Cardiff’s academy may have lost a couple of their prized possessions recently, but it at least proves that the system works. Gavin Chesterfield has overseen the academy for almost a year now, so it was great to speak to him recently and find out more about the general health of the club’s youth set-up.
You were appointed Academy Manager last September and started work in November. Having spent 15 years and overseen 500 matches for Barry Town, was it a tough decision to make, or was it a case of the right opportunity at the right time?
Emotionally, it was a tough decision to make because football brings so many connections and to leave people I regard as family was obviously tough, but professionally it was a fantastic opportunity and one I didn’t want to miss out on. I also felt the timing was right, having spent a lot of time working for the FAW in coaching education and international player development, under the tutelage of Osian Roberts. I couldn’t wait for an opportunity to put all those ideas into practice, at a club I care a lot about. It all seemed to fit.
What were your first impressions of the academy? You had a window of time between taking the job and starting work, so were you able to analyse and strategise ahead of taking charge?
Whenever you go into a new role, you either make the changes you want from the offset or build intelligence through observing and understanding. For me, I did the latter and I’m glad that I did. We’ve got some really good people in the building and I know the players more now than when I started. You get a feel for how the system works and we’ve done a lot of work over the summer, built on the intelligence from those first few months.
Externally at least, there seems to be a bit of an existential crisis regarding the academy. Clearly it works and you’re producing players of a requisite standard, but if they get picked off before they get anywhere near the first-team, which is especially the case since Brexit, some therefore question what the purpose of the academy is. Whether it’s a worthwhile use of money and resources. Are those frustrations shared internally, or are you more philosophical about the function of the academy and its role in the football food chain?
I feel we’re in a really good place. We have lost a couple of young lads and its disappointing when that happens. As you quite rightly point out, the player trading market has changed since Brexit. Previously, the top Category One clubs would have looked to Europe for players, but now they’re looking on these shores. We understand it’s a trading environment and we will lose some players, but our job is to try and convince them that there’s a pathway at Cardiff City. It’s a fantastic club to work for and represent. While we have lost one or two, we’re confident with what we still have inside the building as well.
With recent rule changes, it now appears to be harder for Welsh clubs to loan players as they are effectively viewed as foreign, but they don’t in turn benefit from the same protection as overseas clubs, where academy players are protected until they reach 18. It feels like Welsh clubs are therefore at a distinct disadvantage. Is that correct and are Welsh clubs looking to contest these rulings?
The FAW have been superbly supportive of us. We are at a distinct disadvantage compared to our English compatriots and some of these things are beyond challenge, but the FAW have already made some headway in that regard. You are right to bring up one of our frustrations, which is being classed as domestic, so players being able to transfer from 16, whereas for other rules, we’re classed as international. There are idiosyncrasies and frustrations like that and we are working with the FAW to lobby in certain areas that we can affect. We’re making some progress.
There was a lot of disappointment about the departures of Charlie Crew and Gabriele Biancheri. In those particular instances, both were 16, so some way off the first-team and Cardiff can’t compete with the finances and opportunities on offer. In that sort of situation, do the academy put up a fight to try and keep the players, or do they not want to stand in the way of the players development?
Our job is to show them that there’s a pathway here for them. If we have a player in our ranks that comes from across the bridge, they can move to another club if an offer of an acceptable value is made before the age of 16, but a Welsh lad can’t move until they’re 16 because their school curriculum would change. From these particular lads’ perspective, they’re moving to a larger football club, one of them the largest in the world. It’s an opportunity that the player and their family would like to explore, but its also about the long-term plan for their development. We have to pitch our case and share with the player, their family and representatives what our plan for them is. If they make clear that they want to explore another avenue, its up to use to try and trade on our terms. We do that in a quite aggressive manner.
If Category Two academies are at the mercy of those that are Category One, do Category Two academies in turn pursue the best players at Category Three academies? So, if Cardiff lose one of their better players, do they seek to replace them with an equivalent player from the tier below?
This is all relatively new in the market, to see Category One academies trading with other Category One academies and we are seeing more trades between Category One and Two. The market is slowly starting to change with Category Two academies trading between each other and likewise between Two and Three. Its not part of our business model at the moment and we firmly believe in developing our own. In the future, it may be something we look to explore.
I watched Wales Under-19’s the other day. Tanatswa Nyakuhwa and Japhet Matondo were both playing. Both impressed last season, so using them as an example, what would their future pathway look like and would the club look to offer them pro deals to secure their immediate future?
For young players, its all about timing and opportunity. Those two lads you’ve mentioned are currently second year scholars. They’re exciting talents and I really enjoy watching them play. We’ve got a new approach with regards to talent development and we will want to see those guys spending more consistent time with the Under-21’s this year. What we look for is enough time for physical, technical, tactical, psychological and social adaptation to occur. The idea is not to step up for a week here and there, they instead spend considerable time adapting in the areas mentioned. If they adapt at the level we think they can and the timing is right, we would look to reward accordingly. We have some really good players and this plan applies to all of them.
Wales boasts a world class coaching facility in Newport and I know you’ve played a big part in the success, but do Welsh clubs have established links with Dragon Park?
We work very closely with the FAW in terms of player development. We have a lot of international players in our ranks and we benchmark them against international standards, in terms of fitness and key performance indicators. That’s quite a new thing in terms of data sharing. When it comes to coaching education, it helps having James Rowberry, formerly of Cardiff City, as the head of coaching education. The chief of football, David Adams, is very supportive of Welsh clubs and helping us develop the best players we can. To do that, you need the best coaches.
How is the new training base in Llanrumney progressing and what will it offer that Cardiff does not currently have?
Its progressing on a daily basis and is about 90% of the way there now. The workmen have moved out and we’re now at the stage where furniture is being moved in. We’re at the branding stage and the pitches have all been sown, so we’re waiting for the grass to grow through. It will offer us an established home. We’re doubling our floor space and we can have everyone on site. The Under-21’s will still be based at The Vale with the first-team and I think that’s important. For us, there’s a nice path from the youngest all the way through to the Under-18’s, all on one site. The Llanrumney site is exciting and it fills me with so much optimism. It’s a great time for any young player to be involved with the football club. It’s a tangible home in a part of Cardiff that has always produced players
Our staff in the academy have worked really hard over the summer to develop a game model, which we call our blueprint. This is how we feedback, coach, plan and strategise, so everything is aligned for these young players. We’ve revisited our values, what we’re trying to achieve and it was an exhaustive process. We were keen for the values to represent the city and I think supporters would be pleased to know those qualities are humility, honesty, hard work and happiness. We want to represent the people that support us and for the players to know that. Chasing lost causes and putting their body on the line. We’re trying to produce players that represent those qualities.
I know the facility is Category One ready, but will initially continue as a Category Two. Can you explain what the differences are between the two, what is needed, both financially and practically to upgrade and whether it is a goal for the foreseeable future.
When I first came into the job, the facility was already well underway, but it says a lot about the club that it was built with Category One status in mind. Pitches and indoor space are compliant. It might need parts added, but the building has been designed so a third floor could be added. Then its more about infrastructure and facilities inside the building, staff investment and budget to take you into Category One. The benefit is the additional quality of games programme it provides and opens up additional recruitment. It’s about timing for the club really and there’s no point expanding to a Category One without a plan to go with it. That’s something that the club will drive and we’ll investigate in the coming years, but at the moment, we feel we’re in a really good place.
Eli King and Joel Bagan were recently rewarded new three-year deals. That’s great news for him and I’m sure a source of great pride for the academy too.
Absolutely. We had our scholarship signing night recently and it’s a powerful message to our lads when you see players in the first-team sending video messages recalling their time in the academy. People that have walked in these young players’ shoes. We’re hugely proud of those two young men and the others that are already in the first-team. Long may it continue.
Cardiff will be fielding a youth side in the Nathaniel MG Cup next year. What was behind that decision?
We benefit from playing within the academy structure, but real-life experiences and playing against senior teams are required to make it in this industry. We have a policy of being very honest with our players with where they’re at and sometimes these senior challenges are a benchmark opportunity for young players. Different facilities, not playing on a pristine pitch and playing against players that are wanting to win to pay their mortgage. These are all real world experiences that will help with development. The Nathaniel MG Cup allows us to explore that in an official and unofficial sense.
Have you had chance to speak with Erol Bulut yet?
I met the manager on his first day, but I then went on a family holiday. We met up last week and it was great to spend some time with him and to understand what he expects from young players. It’s important that who we promote to be a part of the first-team hit the standards expected. If you look at the lads that have been involved in pre-season thus far, none have them let themselves down and they’ve done ever so well. Erol was quite pleased with that, which is really helpful. We also exchanged a lot in terms of what’s important for standards, in terms of behaviour, conduct, professionalism and a clear alignment in what we expect from the young people in our academy.
You’ve been in the post for about seven months now. How do you reflect on that period, in terms of things that gone well or not so well and what are your hopes for the short and long-term future?
Every day is relentless, exhilarating and exciting. We work for a fantastic football club with a huge history and pedigree. We get sent a tranche of academy data every three years which is developed by the EFL. I presented that to the academy staff and we were in the top 10 in the country for academy productivity. That is measured by the amount of professional footballers playing around the UK and we’re also best in class at Category Two level. That was off the back of the likes of Rubin Colwill, Isaak Davies, Joel Bagan and its hugely motivational.
When I sit down with Ken Choo, who is my direct line manager, there’s a huge desire to bring through young talent at this club. We believe with the plans we’ve put in place and the strategic investment we’ve made in staff and facilities, we’re in a great place. There’s no guarantees in football and none of us have a crystal ball, but all the things we can control, we have in place to give young players the best chance of progressing. We’re obsessed with debuts. There’s nothing better than seeing a young player making their debut for the first-team. It’s fantastic, but credit to Darren Purse, he looks beyond the debut and wants to help players have a career in the game. Ideally that career is at Cardiff City.