Last Thursday new CAFC Academy Manager Greg Miller and Head of Education Joe Francis joined CAST for a Q&A session about the Academy. They were accompanied by Ed Thomas - a first year scholar and member of the current under 18 squad. Ed is not only a previous winner of the prestigious Steve Clarke award but also the current holder of the Pierre Bolangi award – the first young player to do this double. The session was on the eve of the U18 Professional Development League National Final. The following day Charlton went on the lift the trophy, defeating Wigan 3-0 with an outstanding all-round display at The Valley.
Greg introduced himself. He had been a full-time professional player in the Scottish Premier League and First Division from 1994 to 2006 after which he had been a part-time coach with Hibernian and Rangers. He spent a year as first team coach in the Japanese J1 League before returning to work with the Scottish FA running one of seven National Performance Centres as well as supporting National Men's youth age group squads. He was head of coaching at Barnsley for three years before being appointed as Academy Manager at Portsmouth where he spent five years ahead of joining Charlton a couple of months ago. He said he really enjoyed being on the youth side of things as "you get time to work with players and see the reward". He felt that he "knows what works with young players" and that he has "a critical eye on who can make the transition to the men's game". He said he loved the energy and vibrancy of young players.
Joe, who has been with the Academy for over 20 years, said his role was to oversee all young players in the Academy but with "primary focus" on those finishing their secondary education and moving to a scholarship. He has a full-time teaching role. He was previously Head of Education and Welfare but Rachel Elliot now ensures that the schoolboys (9-16) are achieving in their education. Joe stressed his passion for his job and how much he loves teaching as it brings him closer to the lads. He also said that "learning doesn't happen in a vacuum" and that The Academy has worked hard for many years to develop "a learning culture on and off the pitch."
Ed said that he liked to think of himself as an "intelligent box to box midfielder with a good tactical understanding." He is currently studying for Maths "A" level and said he enjoyed challenging his brain and bringing that intelligence onto the pitch. He said that he joined the Academy at 14 which was older than most. He had played Sunday football with a bunch of friends he had known since primary school but when he joined a higher standard Sunday team he had been spotted by Charlton scouts and given a three month trial. He was "super happy" at the end of the under 14s to have been offered another two years and he had now secured a further two years. When he was younger he had been passionate about tennis but he had later fallen out of love with the sport. He admitted that he had never studied the laws of football but argued that playing regularly over the years gives you "a pretty good understanding". He said that his role model is Bruno Fernandes - "he may not be likeable but he is intelligent and manages the tempo". He admitted that he is an Arsenal fan and growing up always wanted to be like Aaron Ramsey - "covering every blade of grass, doing a bit of everything".
Greg was asked how the CAFC Academy could keep hold of talented young players. He said it was "very tricky" but stressed that all Academies have that problem - citing the Fletcher twins who were at Manchester City but who left for Manchester United.
He said that the "tangible pathway to the first team embedded in the club philosophy" was one major selling point at CAFC. "The top end players know that they will get an opportunity.” To emphasise the pathway some under 18s have trained with the first team and, as long as their skills and mental aptitude merit it, some under 18s have played in the under 21s.
Since Brexit there are fewer players in the marketplace and CAFC's reputation attracts scouts from Category One clubs to games. This is a compliment on what is being achieved. CAFC coaches point to players like Ibby Fullah and Keenan Gough and ask any youngster whose head might have been turned whether they think they will swiftly get first team opportunities at a Premier League club.
Greg highlighted the recent video ahead of the PDL Final in which Tate Elliott and Raynon Richman emphasised how much they loved being at a club with that pathway.
Ed was asked about the influence of Jason Pearce. He answered that "Pearcy" was very well respected throughout the club and that he engrained his philosophy and values into the lads every day. In particular, he stressed the need for constant "hard work".
Joe elaborated on the educational opportunities available to the scholars. The majority undertake the League Football Education standard package but one or two each year study outside the programme - often business, maths or sociology. There is also the Sporting Excellence Professional qualification (which he compared to the Duke of Edinburgh award) which offers experiential training across the multi-disciplinary departments in what you need to do to become a professional sportsperson. Joe also mentioned the Player Care programme under Dean Jarman which concentrates on self development.
Bespoke study often sits outside the funding mechanism so the Academy has to negotiate individually. He stressed that Ed was a good independent learner so the club fund his individual maths tutor. Ed was asked how much free time he had and he acknowledged that it is "a bit less than the others but worth it".
Joe stressed that scholars do study the laws of the game in the second year through a brilliant workshop with Jamal Horne. He said most of them think they know the rules but soon realise they don't. They are also encouraged to referee younger age groups. In the second year they also do the FA coaching certificate with the younger lads.
Greg said that his early impression of the CAFC Academy was that there was "a really good array and breadth of talent across the age groups" and that there was "a good mix of technicians and those with pace and power". Joe later added that, in his view, there was an excellent mix of "pace, power, strength, speed and football intelligence" maintained across all age groups and that the under 15s and under 16s are "strong with a good blend". Greg said that he had seen all age groups in training and had just met the new under nine cohort. He said that the aim with these age groups was not necessarily to win trophies but to be getting to the latter stages is good evidence of quality. He cited the under 14s winning a regional title in Leicester and the under 12s being in a national final at Bristol City.
Greg stated that the club was "keen to move towards Category One sometime in the near future" and that he had already had discussions with the board about it. He stressed that it was challenging to achieve and that there was a lot of work to be done behind the scenes - in particular filling mandatory positions and increasing coaching hours and pitch access. He said that an indoor facility was essential and that the club currently lease hours in a neighbouring Greenwich University facility. The club would need to become the primary user in the evenings and there would need to be some work done on the lights and the surface and but it "isn't insurmountable".
He said that CAFC Academy wants to offer the "best and highest challenge possible" and Category One status would help with this as it would allow access to Premier league-run tournaments and games programmes which would really stretch young players.
In answer to a question about expanding the training facilities Greg commented that Sparrows Lane is on a lease but that alterations can be made. He mentioned extra classrooms and new dressing rooms for female officials. He said that we have really good cover in terms of goalkeeping coaching. There is an in-depth programme and advanced spatial awareness is needed these days with goalkeepers being expected to play out from the back and to play as many outfield passes with their feet as the defenders do.
Joe talked about the support offered to young players when they are released. He recalled the fact that he himself did not make the grade as a CAFC apprentice and was offered no support or direction when he left. This motivates him to ensure that support is now in place at "a traumatic time" and he said that the Academy prided itself on what it offered.
First of all, he said that any player released at any age would be invited in with his parents for a meeting which "softens the blow". Being released should never really come as a surprise. If it did it would mean that the coaches had not been giving the right messages along the way.
Secondly, all released players are helped to put together a "show reel" which shows them at their best and which can help them to get an invitation to go elsewhere. Guidance might be more specific if a player is being released post-scholarship but he noted that this year all twelve had been offered contracts.
Players released at under 21 level were helped with various routes of exit. Scouts from all over the world attend Exit Trials that players can attend and "we go with them".
He stressed that the Academy's support is not just for players "when they are with us". He said that he was still in touch with players who had left years ago. "We care for our young people. We stay with them.”
He said that the number of players from Academies who make it into the professional game is very low but there are plenty of alternative pathways. These days there are full-time opportunities at many National League North and South clubs. Many become sports scientists or coaches. He said that a dozen years ago 75% of players released at 18 were not playing at 22 but that there had been a real improvement in reducing the drop-off rate since then. There are opportunities at semi-professional levels and that around seven players from Charlton in the last seven years had taken up a place in the USA Scholarship Scheme which offered a fantastic education and a great life.
Asked about "players who had got away" Joe cited Jeremy Sarmiento who was at CAFC from 9-16 but then went to Benfica. He said that he had nothing personal against Jeremy who was advancing his career but that, having known him and his family for so long, it really hurt to lose him. He said how much the club looked after Largie Ramazani when he and his family came from Belgium and it was disappointing when he left for Manchester United. In the last 18 months he said that the club had lost three or four under 15s to Premier League clubs. Joe’s affection and concern for every lad in his care throughout his many years at the Sparrows Lane Academy came through very strongly at this point.
He said that he would like to see more regulation being introduced to protect young players and clubs because it was "like the Wild West out there" sometimes. He cited Joe Gomez's father Gus as an honourable man who valued the deep relationships the club made with young lads and their families and that Joe stayed at CAFC because of the pathway. He compared Joe's career to that of Casey Palmer who left and went to Chelsea.
He acknowledged that the Academy sometimes made mistakes and released a young player who they might have been better retaining. He gave Jordan Zemura (Bournemouth and Udinese) as an example. Greg said that he was delighted when a young released player made a good career. He noted that, although a player might not appear to be good enough against coaching criteria during a short window with a club, it might be that external issues eg family or growth and injuries meant that he matured later.
Greg was asked about the scouting network. He said that there were limits on how far away the Academy could recruit from. At 9-11 it was 60 minutes away; At 12-16 it was 90 minutes. These times were measured at the time training would take place which was the evening rush hour so those times didn't take you far in London. As a result Bert Dawkins (Head of Scouting) and his team concentrated mainly on the London area, although at under 18 recruitment could be from anywhere in the country.
Greg said that recruitment across borders (eg Scotland) was very expensive because compensation had to be paid at FIFA rates to every club the player had been with since under twelve. However, he did say that Bert Dawkins' team had recently recruited a new scholar from Northern Ireland.
Greg said that the girls' Academy was a separate entity with its own bespoke programme. Joe said that being on the same site and sharing a canteen meant that there was a shared purpose and that ideas could be exchanged.
Greg and Ed were asked about the upcoming final against Wigan. Greg said that he was pleased that in the semi-final the team had stayed calm after going 0-1 down and that staying calm in the moment would be crucial in the final. He said that, if the lads can "bring a typical performance" to the final, they could be victorious. He stressed that the players were well prepared and looking forward to it and that everyone had been careful not to over hype the game. He said that we should appreciate that the players will be experiencing new emotions playing in front of a larger crowd with family members there.
Ed said that playing at The Valley under the lights in front of a large crowd added a lot of excitement and nerves but that the team would do their best to focus on themselves. He was asked whether he thought Arsenal would win the Premier League and what his score prediction for the Wigan game was. He said he thought Arsenal had got through the worst of it now and he hoped they could carry on. He was clearly reluctant to make a prediction about the Wigan game but was happy to endorse Greg's opinion that "we will score one more than the opposition".
CAST Chair Heather McKinlay and board member Stuart Court thanked Greg, Joe and Ed for giving up their time and for providing such an informative and engaging insight into how The Academy works. We were left in little doubt that the Academy is in very good hands and that the level of care for and commitment to all the young players is second to none.
The U18s can play a bit too as anyone who watched the 3-0 victory over Wigan will testify!
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