BRING ’EM THROUGH
Exeter’s academy example is the model to follow
FROM George Friend at Middlesbrough to Ethan Ampadu at Chelsea, Exeter City’s academy has produced a host of elite level players over the last decade.
And the production line shows no sign of slowing, with midfielder Jack Sparkes just 16 when he made his Grecians bow in August.
Appointed at the age of 24, Simon Hayward spent 12 years in charge of Exeter’s academy before leaving the club in the summer of 2017.
Here the 37-year-old explains – in his own words – the secret to the club’s success, his thoughts on the Elite Player Performance Plan and how every team can cash in on their young assets.
CONTINUITY IS KEY
We were lucky at Exeter. Paul Tisdale has been the manager for 12 years.
But that’s rare. Generally speaking, the days of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger are gone. Now, you rarely see more than a four-year cycle for any manager.
We have to accept that – but what’s vital is to make sure the message doesn’t change at academy level. The coaching philosophy, the playing philosophy – that has to be consistent.
If a kid’s been in the system for seven or eight years and that message suddenly changes, it’s very confusing and potentially detrimental to development. A mixed message is almost worse than a bad message.
And promote from within. When a kid didn’t quite make the grade at 18, we tried to give them part-time opportunities in coaching. That way, your coaches know exactly what you’re trying to achieve because they’ve been hearing it for ten years already.
DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE RESULTS
We had an aim right from day one to produce Premier League, Champions League and international players.
And we did. Matt Grimes captained the England Under-20s, won the Toulon tournament with Gareth Southgate and moved to Swansea. Ethan Ampadu has already played for Wales.
Our method was to say ‘Right, what does that player look like at academy level?’ To us, it was somebody who was brave on the ball and made independent decisions. So we had to let all our nines and tens do that.
Grimesy is a great example. From the day he arrived as an Under-10, he was encouraged to go and get the ball off his centre-halves, even if he was on the edge of his own box.
At that age, you know he’ll make lots of mistakes. Chances are, if you lose the ball in that area, you’re going to concede some goals and lose some games.
But if you let the parents or the coaching staff get too worried about that, you’ll end up moving away from what’s required to develop toplevel players.
So we made sure that results were seen as meaningless. Of course, learning to win is part of football. But that should only come at the top end of the academy.
GIVE KIDS A CHANCE
Opportunity is huge. Look at Harry Kane. If there hadn’t been a managerial change at Tottenham, would he have kept going out on loan? Nobody knows.
Gareth Bale is another famous example. He was about to go on loan to Nottingham Forest when Benoit Assou-Ekotto picked up an injury in training. They cancelled the deal and a few years later he was playing for Real Madrid. Even the best players need a chance.
DOES THE ELITE PLAYER PERFORMANCE PLAN (EPPP) OFFER ADEQUATE PROTECTION TO EFL CLUBS?
This is a tough one. It’s true that clubs with Category 1 academies can take young players from clubs with lower-ranked academies for fixed and relatively low - fees.
But you have to remember that the funding provided by the EPPP comes directly from Premier League clubs.
In reality, Chelsea and Manchester United are actually investing two-and-a-half times more in a Category 3 Academy that the club itself is. Then, if they want to sign a player, they have to pay a fee on top.
So I can see it from both sides. Big clubs feel like they’re paying twice. Smaller clubs say ‘What’s the point in investing our own money if we’re not protected’.
It’s a tough balance. But as long as clubs recognise their own talented players and make the right offers at the right times, I think the protection is reasonable.
Where it does feel slightly unfair is at the ages of 9-11, where the maximum fee is £9,000. Some of the more strategic clubs will come out and look to poach the best Under-11s from other clubs knowing they’ll only ever have to pay £9,000. So, feasibly, a Premier League side could end up signing the next Lionel Messi for a four-figure sum – and there’s nothing anybody can do about it.
IS IT WORTH INVESTING IN AN ACADEMY?
Absolutely. In order to receive something like £350,000 of grant money, a club is asked to invest about £140,000 themselves.
And the beauty is, most of that £140,000 can be spent on the wages of young players who are first, second or third-year pros. First-team players.
So a Matt Grimes at 18 – who was player of the year that season – had his wages as a first-team player counted as academy expenditure. Same with Ollie Watkins.
In short, clubs are able to spend the money on the wages of firstteam players, treat that as academy spending, receive £350,000 in return and then, when you sell Matt for £1.75m to Swansea or Ollie to Brentford for £1.8m, make millions in profit. If you do it properly, it’s a nobrainer.
WHAT DETERMINES WHETHER A YOUNG PLAYER WILL GRADUATE TO THE FIRST TEAM?
The biggest trait that sets a successful player like Ethan or Ollie apart is character – their attitude and personality.
All the physical, tactical and technical stuff is important but, for me, the psychological side is the biggest indicator.
Drive and determination to succeed, the desire to improve, having confidence and belief in yourself – those are characteristics you’ll see in every elite-level player.