United give youth chance to develop

Nov 13 2008 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

Newcastle’s short-term future may be up in the air, but steps are being taken to improve the long-term prospects. Mark Douglas reports on an encouraging development

THE long-term health of the Mike Ashley regime is in serious peril – but Newcastle United’s current custodians appear not to have given up on their ambitious vision to turn the club into the ‘Arsenal of the North East’.

Executive director (football) Dennis Wise, chairman Derek Llambias and technical co-ordinator Jeff Vetere were all interested bystanders as United launched their wide-ranging school skills initiative – a major programme aimed at identifying potential Premier League talent from over 100,000 North East primary schoolchildren.

Ashley, Wise and Llambias might not be around to see the project bear fruit, but it is clear they have given Academy director Richard Money time and resources to help pursue his long-term vision for transforming the club’s youth system.

Money has appointed Craig Dean, a former skills co-ordinator at the Football Association, to oversee the ambitious programme, and he will oversee a team of coaches going into local schools and putting on training sessions for children aged between seven and nine.

As well as good PR and increasing their presence in local community, it also gives United a chance to identify the best local talent at a young age and filter them into United’s youth system.

Around 60 children from Our Lady & St Anne’s and Cullercoats primary schools were the first to benefit, invited to St James’s Park for the inaugural training session under the watchful eye of Sebastien Bassong and Steven Taylor.

Judging by the enthusiasm of the children and parents it can be chalked up as a success, and the club have already identified a couple of young players worth monitoring.

For Taylor, the most recent Academy graduate to wear the black and white of Newcastle, the programme represents an opportunity he never had.

“It’s a massive thing for these kids to be able to express themselves in front of the coaches of Newcastle. I never got it when I was at school and I’m sure they’ll consider themselves lucky and fortunate to get that chance,” he said.

“It’s important for Newcastle to be doing things like this and to make sure the club is the centre of youth football in the area. I think you saw with Arsenal on Wednesday how important it is. Many of them were at Arsenal at the age of six or seven and it’s something that I think we need to do as well.”

Given the breathtaking display of Arsenal’s glittering teenagers on Tuesday, the revamping of United’s youth system hasn’t come a minute too soon. Dean said: “The programme is for everyone – we’re trying to encourage an active lifestyle for children. But it is also great method of talent identification because there are boys and girls out there at five, six, seven and eight who could be in our centre of excellence.

“We saw one or two that the recruitment guys have got their eyes on, for example.

“For me it is a surprise that there haven’t been many Geordies in the professional game – or at least not as many as there should be – but maybe it is one of those things where previous regimes haven’t allowed it to take place. Maybe now this regime wants to bring local talent through.”