Episode 7 Late Kick Off East

Supporters of Peterborough and Colchester, feel free to rearrange

the following words in their right order, time, barn, squeaky. It is

definitely that time of the year. - - bum. Tonight, the chase for a new

talent. How the controversial new academy system is affecting our

clubs. English football needs to progress in catch up with the rest

of the world. It is getting livelier in the boardroom as our

chairman's share thoughts about the influence of the Premier League on

a lowly clubs. Before someone came in and said, vote for this or you

will lose all this money. The club whose promotion dream is still

alive as they head for the end-of- season play-offs. What a goal! What

an absolute peach of a goal! Good evening. It is going to the

wire for Colchester. Everything hinges on the final game in this

season. The same story for Peterborough. Who better to talk us

through the situation is Barry Fry. He is alongside Perry. Have you

done the marathon this morning? I had I wouldn't be here now!

know you are past when the Pink Panther runs past year. So that is

a know them. First, a glimpse into the future. The introduction of new

rules governing the recruitment of new players means there are fears

that many clubs will lose out the chance to attract promising local

talent. EPPP, you might have heard of it, but what is it. The Elite

Player Performance Plan. A brand new youth development scheme for

the future. They are the future. The Premier League wanted it, the

FA backed it, Football League clubs have had to embrace it. You have

got to move with the Times, you cannot hold that what is going on.

English football needs to progress and catch up with the rest of the

world. If you want to be the best, you have to be amongst the best,

playing against the best and this is where I think this football club

and the youth policy deserves to be. Our club feels that we need to be a

category one academy to produce some of the best players in the

country, to produce players ready for our first team. I would prefer

to continue in the way that we have been doing things in the past

because it has been working for us. Controversial, but the former

academy and centre of excellence scheme scrapped in favour of a new

40th system, guaranteeing more funding for youth football. Ipswich

opted for category too. They receive a Premier League grant

worth half-a-million. Day-to-day, from 12 months ago there is quite a

distance -- different. It has been driven by the bigger clubs. There

are a lot of things in there that will benefit them. The smaller

clubs can also, there is a lot there for them. There are improved

hours and if you are doing the job properly you will still get your

players through and that is ultimately what it is all about,

producing players that will play in your first team. Under EPPP

guidelines it is not just about producing footballers but also

providing an education. As well as increasing coaching at was the

clubs have to build two classrooms and take on extra staff. The idea

is to produce footballers. That is the ultimate aim. You're not here

as a training college but you are here to provide footballers. We

know not everyone will make it. Statistics nationally mean 15% of

those who start an apprenticeship will still be playing

professionally at 21. We spend a lot of guys off to university to

study sports science or business of physiotherapy, proper courses,

proper degrees. It gives them opportunities to make them a

rounded citizens as well as a professional footballer. You have

been here three years and have just been offered a first professional

contract. Yes, I have. It was quite a nice surprise. After Christmas. I

have been working hard for about three years so what is good to have

an award at the end of it. You're not just here to play football and

learn football but you also learning in a classroom as well.

Definitely. Throughout the two years we have been doing a be

taking sports science and an NVQ in sports excellence so that has kept

our brains busy throughout the year of. After the scholarship system,

the EPPP system actually allows you to further your education even more.

They are a Premier League club with world-class facilities. Norwich is

a category 1, investing �2.3 million a year. Hello, welcome to

Norwich academy, have a look around. We are here to support a football

team and serve our supporters. That is the first message sick you see

when you come in the reception and underpins our academy in the

football club. Cumin. Was this physio room here before? He it was

not. This is part of being category one. Some of the requirements we

have had to make his there to provide this. Under EPPP we have

had to double our workforce. We now have 22 full-time employees and

these are all the offices where the new staff were can plan and prepare

for the sessions. He cannot go in there until the ball is in there.

10 teams from under nines to under 20 ones, 140 hautboys as all -- in

all, an annual budget exceeding �2 million and a whopping �775,000

worth of grants. One of the big changes under the EPPP is the U21

squad falls within the academy department. Their player pathway

now is monitored and guided by the Academy's staff. Last week

Norwich's under-18s reached the FA Youth Cup final for the first time

in 30 years. They beat Nottingham Forest on penalties. It puts our

name on the map. It is a national tournament. It is the biggest youth

competition in the country and so obviously to tie in with a first

year of category One status, it could not be timed any better.

is getting the ball into space... This is one of our brand new

classrooms. We use it for learning and for match analysis.

facilities are state-of-the-art and with at the 90 minute rule now

scrapped, category One clubs like this can now sign the best

youngsters from anywhere in the country. MK Dons are category three

and little has changed but they now line-up against Peterborough and

Northampton and Southend and Stevenage. I feel a lot of the EPPP

is being changed because of the top clubs and they want to pay low

money for our players and they want to be able to get access to them so

they can now scout from the undermines all the way through.

They can relocate them from Category One clubs. It has not been

so good for lowly clubs. Colchester are in category to and have taken

on an extra 100 boys through their development centres. The only some

will -- the only downside on EPPP for me is that other clubs are

doing what we would have been doing anyway. It has been very rewarding

and boys who might have chosen to go to other clubs are choosing to

come to Colchester. A boy is being approached by other clubs are

choosing to stay at Colchester. It has already paid back dividends.

is a long-term initiative but EPPP could prove to be a lucrative

investment. This EPPP is a controversial scheme.

The idea is that they will give the players more coaching hours and in

the long term it will benefit the England national team. More home-

grown players will come through, do you see that as a benefit? It is

all very well having more caging hours if you have quality coaching.

If you have bad coaching them the players will not improve. That is a

positive. When the Premier League sat down with the Football League

clubs it was not a nation, not -- ultimatum, not a negotiation. It is

too heavily weighed in front of the Premier clubs. I was at the meeting

where it was decided and voted upon and we did not have any choice.

Greg Clark said that the Premier League, backed by the FA, have come

up with this. You will get the money providing you agree to these

new rules. It was blackmail. I stood up then and there and said it

was blackmail. How different is it? It is miles different because you

can lose your young players and get 12 grand a year, if you ever get it,

whereas I have sold players at Peterborough for millions of pounds,

millions of pounds as young 16- year-old or 17 year-olds and that

takes that away. It just makes it easier for the Premiership to come

to your ground, watch every game and nick a player for peanuts.

90 minute rule whether player lives within 90 minutes of the Grand can

only play for their club, that has gone now. It has gone now and that

benefits the Premier League. Consider playing -- pay millions of

pounds for young players which is great for the club that they pay

that money to and you can reinvested in developing new youth,

you get peanuts. Why does -- why do some teams seemed happy and others

not? Robbie at Colchester has really not lost any players.

Everybody wants to stay with him. I don't agree with that, everybody

doesn't want to stay with a club. The get Arsenal, Manchester United,

they are all at our games and they make the players. Is unbelievable.

We're also seeing a lot of football League clubs abolishing the youth

system. This is the trouble. We get to but -- �210,000 from the Premier

League and we have to match that with one third of their. We

actually spend �250,000 of hours and the chairman puts another

�250,000 in. We are very youth- orientated. That has been all

throughout your time at the club, it has been about that, selling

players. Exactly right. You have got to if you are Peterborough

United, you have got to sell players. When I first owned the

club, the first thing I did was head hunted Dave Roberts and app,

our head of youth and put him in charge to restructure the taller he

has done brilliantly. We have had 3 the 16-year-old make their debuts

in the championship. We have had seven that of them on the bench.

Our club, with Darren in charge, he get those kids and that is what I

sell to the young mums and dads. I say, you let your mum -- boy come

here and my manager will give them a chance if they are good enough.

At the big clubs they will be forgotten about. We could talk all

night and we will come back to this. There was another nail-biting

finale for Posh. They are not the only team putting their fans

through the mail. -- Mill.

-- Mill. Not good enough, we have let the

fans down. Karl Robinson pulling no punches under the MK Dons play-off

hopes were ended with a defeat against Scunthorpe. Karl Hawley had

the only goal of the game just before half-time. This was a

disappointing result for both MK Dons and also Colchester United, as

we will hear in a moment. An improved second half M Paul --

performance did little to placate Karl Robinson. After the match she

said he was embarrassed and far from happy. There was even talk of

a summer clear-out at MK Dons. Robinson not the only one tearing

his hair out. Colchester manager Joe Dunne was also angry after the

goalless draw against Shrewsbury Wycherley's Colchester just one

place above the drop zone and three points ahead of Scunthorpe going

into next week's final match of the season against Carlisle. It might

have been worse but for the goalkeeper Sam Walker. Colchester

have their own chances and they can only hope they don't regret missing

them come next Saturday. Stevenage are pretty much already

on the beach. Half an eye on next season, League One sees the --

state is all but retained before Graham Westley's return. Aden Flint

and Gary Roberts steering Swindon towards the play-offs with two

first-half goals before Stevenage were reduced to 10 when Dani Lopez

saw red. Three-end had his second and Swindon's third. Graham Westley

is promising a long season, his players have been warned. They are

guaranteed now to be in League One, as are the MK Dons. Not so the

pressure. The Colchester United supporters have been superb stop -

-. You would rather be in Colchester's shoes. If they get a

point then Scunthorpe could win 8-0 and it would make no difference.

Colchester it is their senior players now. It is the experienced

players who needs to make the difference. Which way do you see it

going? To the finish.Plenty still to come. As the Cobblers begin to

wonder who they would get in the play-offs, and posh affair - - posh

repair for. There are teams going in and out. The relationship with the

football league is important. will have some fascinating thoughts

will have some fascinating thoughts on our earlier topic - EPPP. They

have to and packed but Northampton field to blow down the promotion

door. Clarke Carlisle gave the Cobblers the lead. Liam Chilvers

with the equaliser. And this cracker from Roy O'Donovan. This late own

goal virtually guarantees all feel The first goal inside a minute.

Southend fought back. They were Final score 2-1.

Southend guaranteed in week two. is important that they win that

game. Guaranteed in the play-offs. They could play Bradford, urchin, or

Cheltenham. They have done brilliantly. Last year they would

have been relegated. 35,000 Northampton fans at Wembley.

I hope Northampton go up, but I hope Barnet beat them. Next the latest

instalment of our roundtable ramblings. Starring Darragh

MacAnthony, David Cardoza. This week the subject is the Premier league.

Is it a force for good or bad? League Two it is a positive. Money

flows down to the clubs. Going back to the splits that we have talked

about, it is not their decision. brings interest to football. They

throw as a few bones here and there. They work with as on certain things.

It is up to our chairman to negotiate. It is not up to the

Premier League. We have got to say that we need this. There are 18

clubs in the Championship which are former Premier league clubs. That is

a massive proportion. The Premier League is not a fixed item. Members

of the football league keep going in and out. We can all be proud of what

the Premier League has been able to do to stop it is better than all the

other leagues and we want that to continue, but we wanted to be done

in a way that its joins up with everything else that is happening

because you cannot avoid that. If you talk - - if you took the motion

and relegation away... The football league, the history over the years,

if you shut up the relegation and promotion shop... You may as well go

home. There has to be continual communication. What about Wigan ten

years ago? What about Swansea? You guys have got the stadium, I don't

when you are in the Championship you bought a lottery tickets for

potential entry into the Premier League. The academies are

developing. In Milton and because we have been successful we now have all

of the big football clubs such as Chelsea starting to open development

centres in Milton Keynes. And EPPP rules they can go anywhere in the

country. They have multi-million pound budgets. Health, education.

They say to the school that they can pay for their facility and ran a

development centre. The schools are bit. It does not just undermine it

for the players, it undermines everything. They Premier League got

what they wanted with the youth thing. They said they would take

this away if we did not say yes. of the big clubs have enough money

that if they spot somebody they want they can buy them and we can get

money to be more sustainable. Kind of how it used to work. Before

someone came in and said, vote for this or you will lose money.

mess with something? What is the biggest thing supporters love?

Watching a home-grown player do well on the pitch. That is what English

football is about. That should be the future. That has got to be the

pen a goal. Strong views there from the chairman. The Premier League has

ruined the football league. 23 million new one, 18 million year

two, nine million new three. There will be 12 clubs in the Championship

next year. How do you compete with that? How is it a level playing

field? It is not football. Premier League needs the football league.

There has to be that gene. - - that dream. The money needs to be spread

out more evenly. Can that still happen? It is very difficult. A team

coming down from the Premier League has a budget of 23 million. At such,

12 years in the Championship, and it looks like they will stay in the

championships. - - Ipswich town. He has tightened the ship. He is a

proper manager. That was his first goal since 2008. Tommy Smith has

been the key. A future captain. 51 points. You play this team next

week, Barry Fry? Sheffield Wednesday were down the bottom with others.

Next Saturday is massive for us. They have sold 5000 tickets already.

So get to London Road. Raw on the lads. I can't argue with that.

could still do a job. It was not so good yesterday stop it was a

disaster yesterday, but we had gone ten games unbeaten which is

fantastic. Derby County played us off the park from start to finish.

13 corners in the first half hour unbelievable. You can't criticise

our players. They have done marvels to get where we are. He lost eight

of our first ten home games. Well done to my chairman for keeping

Darren went 50% of other managers got the elbow. He has kept that

belief in the players. Hopefully that will play dividends. He has

known since day one that he would be manager. But Darren said he wanted

to stay in the Championship. All the top clubs are looking at this

player. He has a great right foot will stop he jumps like John

Charles. Do you get money from other clubs? There is a big amount of

money if Halle gets promotion. We have got drugs and drugs in League

One and League Two secured - - we have got bits and pieces in League

One and League Two secured. We have got to win against Sheffield

Wednesday. Darren Ferguson said that they need to win the last two

matches. Why was to mark just in case all the others when. Darren is

saying it is in our own hands. The start we had up until January, if

they had seen this with two games to go, they would have snatched your

relegated? By million stop a massive difference. - - �5 million. Darren

has done brilliantly. Are you going to get down London Road? Tricky

winger, I'm your man. You need goalscorers to get yourself out of

that trouble they went ten unbeaten. Setback at the weekend that it is in