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Jimmy Phillips fears cost reductions and staff cuts at Wanderers will impact upon the club’s academy.
Several first-team coaching and medical staff were informed last week they were either being made redundant, or would serve out of the remainder of their notice as the Whites begin to prepare for life in League One.
The current structure has been described as “unsustainable” but though the club indicated last week a clear-out of their highest-earning players was not a foregone conclusion, as many had predicted, further cuts are being predicted.
Even Phillips, manager of the academy since 2008, is unsure what the future might hold at the much-envied Lostock facility.
“It hasn’t impacted as yet but I think the football club will sort out the first-team structure first and then move on to the academy,” he told The Bolton News.
“You would hope those cuts are not too bad. One big positive of this is the academy is producing players who are capable and who are also assets to the club.”
After several years of struggling to get young players progressing through to first-team level, the financial problems faced by Wanderers in the last two years have made them reliant on the home-grown crop.
Josh Vela had established himself around the senior squad but Zach Clough, Tom Walker, Rob Holding, Oscar Threlkeld, Niall Maher, Alex Samizadeh, Jamie Thomas, Tyler Garratt, Andy Kellett and Harry Campbell have all been involved in the last couple of seasons having come through the academy ranks.
George Newell, Alex Finney, Kaiyne Woolery, Ross Fitzsimons, Hayden White, Quade Taylor, Jordan Lussey and Conor Wilkinson have also been imported from other academy set-ups and polished up by Wanderers.
Holding is now being eyed by a number of top clubs, with a bid – believed to be from Arsenal – coming in at the end of last week. Clough, Vela and Woolery have also had admiring glances cast from elsewhere.
Phillips accepts losing the players the academy has helped to create is going to be par for the course as the club continues to try and right itself financially. But he remains confident maintaining investment at youth level will be the best way to improve Wanderers' lot over the longer term.
“Creating players who are capable of going to play at first-team level is all we can do as an academy,” he said. “And in the past we have had players who have been good enough but haven’t been given the opportunity.
“It’s up to the board then to decide how they are going to deal with those assets, whether they are going to keep them at the club or whether they will sell them on and if that’s the case, the money should get ploughed straight back in to improve the playing staff.
“We have to face facts – this is the situation we’re in now.
“Yes, it would be great to keep all our young players, as academy manager of course that’s what I want. People who are in charge of the club might see things slightly differently."
Wanderers made a decision in June last year to downgrade their academy from category one to category two, as outlined by the EPPP (Elite Player Performance Plan) set out by the Premier League.
That move saved the club £1million a year and it was claimed at the time jobs were not under threat and only the player-to-coach ratio could be adjusted.
The concern among some Whites fans, and particularly at the academy, is that the club could now look to step down another level, to category three, which could mean part-time coaching and the removal of some roles.
No decision has been made officially but all avenues will be examined as the ongoing review into spending continues.
Advised running costs for a category-three academy are in the region of £500,000 a year, around half of the current budget. The rules also recommend the player-to-coach ratio in a category-three academy is one to 10.
Competitive fixtures would also be played against lower-grade opposition than present – with the likes of Morecambe, Accrington Stanley, Shrewsbury Town and Wrexham competing in the Professional Development League Three.
Perhaps most worryingly, however, the amount of statutory compensation Wanderers would receive for a player who has not yet signed a professional contract would be significantly reduced.
Source
Several first-team coaching and medical staff were informed last week they were either being made redundant, or would serve out of the remainder of their notice as the Whites begin to prepare for life in League One.
The current structure has been described as “unsustainable” but though the club indicated last week a clear-out of their highest-earning players was not a foregone conclusion, as many had predicted, further cuts are being predicted.
Even Phillips, manager of the academy since 2008, is unsure what the future might hold at the much-envied Lostock facility.
“It hasn’t impacted as yet but I think the football club will sort out the first-team structure first and then move on to the academy,” he told The Bolton News.
“You would hope those cuts are not too bad. One big positive of this is the academy is producing players who are capable and who are also assets to the club.”
After several years of struggling to get young players progressing through to first-team level, the financial problems faced by Wanderers in the last two years have made them reliant on the home-grown crop.
Josh Vela had established himself around the senior squad but Zach Clough, Tom Walker, Rob Holding, Oscar Threlkeld, Niall Maher, Alex Samizadeh, Jamie Thomas, Tyler Garratt, Andy Kellett and Harry Campbell have all been involved in the last couple of seasons having come through the academy ranks.
George Newell, Alex Finney, Kaiyne Woolery, Ross Fitzsimons, Hayden White, Quade Taylor, Jordan Lussey and Conor Wilkinson have also been imported from other academy set-ups and polished up by Wanderers.
Holding is now being eyed by a number of top clubs, with a bid – believed to be from Arsenal – coming in at the end of last week. Clough, Vela and Woolery have also had admiring glances cast from elsewhere.
Phillips accepts losing the players the academy has helped to create is going to be par for the course as the club continues to try and right itself financially. But he remains confident maintaining investment at youth level will be the best way to improve Wanderers' lot over the longer term.
“Creating players who are capable of going to play at first-team level is all we can do as an academy,” he said. “And in the past we have had players who have been good enough but haven’t been given the opportunity.
“It’s up to the board then to decide how they are going to deal with those assets, whether they are going to keep them at the club or whether they will sell them on and if that’s the case, the money should get ploughed straight back in to improve the playing staff.
“We have to face facts – this is the situation we’re in now.
“Yes, it would be great to keep all our young players, as academy manager of course that’s what I want. People who are in charge of the club might see things slightly differently."
Wanderers made a decision in June last year to downgrade their academy from category one to category two, as outlined by the EPPP (Elite Player Performance Plan) set out by the Premier League.
That move saved the club £1million a year and it was claimed at the time jobs were not under threat and only the player-to-coach ratio could be adjusted.
The concern among some Whites fans, and particularly at the academy, is that the club could now look to step down another level, to category three, which could mean part-time coaching and the removal of some roles.
No decision has been made officially but all avenues will be examined as the ongoing review into spending continues.
Advised running costs for a category-three academy are in the region of £500,000 a year, around half of the current budget. The rules also recommend the player-to-coach ratio in a category-three academy is one to 10.
Competitive fixtures would also be played against lower-grade opposition than present – with the likes of Morecambe, Accrington Stanley, Shrewsbury Town and Wrexham competing in the Professional Development League Three.
Perhaps most worryingly, however, the amount of statutory compensation Wanderers would receive for a player who has not yet signed a professional contract would be significantly reduced.
Source
