"Arthur, here's this year's financial statements. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 Info" Abby, who is now promoted to Blackburn Rovers Club Operations Director, handed a wad of papers to his desk.

At the end of each year, there are various summaries, and the most important of them is naturally the financial income and expenditure, and Blackburn is no exception to clubs that are managed by corporations.

Many clubs' financial inventory will be placed in the summer offseason, but Arthur does not like it, on the one hand, it is when the transfer period is turbulent, and the financial data will not be accurate at all, on the other hand, the summer is generally Arthur's vacation time, Arthur does not like to give up his vacation, but sits at the club and reads a bunch of complicated reports.

"Hmm." Although he has a professional financial analyst and secretary, Arthur will not ignore any financial problems.

"This year, apart from the salaries of our first-team players, the biggest expense is on the Academy?" Arthur asked, frowning.

'Yes, since 2000, the Academy's spending has been in the top three of all clubs. Abby clearly knows all about the data.

"The top three?" Arthur looked at the tens of millions of pounds a year spent on the Academy, and his brow was furrowed.

Arthur now understands why many clubs, even the big clubs, don't pay so much attention to their own academy. Blackburn's academy has spent at least £200 million since 2000 – the most in European football.

But Arthur dropped 200 million pounds, but the Blackburn Academy did not provide any useful talent, leaving aside Duff, who became famous before Arthur took over, the only thing in the academy in recent years that has been able to gain a foothold in the first team is Martin Taylor, a substitute defender at the end of the bench.

Arthur does not expect Blackburn's academy to produce top stars like Messi and Xavi like La Masia, but he hopes that his 200 million spending will at least allow his academy to produce Three Lions internationals such as Carrick and Parker.

"Alas, as a boss, it's better to train in the youth in China." Arthur's sentiment is not unreasonable, because in China, youth training can make money, while in England, youth training is definitely a money-losing goods.

According to FA rules, the minimum age group for Blackburn's Academy is Under-9, and from there, there is one team for each age group, until the Under-17 and Under-18 age groups are combined. So, the children who sign for the Academy for the first time range in age from 8 to 16 years old.

The terms of the contract are generally two-way, and the children are expected to be of good character and attend training on time. The club is responsible for providing high-level training, staffing a professional physiotherapist team, defining the children's development plan, and giving them the opportunity to participate in various competitions.

Stage 1: 9 to 11 years old.

At this stage, the contract is signed once a year. The first priority at this stage is to develop interests and practice basic skills.

Southampton's Academy Director Hunt sums it up: "Let the kids sweat, smile and learn, and you've achieved your goal. ”

Stage 2: 12 to 15 years old.

At this stage, the contract is extended to a two-year contract. Players aged 12 to 15 train three times a week for a minimum of five hours and have one match scheduled over the weekend. The training content is mainly to practice passing, running, and shooting repeatedly, so that various football skills are deeply ingrained in their memory and muscles.

At this stage, the young players began to play 7v7 and 9 games, but the positions on the field were not fixed. One is to hope that they can feel multiple positions, enhance their understanding of the game, and constantly enrich their arsenal. The second is to give coaches a chance to explore the potential of young players, after all, every goalkeeper once had a striker's heart when he was a child.

Stage 3: 16 to 18 years old.

The age of 16 is a watershed moment in the academy, and young players who still haven't improved their skills will return or be returned at this age. Players who remain can become 'full-time apprentices' on apprenticeships with £100 a week, while finding a place to stay close to the club.

Because these children, who have made up their minds to live on football for the rest of their lives, need to train more often: they have to train twice a day from Monday to Friday, and they have one game to play on the weekend, so it is impossible to go to school anymore. They can sign their first professional contract at the age of 17, with a weekly salary depending on the club's situation, with the majority of Blackburn Academy youngsters under £2,000.

Stage 4: 18 to 22 years old.

When they become adults, the skills and positions of the young players are basically fixed, and those who perform particularly well in the academy will enter the first team to train with the team, always ready to usher in their debut.

However, because the quality of the reserve team players is too far behind the stars of the Blue Devils' first team, only Tom White, the main goalkeeper of the reserve team, can train with the team at the moment.

In addition to first-team matches, players aged 15 to 18 can also play in the FA Youth Cup; The Under-18s and Under-21s can also compete in their respective divisions in the Professional Development League, which is not tied to the first team, such as Crystal Palace and Watford, who are still in the second tier.

In addition, Blackburn, who have been securing the Champions League place over the years, can also organize the U19 team to participate in the Youth Champions League, but compared with the first team's majestic form in the Champions League, the Blue Devils U19 have been abused in the Youth League competition.

You must know that for these games, Arthur also specially prepared good hardware conditions for the young players, such as a special press room, fitness gym, physiotherapy room, psychological counseling room and very advanced spa equipment, with a Jack Walker stadium that can accommodate more than 5,000 spectators, and the youth training field has 12 different kinds of turf to allow young players to adapt to different field conditions.

However, the results were disastrous – Blackburn Rovers had their best result in the UEFA Youth League in six seasons being a place in the quarter-finals.

Although the FA has been scolded, Arthur knows that the football association of a certain country cannot predict the comparison, for example, although the FA has a detailed requirement: young players cannot participate in less than 24 official matches per year, but not more than 30 games.

Because the value of youth training is not how many games are played, but to help young players mature in their skills and tactics, so that the team and himself have a clear understanding of the future.

For example, the children in the Arthur Academy are each given a laptop from the age of eight. Every training session, every game and video is compiled into a file and can be viewed at any time.

Before each game, the young players already know what their goals are for this training session, for this training session, and the coach just needs to point them out and add some team goals.

And for the young players who make mistakes, of course, the club will not choose to fine, but let them just watch and not touch the ball on the sidelines, which is really a punishment that is both human and inhumane.

If he is not able to establish himself in the team around the age of 22, Blackburn will also help the youngster try out for a team in the lower leagues, or go to university to study sports, or change careers altogether.

Fortunately, young players train while going to school until the age of 16, and the Blackburn Academy will also arrange cultural courses after the age of 16, and they will stare at you until the age of 20 to learn mathematics, physics and chemistry.

Blackburn's academy has become the most humane and highest-invested youth training base in Europe, but when it comes to this, many people may have questions in their minds, why the youth training is so strong, Blackburn Academy's academy has not been able to get any decent results over the years, and it has even been jokingly called by some fans "No one can play in the first team, no one can play in the reserve team".

Because, the above content is a youth training system that has been gradually implemented in the past six or seven years, and most of the players in Blackburn's reserve team in recent years did not have these benefits when they were in the youth training.

Therefore, in this part of football youth training, it may not be possible to see the effect within ten years.

"Abby, you said I would see the youth come to fruition, how many years will I have to wait?" Arthur leaned back in his large office chair and motioned for Abby to massage his shoulder, feeling the other party's gentle and heavy pressure, and asked pleasantly.

"Maybe it will take five or six years to see results." Abby replied uncertainly.

"No, I can't wait that long." Although Arthur is not distressed by the investment of tens of millions of pounds a year, he does not like the feeling of getting nothing.

"And what are you going to do?" Abby asked curiously.

"Hehe, dig people." Arthur chuckled, "Isn't that how our first team has risen? ”

Arthur knows this year is the only time for his academy to have any hope of prieing away young potential players in the next five years.

In January 2009, the FA introduced a rule that players under the age of 12 could only play in the team's academy within an hour's drive of their residence, while players aged 13 to 16 could join an academy within an hour's and 30's drive of their residence.

When Arthur first saw this regulation, he immediately felt a sense of ecstasy in his heart that "this world's problem has finally been solved by the landlord with a keyboard". Because of this plan of forcibly zoning to go to school, some little beets will be forcibly divided into some youth leagues with limited conditions in the lower leagues, and the training time and quality cannot be guaranteed. And, if parents want to send their children to a better academy, they have to choose ......

Ahem, buy a school district house and move.

For the FA's historic trick, the team was even more angry. Because it means that the team's selection range is limited to their own doorstep.

Former Newcastle boss Rod once commented: "Whether it is north or west from Newcastle, within an hour and a half of driving, I am afraid that there are many more sheep than academy seedlings." "Actually, Newcastle is pretty good, if your team is in a position near the sea, half of the academy places have to be given to fish. For example, Liverpool.

Although the FA has also found itself in the middle of the rules, and has introduced a set of reforms called the "Elite Player Development Scheme", it will not be five years later.

"Abby, call Monchi to me tomorrow, we need this sporting director in our academy." Arthur slapped Abby's hip canal. (To be continued.) )