:00:21. > :00:31.On tonight's Late Kick Off, at the grass is greener. Medals are's
:00:31. > :00:32.
:00:32. > :00:41.Grossman is an award winner. -- Middlesbrough's groundsman. We meet
:00:42. > :00:51.at talented crop of youngsters. Art Carlisle's play-off hopes dead and
:00:52. > :00:56.
:00:56. > :01:06.buried? Newcastle are Champions Welcome to Late Kick Off. We arrive
:01:06. > :01:06.
:01:06. > :01:13.at this stage of the season when they headlines come thick and fast.
:01:13. > :01:17.Carlisle's American defender Frank Simek joins us. You are proof that
:01:17. > :01:24.that we never knew where life will take us. Who would have thought up
:01:24. > :01:32.by from sanely -- St Louis would be plying his trade in the North of
:01:32. > :01:42.England? It is crazy, but I am enjoying it. Does that mean there
:01:42. > :01:42.
:01:42. > :01:49.are Carlisle supporters in America? Not too many. They could still
:01:49. > :01:54.swell the crowd. Whilst medals are up's play-off hopes are in the
:01:54. > :02:04.balance, there are grounds men has been named as the groundsman of the
:02:04. > :02:36.
:02:36. > :02:42.year. He would be preparing it for I have been here for 15 years. I
:02:42. > :02:48.started in 1997 at the training grounds. I brought it up through
:02:49. > :02:58.that, in 2002 I came to the stadium. It is over 10 years since I have
:02:59. > :03:12.
:03:12. > :03:22.been here. We start at 8:00am. It is strange because it is a big
:03:22. > :03:26.
:03:26. > :03:32.empty stadium. You get used to it. It has been a pleasure to work here.
:03:32. > :03:37.The job is to provide the best facilities for these guys to do
:03:37. > :03:46.their profession, professional football. We take a huge amount of
:03:46. > :03:53.pride in producing the best possible picture. -- pitch. There
:03:53. > :04:03.is no secret. You keep up with technology. Make sure the pet gets
:04:03. > :04:22.
:04:22. > :04:32.the nutrients it requires. -- pitch. We just had a very heavy downpour.
:04:32. > :04:35.
:04:35. > :04:44.Very heavy showers. The grass has taken it well. This is about the
:04:44. > :04:48.Three hundredth time I have done this. I am used to it now.
:04:48. > :04:55.Sometimes I get to work early or leave late and there is always a
:04:55. > :05:05.groundsman. I know the hours these guys put in. They are very
:05:05. > :05:09.
:05:09. > :05:14.dedicated. It used to just be cutting the grass. Big game today.
:05:14. > :05:24.We will try to spoil Southampton's party. Things could be decided
:05:24. > :05:39.
:05:39. > :05:45.before kick-off. Fingers crossed. They work through all weather. You
:05:45. > :05:55.should see their job in the winter. He has a great dedication and it is
:05:55. > :05:57.
:05:57. > :06:05.reward for many years of hard work. Obviously it is a massive honour.
:06:05. > :06:15.It is not just for me, I had a team of six. We work flat out. They did
:06:15. > :06:39.
:06:39. > :06:49.Rickie Lambert squares up, Southampton have taken the lead.
:06:49. > :07:00.
:07:00. > :07:10.Billy Sharp is a cut above the rest Into the back of the net from
:07:10. > :07:45.
:07:45. > :07:55.The weather helps. It swells the Into the back of their neck! That
:07:55. > :08:00.
:08:00. > :08:10.is it. Medals -- the play-off chances are still alive.
:08:10. > :08:14.
:08:14. > :08:19.Congratulations. Carlisle also won a prize in that competition. There
:08:19. > :08:23.is an unwritten respect for groundsmen around stadiums. You
:08:23. > :08:29.need to barter with them to be allowed near the pitch. They are
:08:29. > :08:36.very protective. I always ask him before I take my family on it. He
:08:36. > :08:43.has done wonders there on the Budget he has. I am always getting
:08:43. > :08:53.in trouble with them. I ask for their permission and the minute I
:08:53. > :08:56.
:08:56. > :09:02.Against all the arts, the reverse side might be prepared one more
:09:02. > :09:10.time for the play-offs. I cannot call this. They need to beat
:09:10. > :09:16.Watford. I could see any combination of results. He did
:09:16. > :09:24.really well. Getting into the play- offs would be a massive achievement.
:09:24. > :09:34.It fell apart a little bet against Doncaster last week. The odds are
:09:34. > :09:36.
:09:36. > :09:45.against them, but fingers crossed. Tony Mowbray says there is still a
:09:45. > :09:54.chance. Have a look at this, this was a tackle. I get the impression
:09:54. > :10:04.you think he should have gone. the referee gives a Val... Is that
:10:04. > :10:10.
:10:10. > :10:19.a file? -- foul? We have looked at We still cannot quite see if he got
:10:19. > :10:26.the players. There must have been contact for end to go down. When
:10:26. > :10:32.the referee makes that decision, it has to be a yellow card.
:10:32. > :10:41.Finally, some football analysis on Late Kick Off. Joey Barton's
:10:41. > :10:51.Twitter boycott continues. We are still embracing social media. The
:10:51. > :10:54.
:10:54. > :11:03.Twitter address is @LKONEC. We are Still to come, we meet Hartlepool's
:11:03. > :11:07.young talent and examine the future of youth football.
:11:07. > :11:12.Newcastle United have qualified for Europe, but they are in the box
:11:12. > :11:18.seat for the Champions League. They must be on the verge of being
:11:19. > :11:24.disappointed if they do not see this through. It is so excited, we
:11:24. > :11:34.did think they would qualify for Europe, but this extra dimension of
:11:34. > :11:44.getting to the Champions League is off the radar. Nobody expected this.
:11:44. > :11:45.
:11:45. > :11:53.Three games to go. It is not a certainty. Wigan had just beaten
:11:53. > :12:00.Arsenal. Manchester City are going for the title. They are a strong
:12:00. > :12:04.side, great confidence, you would expect them to win Wigan. They hope
:12:04. > :12:09.Chelsea beat Barcelona, then the emphasis will be on the Champions
:12:09. > :12:18.League. They will hold but Manchester United beat Manchester
:12:18. > :12:22.City. If things go their way, they might win those games. I love the
:12:22. > :12:32.rotation of contribution. Earlier it was Cheik Tiote, then it was
:12:32. > :12:32.
:12:33. > :12:41.Demba Ba. Now it is Papiss Demba Cisse Jack Perschke Yohan Cabaye,
:12:41. > :12:47.Alan Pardew must be excited. the players keep talking about the
:12:47. > :12:55.contribution from squad players. People like James Perch. He became
:12:55. > :13:01.a hero. Everybody has contributed. When they have the first denied
:13:01. > :13:07.like this weekend, they are top class. I have not seen them play
:13:07. > :13:12.this well for 10 years. It is a real treat to watch them. When we
:13:12. > :13:17.see a striker in such form as Papiss Demba Cisse, some of his
:13:17. > :13:25.career -- some of the goals, they must be talking about him every
:13:25. > :13:30.week. It is a ridiculous record. Long may it continue. It is
:13:30. > :13:38.unbelievable. They are doing so well. The goals they score are up
:13:38. > :13:46.there with all the teams. It is a pleasure to watch. It is a pleasure
:13:47. > :13:51.for Newcastle fans. This made YouTube last week... Papiss Demba
:13:51. > :14:01.Cisse coming out of their hairdressers. He paid �6 for the
:14:01. > :14:08.
:14:08. > :14:15.It can't be that good, he has got a cap on. Just looking at that, thank
:14:15. > :14:23.you for putting that online. 40,000 hits, Alan Pardew says he pays �55
:14:23. > :14:31.for a haircut. He said that was a �50 tip. Some very special hair.
:14:31. > :14:35.From Papiss Cisse, to Sunderland. No goals at all in four. Great
:14:35. > :14:41.motivational skills as a match- winner -- manager to get the squad
:14:41. > :14:45.going, but he will now look at next season. He must look at next season,
:14:46. > :14:53.he said for the last three games he wants to look at other players who
:14:53. > :15:02.have not got into the team. We will see players come back in, looking
:15:02. > :15:07.at the summer there is a big deal to be done. Do we expect the Danish
:15:07. > :15:12.striker to say and Stephen Fletcher from Wolverhampton Wanderers has
:15:12. > :15:18.been mentioned. I think there will be some big changes at Sunderland,
:15:18. > :15:24.every manager wants to change it, he will want to make big changes.
:15:24. > :15:31.We were talking about goalscorers, including Papiss Cisse. What a blow
:15:31. > :15:38.to lose your top scorer, Frank. Lose in him for the season when
:15:38. > :15:42.chasing the play-offs is a big blow. Losing against job old club,
:15:42. > :15:48.Sheffield Wednesday. Off the back of playing Stevenage and Charlton
:15:48. > :15:54.Athletic to clinch promotion. What a bloke, to get back into it and
:15:54. > :16:01.then to get spanked so hard, it must really sting. 5th minute of
:16:01. > :16:07.injury-time. It was tough to take. Tufted takes so we are making the
:16:07. > :16:09.Watchet. Last minute of the game, I was lucky to be on my feet. They
:16:09. > :16:12.was lucky to be on my feet. They are a very strong team physically.
:16:12. > :16:21.are a very strong team physically. What are the boys are saying about
:16:21. > :16:27.it. We are going to have to win our last games. We were in a very good
:16:27. > :16:32.position two weeks ago. We have had a tough run of games. But, if we
:16:32. > :16:36.can win our last two games I hope they will slip up.
:16:36. > :16:41.It still will have been a very good season. For a while Hartlepool
:16:41. > :16:46.United have only been playing for pride, but one positive they can
:16:46. > :16:52.take from this season is the UK system. First-team debuts for five
:16:52. > :17:02.teenagers. It is fair that the new elite player performance plan could
:17:02. > :17:04.
:17:04. > :17:09.seriously hit youth development at clubs like Hartlepool.
:17:09. > :17:19.Another day at college for Hartlepool's rising star, but you
:17:19. > :17:22.
:17:22. > :17:26.cannot teach this. I'm Luke James, a centre-forward and I am 17. I am
:17:26. > :17:31.busy doing my school work. I come to college on a full day on
:17:31. > :17:41.Thursday and a half day on Friday. I would rather be training but here
:17:41. > :17:45.
:17:46. > :17:50.I am. I think he has got the potential for a very big future. He
:17:50. > :17:55.has not got there yet, he has to practise in some areas but he does
:17:55. > :18:00.practise every day. He does a bit extra after training. He has got
:18:00. > :18:07.the right attitude and the right tools to be a good footballer. He
:18:08. > :18:12.is not the tallest but he is strong, powerful and quick. It is sack his
:18:12. > :18:19.touch and awareness of other players. His goalscoring threat. He
:18:19. > :18:23.has adapted really well to first team life. When the manager first
:18:23. > :18:26.came in he said it does not matter how old you are if you are good
:18:26. > :18:32.enough. You will play. He has been true to his word and I have to
:18:32. > :18:37.thank him for that. It has paid off for me because I am loving football
:18:37. > :18:42.at the minute. The first Banksy I scored, I thought I was dreaming at
:18:42. > :18:51.first. I did not know what to do, I did not have a celebration. I was
:18:51. > :19:00.just running around going mad. -- the first goal. My target now is to
:19:00. > :19:06.get into the first-team spot. It has been a whirlwind year for me.
:19:06. > :19:09.Luke is part of a youth revolution at Hartlepool. The number of
:19:09. > :19:13.teenage first-team debuts this season there is standing at six and
:19:14. > :19:18.last week the club offered professional contracts to no less
:19:18. > :19:21.than five of the youth team. the future of the club it is very
:19:21. > :19:25.important to have a good youth system and for the young boys to
:19:25. > :19:35.come through and progress towards the first team. I have always said
:19:35. > :19:38.
:19:38. > :19:42.if they are good enough they will We have had to Jack Baldwin,
:19:42. > :19:49.playing in numerous positions. was hoping to make my debut this
:19:49. > :19:56.season, but to get the number of games I have, 10, or 11. A massive
:19:56. > :20:01.jump up. We have had a two, three, or possibly for pushing to get into
:20:01. > :20:10.the first team. If not this year then the next year. Pushing for a
:20:11. > :20:17.start. I am Josh, 18 and centre midfield. I had a good deal last
:20:17. > :20:26.year. Scored a lot of goals in the reserves and youth team. I think I
:20:27. > :20:30.have been close but I just want to get the chance again. It is great
:20:30. > :20:35.for me, I am a senior player and a lovely for the young lads to come
:20:35. > :20:45.in and keep me on my toes. Nice with my experience to nurture them
:20:45. > :20:47.
:20:47. > :20:54.In future, lower league teams like Hartlepool United might find it a
:20:54. > :20:59.little more difficult to develop talented youngsters. The new elite
:20:59. > :21:03.player performance plan means that clubs with top-ranked Academy's can
:21:03. > :21:08.cherry-pick the top talent from an early age. It no longer matters how
:21:08. > :21:13.far away a young player lives and worse still clubs will not receive
:21:13. > :21:18.beat my for the young players they do develop. The reservations are,
:21:18. > :21:23.will it work? Will it produce more youngsters? We have many coming
:21:23. > :21:28.through with this system, will this produce more? I don't think so.
:21:28. > :21:35.Despite those misgivings, Hartlepool were one of 46 out of 92
:21:35. > :21:38.to vote in favour. If the Football league had voted against it, the �5
:21:38. > :21:43.million a year they received from the Premier League would have been
:21:44. > :21:48.withheld. We looked at it quite quickly, along with the other clubs.
:21:48. > :21:52.We did not have a long time to digest the fact. When you start
:21:52. > :21:57.looking at it and analysing everything in detail, maybe we
:21:57. > :22:00.would not have voted for it. Premier League is keen to stress
:22:00. > :22:04.the new proposals will increase the youth development payments for all
:22:05. > :22:09.clubs over the next four years. Hartlepool United is strongly
:22:09. > :22:13.committed to developing the youth team, but the worry is that it mean
:22:13. > :22:17.some smaller clubs may mean it is not worth spending time and effort
:22:17. > :22:26.on youth development. I feel many other clubs in our division will
:22:26. > :22:30.drop down to category four, because of the finances. You will get
:22:30. > :22:35.similar-sized clubs to this, without any use. Whatever happened
:22:35. > :22:38.in the brave new world of elite plans and Academy categories,
:22:38. > :22:44.Hartlepool United are confident that their new kids will continue
:22:44. > :22:49.to make the grade. Positives first, three home-grown
:22:49. > :22:54.teenager started the game at Prenton Park. Jordan Richards made
:22:54. > :23:01.his full debut, plus Darren Holden came on. I am sorry to keep going
:23:01. > :23:06.over these bad memories, Frank, but you did get murdered by Luke James.
:23:06. > :23:11.He played really well against us. We had a man sent off that day and
:23:11. > :23:17.they took full advantage. He ran riot. You saw a couple of goals he
:23:17. > :23:24.scored against us. A very good player. To a large extent, this is
:23:24. > :23:30.a great business model. A perfect a vestige, doing what they should be,
:23:30. > :23:35.bringing through local boys. To get three or four in the town to make
:23:35. > :23:38.their debuts, that is fantastic. Fans want to see local home-grown
:23:38. > :23:43.players playing for the club and being the core, then you bring
:23:43. > :23:49.other people into work around them. That is what brings the fans back
:23:49. > :23:56.every year. Develop your talent in those levels, in Leagues One and
:23:56. > :24:01.Two, not players from Belgium and Holland. Careful, careful, we have
:24:01. > :24:09.an American on the sofa. They can be just as good at developing their
:24:09. > :24:14.own kids. The hazard for the a lead player performance plan is...
:24:14. > :24:18.will not get the money they are used to, if they have a really good
:24:18. > :24:25.19 year old, a great striker who they could get millions for, under
:24:26. > :24:29.the new system he could be poached for �200,000, maximum, at a lower
:24:29. > :24:34.age. This has been the lifeblood for these clubs. Selling players
:24:34. > :24:40.for a couple of million pounds. compensation is pretty naff, if you
:24:40. > :24:46.have been in an academy, a couple only get �3,000 per year for the
:24:46. > :24:51.Academy for a 12-16 year-olds, they are four different academy groups.
:24:51. > :24:56.This is the counter argument, 46 clubs voted in favour of it and
:24:56. > :24:59.they did because �5 million gets divided between the Football League
:24:59. > :25:04.clubs and they don't have the confidence in their own youth set-
:25:04. > :25:09.ups that they will get a bit return and they take the pennies instead.
:25:09. > :25:12.You have to question it, a bit of a bullying tactics from the Premier
:25:12. > :25:16.League to get it through. Threatening to withdraw the �5
:25:16. > :25:20.million if they withdrew was tough talking tactics from the Premier
:25:20. > :25:25.League and they knew what they were doing. Danny, I think it was part
:25:25. > :25:28.of a number of measures, synergy between the Football League and
:25:28. > :25:32.Premier Li, including media presentation and how many things
:25:32. > :25:39.were done. I think it was pushed through quickly for fear of losing
:25:39. > :25:45.money. Give us some positives. -- Premiere league. He it goes back to
:25:45. > :25:50.when I was an apprentice, I was in Norwich, we had players from
:25:50. > :25:54.Cornwall, Bristol, from all over the country. If you made it into an
:25:55. > :26:00.academy, into the junior section of a football club, you were elite.
:26:00. > :26:05.They had 12 or 15 players, no shadow squads. No satellite
:26:05. > :26:11.academies. At the moment, for me, Premier League clubs spread far too
:26:11. > :26:16.wide. They will take kids on the off chance that one of them is good.
:26:16. > :26:18.These elite centres will mean they take the very best of the best and
:26:18. > :26:23.will concentrate on them. Other good players will come through it
:26:23. > :26:28.and those who do not quite make it will drop in at 19, 20. Stuff like
:26:28. > :26:33.that. You are saying it is for the better good, is that what it is
:26:33. > :26:37.about? Academies have not changed players coming through, we do not
:26:37. > :26:43.develop any more players than when I was a young lad. The coaching
:26:43. > :26:49.time has got less. The us will make it better? You need 10,000 hours to
:26:49. > :26:52.become a expert at anything, we are far behind in this country.
:26:53. > :26:57.Barcelona have done it for years, they produce much better quality
:26:57. > :27:01.than us. If we are going to end up with a quality national side, we
:27:02. > :27:08.need only two players and we do not have that at the moment. Not enough
:27:08. > :27:13.focus on the elite. It is the wastage that worries me, Frank, you
:27:13. > :27:18.were schooled by Arsenal from age 12 but only played one game in be
:27:18. > :27:27.league Cup. Still a great career, but picking yourself up after being
:27:27. > :27:33.squirted out, because it does not work that grew there. There were 15
:27:33. > :27:38.to 20 of us at Arsenal, only one or two are still in the game. The
:27:38. > :27:48.drop-out rate is incredible. If you had more coaching and time on De Ed
:27:48. > :27:50.
:27:50. > :27:54.Balls did have made a difference? For all me, probably not. Academies,
:27:54. > :27:58.whether it be Manchester United or Carlisle, they normally bank on
:27:58. > :28:04.getting on average one player out of the Under 18 team into a first
:28:04. > :28:09.team. That statistic has not changed. That his success. Until we
:28:09. > :28:14.get three or four the English game will not get better. We must just
:28:14. > :28:19.give a mention to Fabricio Coloccini. He made the team of the
:28:19. > :28:24.year, nobody else did from our region. He has confounded all
:28:24. > :28:28.critics, hasn't he? A in the first season he was nowhere, he looks
:28:28. > :28:33.terrible. This year he has been brilliant and fully deserving. He
:28:33. > :28:38.has led the team behind the scenes according to all counts. Pulling