Manager Paul Jewell says that all things being equal the Blues would opt for Category One Academy status but echoed chief executive Simon Clegg’s earlier comments that no decision has yet been made. The Blues boss says he, the Academy staff, Clegg and owner Marcus Evans will sit down to work out the best way forward is for the club once the details of the changes to the youth system are clearer.
Jewell says that deciding to develop a Category One Academy would certainly be preferable, although he is yet to sift through the documentation with the wide-ranging plans changing on a frequent basis: "Ideally we would, but to be honest there have been that many changes to the academies and I’ve got that many drafts from [Academy manager] Sammy Morgan on my desk with one draft different to another that I’m waiting for the final draft before going through it to see what we think’s the best way forward.
"Then we’ll all have a meeting - the Academy staff, Simon Clegg, the owner and myself. I think that is the best way. What we want to do is the best for the club.”
Jewell says he was delighted that the U18s beat Leeds in the FA Youth Cup on Tuesday but believes winning matchesand competitions isn’t the be-all and end-all at that level: "The kids won the other night which is terrific, but it’s not just about winning.
"The team that won the FA Youth Cup, how many of them are still playing now? It’s not all about winning, although we want that winning attitude.
"You want them to win, but it’s about developing them. I never say to Russell Osman, ‘what’s the score?’, I know the score, I ask them how they’ve played going through each player.
"There’s only one result at the club that matters really, and that’s the first team. Everything else should be development to eventually get in that first team.”
Norwich’s much-publicised decision to choose Category One has put pressure on Town to do the same but Jewell questions whether the Canaries would have made such a commitment had they not been in the Premier League: "If Norwich were in the Championship, would they be going for Category One? When you’re in the Premier League you’re awash with money.
"I want the best, but I want the best of everything, but you can’t have the best of everything, not unless you can afford it. Everything costs money.
"You have to weigh up the cost against efficiency. I want the best for us, but it doesn’t always mean we can afford the best. I’ll look at what I think and what the coaches think is the best way forward.”
With the changes stretching to reserve team football being played on Friday nights and academies having to employ their own nutritionists, fitness coaches and goalkeeper-coaches amongst others, Jewell says it’s a very significant shake-up.
While the Blues boss sees some positives in the academy system, he has certain reservations: "It’s a big issue. I’ve got certain doubts about academies, whether they actually produce enough hungry players.
"They always play on fantastic pitches, they’ve all got different coloured boots, they play sidewards and backwards and have 20 touches on the edge of the box and don’t go anywhere.
"I think Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Terry, Carragher, all those top players, would have come through the system whatever the system was.
"Sometimes people in the system think it’s down to them. When I was at Liverpool we used to train on shale and if you made a tackle and slid on your arse, you had a big cut, and what that taught you was to stay on your feet.
"There’s a lot of pluses with the academies but also I think they produce a soft underbelly in footballers at times.”
Before the decision is made he says he’ll liaise with one of his former players who is in a position to provide better advice than most: "I don’t know [what decision we’ll make] because I’ve haven’t read it all yet, it’s like War and Peace.
"I will be speaking to David Wetherall, who I signed at Bradford, who is the [Football League’s head of youth development] and I’ll go through it with Wethers, weigh up the pros and cons, then will talk to the Academy coaches and the owner.”