Town chief executive Simon Clegg says the Blues are still to make a decision on whether to opt for Academy Category One or Two status when the changes to the system come into force next season.

He says that while the club knows the figures involved - an annual cost of £1.5 million plus a £750,000 grant from the Premier League for Category One or £480,000 plus a grant of another £480,000 for Category Two — the full details of what will be involved are not yet clear.

Clegg, manager Paul Jewell and owner Marcus Evans will weigh up the pros and cons: “It’s a decision the three of us will come to," he said.

“At the moment they’ve not given us the full detail of what’s involved. They’ve given us the figures, which [for Category One] are a significant increase on what we’re spending at the moment.

“You have to say, what are the benefits of Category One? And one of the benefits is that you can effectively poach on a nationwide basis, but you need to think realistically how many parents from just outside Newcastle are going to let someone under the age of 15 relocate down to Ipswich?

“Most people who have got young teenagers in an ideal world would want them to grow up at home and be able to continue their footballing skills within the normal family arrangement.”

Norwich City have said they will be opting for Category One - Town Academy manager Sammy Morgan's preference from a footballing perspective - but Clegg says that doesn’t necessarily mean the Blues will follow their lead, despite fears that Town's youth set-up might be viewed as a second class system: “We won’t be forced into it. What we will do is do the right thing for this football club.

“We will continue to invest and prioritise the Academy accordingly and we will continue to select players when it’s right and when they are ready to move into the first team.

“But let’s not lose sight of the additional money that’s going to cost and you have to weigh up the financial benefits in the context of financial fair play.

“It may well be that youth development sits outside that, that’s still to be decided and that’s something which has been mooted, but it’s still an important consideration in terms of the overall financing of a football team. ”

He says he’s well aware of the cash brought in by selling Town’s young talent over the years: “I’ve done a huge analysis in terms of how much money has been generated by the Academy over the years.

“You only need to throw a Connor Wickham, a Titus Bramble or a Kieron Dyer every few years. It’s quite interesting to look at those figures.”

As for the financial fair play developments which Championship clubs signed up to earlier in the year, he says the details of how clubs move to a break-even model are amongst the many unknowns at present: “Nothing’s been set yet, that’s the challenge. “

“There’s going to be a level of deviation that you’re allowed over a period of time. The period of time and the level of deviation is still being determined. There’s still a lot of detail to go on this. I’m told we will get a formal presentation in February.”

Clegg and Town back the proposals with the Blues’ and other sides’ debts growing year on year as clubs compete to sign the best players at this level: “The club supports it as a matter of principle. I come at this like the 23 other clubs in the Championship and that is that we’ll agree with it as long as we can retain some competitive advantage.

“I’m not going to agree to something which is going to be financially disadvantageous to us over and above the other teams. But, of course, every other club is looking at it in exactly the same way.”

The Blues chief admits to being not overly happy with the way the changes to the youth system came about: “I have to say I was hugely frustrated with the academy thing. We were held to ransom by the Premier League.

“Eighteen months ago we agreed to a new solidarity payment and part of the agreement to that was the complete review and restructuring of the academy set-up, and now we find ourselves in this position.

“Would we have voted for the solidarity agreement 18 months ago if we knew what we knew now? I don’t know. The answer to that probably is yes because, let’s not kid ourselves, the Football League is totally dependent on the financial support of the Premier League to continue.”

Meanwhile, a recent graduate of the Academy, midfielder Reggie Lambe, who was released by the club last summer, has had his move to MLS side Toronto FC confirmed.

The 20-year-old will be working under Blues legend Paul Mariner, who is the Canadian club's director of player development.

Photo: Action Images

shaunminx added 21:31 - Dec 8 R.I.P ITFC. Those that are f**king up this once great club of ours are gonna be off by this time next year once all the sh*t in London has finished and we could well be on the way to league two and obscurity by then. Go any other way than cat 1 then the club may as well be closed down now.
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StochesStotasBlewe added 22:01 - Dec 8 No brainer. Catagory 1 acadamy is a MUST for the future of our club. If these f,ing dimwits can,t see that, then GET OUT NOW. Burley, Wark, Gates, King Kevin, non of them thought twice about moving here when they were youngsters, nor did their families, as they knew they would be well looked after & had a good chance of making the grade, as they most certainly did. Another nail in the coffin of OUR once proud & highly respected club if this fails to be put into place.

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Ipswichbusiness added 22:32 - Dec 8 I seem to remember watching a bit of film of a boy from the Newcastle area shaking hands with John Wark. We didn't sign the boy. His name was Paul Gascoigne.
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moggasnotebook added 23:35 - Dec 8 As a parent of a child in the academy of a (un-named) club there are a couple of things to bear in mind - if Town go for Cat 2 instead of Cat 1 it does mean that boys at ITFC can get poached by Cat 1 clubs with very little reward to the Cat 2 club BUT it does NOT mean the player HAS to go! The player might not want to go for a variety of reasons including the fact that he may feel that he has more chance of breaking into a first team where he currently is. Furthermore, it is not possible for all parents of, say a boy living in Ipswich who has a chance to go to West Ham or Tottenham, to be able to afford the fuel / time off work and commitment to get him there 4 or 5 times a week. At 15 and 16 years old (and younger) these kids can not drive a car themselves and hence at that age it is not just the starstruck players decision! I accept that as kids get older they can drive and legally sign whatever they wish but let's face facts if these 'big' Cat 1 clubs can pinch these young players for next to nothing they are going to have dozens and dozens of them and there is NIL chance of them all getting a game and only the very, very best will ever break into the first team. What would you do as an 16 / 17 / 18 year old? Let's pray and hope that we go for (and get) Cat 1 that we all think we deserve and need BUT it is not the end of the world if we do not get it, is it? Would Jason Dozell at 16 chose to go to Narwich or West Ham if they had been knocking his door down with him being a local lad with determination to play for his boyhood team? I know this argument does not stack up with our boys from slightly further afield (Bent and Ambrose?) Under no circumstances will all Cat 1 clubs be fielding first teams on a Saturday afternoon full of 19 - 22 year olds that they have taken from lesser Cat clubs for peanuts.

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TractorRoyNo1 added 00:55 - Dec 9 McCall, Gates, Beattie, Turner, Roberts how many more examples do you need mr clegg? but you need to think realistically how many parents from just outside Newcastle are going to let someone under the age of 15 relocate down to Ipswich?
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h32 added 09:58 - Dec 9 ...... is 'just outside Newcastle' the only place in this country ? - the amount of times it's been mentioned you would think so.
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