all, who’d have predicted the Cardiff-born, former left-back would eventually convince Los Blancos to shell out £85 million for his services? But this is only one end of the spectrum; admirable as Bale’s achievements are, they certainly aren’t indicative of the norm. According to PFA research, only 40% of academy scholars in England are fortunate enough to earn professional contracts at the age of eighteen, whilst a mere 20% of scholars will actually make the grade and still be playing professionally at the age of twenty-one. These statistics tell a worrying story and point towards significant issues in youth football. The sport’s authorities have recently come together in an attempt to solve this issue and, to encourage more home-grown players to make the grade and increase the quality of academy products, have introduced the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP). The EPPP, officially introduced by the FA, Premier League and Football League in 2011, is an initiative that is designed to achieve two goals. Firstly, it aims to “increase the number and quality of home-grown players gaining professional contracts and playing first team football at the highest level”. The aforementioned issues have clearly been very much identified, although opinion is divided on whether the new system has affected a positive change so far. The way the system works is that each league club’s academy is assigned one of four categories, which are based upon the amount that clubs are willing to invest and the quality of their facilities. There are a number of restrictions that are then defined by the categories, most notably minimum player age and required annual investment. In Category One, the highest ranking, academies must guarantee £2,325,000 of annual investment and there is no minimum age for signing up players. Category Four academies, on the other hand, require no specific investment but have a minimum age of sixteen. The two categories in between operate on a sliding scale of investment and player age; essentially, to acquire the best players at the youngest age, academies must be willing to pump more money into their facilities. There are currently twenty-one clubs that have announced their Category One status, including fifteen (Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Norwich, Southampton, Stoke, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion and West Ham) from the Premier League, five (Bolton, Blackburn, Leicester, Middlesbrough and Reading) from the Championship and one (Wolves) from League One. Under the new regulations, this allows these clubs to target the youngest players available and sign up the best potential talent. The other main change that the EPPP has introduced is the way in which transfer fees for out-of-contract youth players are calculated. In the past, tribunals have been held to determine the transfer fees for unattached academy players switching clubs but this has now changed. A formula has been introduced that takes into account the number of years at a club, as well as first team appearances, and this is now the standardised method of determining transfer fees. The case of Gareth Bale is perhaps a disquieting example of how the new transfer system would work. At the age he left Southampton for Spurs, the new EPPP formula would have valued the Welshman at a measly £180,000 (£80,000 for his time at a Category One academy and £100,000 for his 45 Championship appearances). In actual fact, he was sold at the time for £7,000,000, which is thirty-nine times that amount, and is now worth a reported £85,300,000, which is four-hundred-and-seventy-four times that amount. While Bale is obviously an isolated case, this does illustrate the shortcomings of such a formulaic method of assigning value. Even if an eligible U18 player had accumulated over a hundred Premier League appearances and proved their considerable worth, their maximum price would still be just £1,509,000. This has drawn considerable criticism from several parties, most notably West Bromwich Albion chairman Jeremy Peace, who has accused the EPPP of focusing on “the big clubs, not about clubs like us”. He questioned the system and the required minimum investment, saying, “Perhaps £2.5million would be better spent bringing in a player rather than spending it every year on the academy.” However, the first real casualty of the initiative was Wycombe Wanderers. The League Two outfit last year became the first of the seventy-two league clubs in England to close their academy. Citing the financial restrictions of the EPPP and its “increased demands”, they now operate without a youth system. The second goal that the Elite Player Performance Plan seeks to achieve is “helping clubs foster links with local schools to help young players get the best out of their football education as well as the academic side”. This is a really interesting target to highlight and one that has been significantly overlooked in the past. With so many academy graduates failing to make the cut, we need to invest more into their academic development to prepare youngsters for life after football. Nurturing their alternative skills and encouraging them to develop outside of the sport is absolutely vital not only for financial reasons, but also to allow them the opportunity of a successful career. A prime example of this is Sean Highdale, who was the captain of Liverpool U18s and had represented England at U16 level before a car crash prematurely ended his career. Although Highdale won a considerable legal battle and acquired more than adequate financial compensation, he was unprepared for life without the beautiful game. After a failed attempt to return to professional football, he admitted he “had to face reality” and address the fact that making a genuine career of playing was no longer viable. It’s a tragic case, especially given the potential he showed, but this is where the EPPP has a chance to make a genuine difference. Yes, it has polarised opinion regarding the reclassification of academies and transfer fees, but its second goal shows real promise in an area that has been overlooked far too often. In the past, rejected academy prospects have been cast aside without a second thought so it will be interesting to observe the ways in which this new strategy affects the 80% that don’t make it as professional footballers. Authorities and academies must do as much as they can to encourage these dropouts to go into management, coaching, refereeing or to pursue more academic qualifications and resulting routes. If we direct just slightly more of the focus onto them, it would almost definitely lead to more fulfilling careers for those who don’t make the cut at the highest level of football. By Daniel Yeo
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 07:52:20 +0000
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