TSI - The Promises, Policies & Progress Thread

[Ian Royal]

Who wants to bet Anton is going to be sneaky and use the parachute money to pay off JM for the remaining share of the club, thereby not spending any of his own money?

Suits me fine. It means rather than the Parachute payments going on wages and TSI paying Madejski, the Parachute payments pay Madejski and TSI pay the wages.

[ZacNaloen]

Anton on the Academy

Royals owner Anton Zingarevich has dubbed the club’s Academy as ‘crucial’ to any future success at Madejski Stadium.

Reading’s under 18s are on a terrific run of form, with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at the weekend their eighth win in a row.

“We can all say what can be done for the short term success, but long term is where we need to go,” Zingarevich told Reading FC Player.

“This is where the roots of the football club are born. This is something we will be looking to work on even harder. I was there watching the Manchester United game and I think this is critical to ensure the long term success. We need to pay even more attention to our Academy. Against Man United we had our strongest side out and we dominated the whole game. In that under 18s team we have 6, 7, 8 players that can make it to the first team in a couple of years.“

Read more at http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article ... U2cFDW8.99

[Alexander Litvinenko]

This is where the failure to get accreditation as a Category One EPPP Academy may be crucial.

There most criticised part of the EPPP system is the lack of protection for "poaching" of kids from levels Cat 2, 3 & 4 by Cat 1 academies - and the much smaller (some would say "derisory" compensation payments when kids move up to a higher level academy. Where its used to be decided by tribunal based on a kid's potential, it is now a flat rate based on how much a kid has cost to train.

As there are "break-points" built into the EPPP system that weight it all in favour of Category One Academies and give them the chance to gamble on the most promising kids for hardly any financial outlay, we are at a real disadvantage here.

[ZacNaloen]

Especially as many of them have no real alliegiance to Reading FC

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Yep - our best strategies are to sign the most promising kids onto professional contracts as early as possible (assuming they agree to sign) so they are taken out of the EPPP compensation system, or to sell to them that they have much more chance of getting first-team action at a team like Reading than a much bigger one where they'll be competing for places at clubs with much bigger overseas names playing. Not sure how that argument would convince a really talented kid, though.

[winchester_royal]

Given Adkins' quote re: Cat 1 status over the weekend one would assume plans to obtain it are very much in the pipeline.

[ZacNaloen]

Some of them already are, Tanner for example is contracted.


Where is that quote Winch? I've been hunting for it after glancing at it the other day and can't find it now.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Given Adkins' quote re: Cat 1 status over the weekend one would assume plans to obtain it are very much in the pipeline.

Yes they've got to be looking at that. But I thought the gradings were done on a 3-year basis, so we'll have to wait a while at least.

As a footnote, EPPP has technically only been committed to for an initial 3-year period. The assumption is that it'll be continued when this period ends as clubs have been investing so much in it - but in football who can ever be sure of anything...?

[winchester_royal]

Some of them already are, Tanner for example is contracted.


Where is that quote Winch? I've been hunting for it after glancing at it the other day and can't find it now.

"The future of the football club is the youth coming through. Eamonn Dolan heads up the Academy structure here. All being well, we'll get EPPP1 category status. The under 18s won against yesterday against Manchester United and we've got some really talented players. What we've got to do is make sure there is a pathway for them to get into the first team. The principles and standards of play that we want, we want throughout the whole football club.

http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article/adkins-qpr-280413-796900.aspx#7bYlsMeqUgD4mEqH.99

[winchester_royal]

Given Adkins' quote re: Cat 1 status over the weekend one would assume plans to obtain it are very much in the pipeline.

Yes they've got to be looking at that. But I thought the gradings were done on a 3-year basis, so we'll have to wait a while at least.

Am I right in thinking that it hasn't been confirmed anywhere that we've been rejected Cat 1 status yet though? Perhaps they have convinced those in charge to give us extra time, especially given the current exploits of the U18's, and the U16's who won a tournament in Spain recently.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Given Adkins' quote re: Cat 1 status over the weekend one would assume plans to obtain it are very much in the pipeline.

Yes they've got to be looking at that. But I thought the gradings were done on a 3-year basis, so we'll have to wait a while at least.

Am I right in thinking that it hasn't been confirmed anywhere that we've been rejected Cat 1 status yet though? Perhaps they have convinced those in charge to give us extra time, especially given the current exploits of the U18's, and the U16's who won a tournament in Spain recently.

I thought the gradings were done by an outside accreditation body, so I'm not sure if there's scope for that to happen. But the EPPP manual is about 4 inches thick so who can be sure...?

But I think it could be significant that the club is being extremely coy about coming clean with exactly what the EPPP grading situation is - that suggests to me that it's not gone the way they want it to. If that's the case it could be a massive blow in the long-term.

[winchester_royal]

I was thinking that too, but after Adkins said what he did, as well as Anton going on about the academy today, I'm thinking/hoping they're slightly more positive about it now...

[winchester_royal]

Plus it says here that the status is reviewed every 2 years, so not the blow it might have been:

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/08/01/3279220/newcastle-blackburn-and-crystal-palace-miss-out-on-top

[Cypry]

I thought the gradings were done by an outside accreditation body, so I'm not sure if there's scope for that to happen. But the EPPP manual is about 4 inches thick so who can be sure...?

But I think it could be significant that the club is being extremely coy about coming clean with exactly what the EPPP grading situation is - that suggests to me that it's not gone the way they want it to. If that's the case it could be a massive blow in the long-term.

Not correct.

There either just has been, or will be shortly, another review to inspect the new pitch and associated facilities behind the dome, plus other improvements that were needed. CAT1 status is not yet a lost cause.

The reason the club is "being coy" is because it's an ongoing situation....

[ZacNaloen]

It seems like we are being given way more time than everyone else, is that simply because we had on-going building work?

[Alexander Litvinenko]

I thought the gradings were done by an outside accreditation body, so I'm not sure if there's scope for that to happen. But the EPPP manual is about 4 inches thick so who can be sure...?

But I think it could be significant that the club is being extremely coy about coming clean with exactly what the EPPP grading situation is - that suggests to me that it's not gone the way they want it to. If that's the case it could be a massive blow in the long-term.

Not correct.

There either just has been, or will be shortly, another review to inspect the new pitch and associated facilities behind the dome, plus other improvements that were needed. CAT1 status is not yet a lost cause.

The reason the club is "being coy" is because it's an ongoing situation....

That's good news, then. We must be getting a special dispensation for this or there's been a change in the regulations as initially defined, but either way it's welcome. Although I understood that the problem issue was with educational facilities - which are a key (and new) part of gaining Cat One accreditation.

But surely even on-going situations can be communicated - IMHO it's much better "to say this is what's happening, we expect to have these issues revolved in <whenever>" than to say nothing and invite speculation?

[ZacNaloen]

"It's important we get cat 1 status" is quite harmless.

"We hope to get Cat 1 status but we are still working on facilities and we've been given special dispensation because of A B C" Could raise questions from other clubs.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

"It's important we get cat 1 status" is quite harmless.

"We hope to get Cat 1 status but we are still working on facilities and we've been given special dispensation because of A B C" Could raise questions from other clubs.

Agreed if presented like that - but if we're being given special treatment that other clubs aren't then I'm sure they'd know already and would be protesting - football's very insular and word of anything like that would get out one way or another very quickly.

[winchester_royal]

Perhaps it's because TSI only completed the takeover last summer and thus didn't have time to get everything in place in time for the first inspection? Whereas other clubs have had the time but the commitment/financial backing simply isn't there..

[ZacNaloen]

Yeh I suspect the big difference, is that the commitment and financial requirements are there. But the stuff we needed to meet the extra requirements literally only started being built in the summer.

I do wonder at what level our academy would have been without TSI, Cat 2 or as bad as 3?