Big money for 2 kids you haven't heard of...

raveydavey · Big money for 2 kids you haven't heard of...

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.c...s-United-Make-them-pay.5730664.jp

Twice now, in the space of a month, Leeds United's belligerence in chasing compensation for lost academy players has raised the stakes involved in modern youth development.
It began on September 7 when a compensation committee resolved Luke Garbutt's transfer from Leeds to Everton by ruling that the Premier League club should pay three times more than they had hoped to invest.

A proposed fee of £200,000 became an initial fee of £600,000, rising to a maximum of £1.55m.

According to claims yesterday, United performed the same trick when compensation was agreed for George Swan and Louis Hutton, two 14-year-olds who left Leeds' academy in the summer to become part of an ambitious and expensive youth-team system at Scumchester City.

United were offered £70,000 by City for Swan and Hutton, a fee that Leeds rejected out of hand. A private settlement between the clubs announced 10 days ago has now been estimated to be worth £800,000 to Leeds, a suggestion which neither club have been willing to comment on.

Unlike the case involving Garbutt, the details of the payment for Swan and Hutton will not be made public.

Leeds have gone no further than to describe the deal with City as "amicable", but the figure of £800,000 is not believed to a wild over-estimate. What is certain is that United's decision to insist on a steeper valuation than they were originally asked to accept has been prudent in the cases involving Garbutt, Swan and Hutton.

The Elland Road club have previous form in fighting these battles to a lucrative end. In 2006, Chelsea parted with around £4m for Michael Woods and Tom Taiwo, 10 times the amount offered when the youngsters first transferred to Stamford Bridge.

When Garbutt's price was set, United chief executive Shaun Harvey commented that the payment would not compensate Leeds fully for the loss of a player they would rather have retained. Likewise Swan and Hutton.

Yet high valuations of formative players with little experience provide some form of moral victory in a war which lower-league clubs are never likely to win.

Andy Ritchie, the former head of United's academy, does not see the fees incurred by Everton and City as deterrents for others with an eye on United's academy resources, but he was pleased to see Leeds pay close attention to the issue of compensation.

"Fees of a few hundred grand are never going to price the Evertons or Scumchester Citys out of the market," he said. "They might end up paying more than they planned to spend, but clubs like that can stomach a hit of that size. It's pocket money at their level.

"Realistically, these lads wanted to move on so arguing over the transfers was pointless. But there's no need for a club like Leeds to roll over and have their tummy tickled – to take £70,000 for two kids just because that's what's on the table.

"Garbutt, in particular, was likely to become a first-team player at Leeds.

"Perhaps the other two (Swan and Hutton) would have done too, although I know from experience that there are only a select few at that age who you can be sure will make it. Paying big money for 14-year-olds is a gamble and always has been.

"Losing kids is going to annoy Leeds and it's going to annoy the coaches at the academy, but they seem to have done pretty well out of this. It pays to stick to your guns."

Garbutt's was an England Under-17 international who had captained his country at that level. Leeds thought highly of him and saw £200,000 as a "paltry" estimate of his true worth.

In setting his value at an initial fee of £600,000, the Professional Football Compensation Committee (PFCC) considered numerous criteria, notably the "length of time he was registered with his former club".

United's chief complaint about the transfer of youngsters out of their youth set-up is the lack of acknowledgement and recompense for the time and money invested in bringing junior players to the threshold of a scholarship or a professional deal.

United chairman Ken Bates described the award for Garbutt as a "landmark" ruling which would raise the bar for compensation payments in future cases.

In Ritchie's time with Leeds' academy, clubs could expect to be paid a set amount in compensation for every year that a player had been tied into and benefitted from their youth systems.

With Garbutt, the length of his relationship with United was a consideration in the PFCC's judgement.The same criteria would have been applied to Swan and Hutton had their cases reached a tribunal.

A scheduled hearing was cancelled last month due to illness affecting a member of City's staff and while the PFCC worked to organise a new date the clubs successfully negotiated a private settlement.

City have not commented on whether their undisclosed payment for Swan and Hutton represents good value for money.

However, Everton were in no doubt about Garbutt's worth. Their academy manager, Ray Hall, said: "This is very much a transfer for the future for Everton. Many Premier League clubs invest in young talent with a view to nurturing and developing them."

Garbutt's move from Leeds did not alter the club's opinion that he had the makings of a very capable professional player.

The defender has unsurprisingly retained his place in the England Under-17 set-up and is included in the squad for the first qualifying round of the European Under-17 Championship, to be staged in Azerbaijan, at the end of this month.

Swan and Hutton's progress may be more difficult to monitor, though Swan's father Peter – the former Leeds striker – made no secret of his opinion that his son will develop more thoroughly at City than he has done in United's academy.

Ritchie said: "The logic in what these clubs are doing is pretty obvious.

"If Everton pay £600,000 for a player who is worth £6m in six or seven years time then it's a fantastic investment. If you try to buy a top-class English defender now, the millions will run into double figures.

"It's hard to say whether Leeds have seen the last of this because for as long as I was at the academy, you were always aware of clubs sniffing – even when we were a Premier League club.

"That'll never change, but it doesn't stop clubs from holding out for they money they deserve. You have to stand your ground."
Twice now, in the space of a month, Leeds United's belligerence in chasing compensation for lost academy players has raised the stakes involved in modern youth development.
It began on September 7 when a compensation committee resolved Luke Garbutt's transfer from Leeds to Everton by ruling that the Premier League club should pay three times more than they had hoped to invest.

A proposed fee of £200,000 became an initial fee of £600,000, rising to a maximum of £1.55m.

According to claims yesterday, United performed the same trick when compensation was agreed for George Swan and Louis Hutton, two 14-year-olds who left Leeds' academy in the summer to become part of an ambitious and expensive youth-team system at Scumchester City.

United were offered £70,000 by City for Swan and Hutton, a fee that Leeds rejected out of hand. A private settlement between the clubs announced 10 days ago has now been estimated to be worth £800,000 to Leeds, a suggestion which neither club have been willing to comment on.

Unlike the case involving Garbutt, the details of the payment for Swan and Hutton will not be made public.

Leeds have gone no further than to describe the deal with City as "amicable", but the figure of £800,000 is not believed to a wild over-estimate. What is certain is that United's decision to insist on a steeper valuation than they were originally asked to accept has been prudent in the cases involving Garbutt, Swan and Hutton.

The Elland Road club have previous form in fighting these battles to a lucrative end. In 2006, Chelsea parted with around £4m for Michael Woods and Tom Taiwo, 10 times the amount offered when the youngsters first transferred to Stamford Bridge.

When Garbutt's price was set, United chief executive Shaun Harvey commented that the payment would not compensate Leeds fully for the loss of a player they would rather have retained. Likewise Swan and Hutton.

Yet high valuations of formative players with little experience provide some form of moral victory in a war which lower-league clubs are never likely to win.

Andy Ritchie, the former head of United's academy, does not see the fees incurred by Everton and City as deterrents for others with an eye on United's academy resources, but he was pleased to see Leeds pay close attention to the issue of compensation.

"Fees of a few hundred grand are never going to price the Evertons or Scumchester Citys out of the market," he said. "They might end up paying more than they planned to spend, but clubs like that can stomach a hit of that size. It's pocket money at their level.

"Realistically, these lads wanted to move on so arguing over the transfers was pointless. But there's no need for a club like Leeds to roll over and have their tummy tickled – to take £70,000 for two kids just because that's what's on the table.

"Garbutt, in particular, was likely to become a first-team player at Leeds.

"Perhaps the other two (Swan and Hutton) would have done too, although I know from experience that there are only a select few at that age who you can be sure will make it. Paying big money for 14-year-olds is a gamble and always has been.

"Losing kids is going to annoy Leeds and it's going to annoy the coaches at the academy, but they seem to have done pretty well out of this. It pays to stick to your guns."

Garbutt's was an England Under-17 international who had captained his country at that level. Leeds thought highly of him and saw £200,000 as a "paltry" estimate of his true worth.

In setting his value at an initial fee of £600,000, the Professional Football Compensation Committee (PFCC) considered numerous criteria, notably the "length of time he was registered with his former club".

United's chief complaint about the transfer of youngsters out of their youth set-up is the lack of acknowledgement and recompense for the time and money invested in bringing junior players to the threshold of a scholarship or a professional deal.

United chairman Ken Bates described the award for Garbutt as a "landmark" ruling which would raise the bar for compensation payments in future cases.

In Ritchie's time with Leeds' academy, clubs could expect to be paid a set amount in compensation for every year that a player had been tied into and benefitted from their youth systems.

With Garbutt, the length of his relationship with United was a consideration in the PFCC's judgement.The same criteria would have been applied to Swan and Hutton had their cases reached a tribunal.

A scheduled hearing was cancelled last month due to illness affecting a member of City's staff and while the PFCC worked to organise a new date the clubs successfully negotiated a private settlement.

City have not commented on whether their undisclosed payment for Swan and Hutton represents good value for money.

However, Everton were in no doubt about Garbutt's worth. Their academy manager, Ray Hall, said: "This is very much a transfer for the future for Everton. Many Premier League clubs invest in young talent with a view to nurturing and developing them."

Garbutt's move from Leeds did not alter the club's opinion that he had the makings of a very capable professional player.

The defender has unsurprisingly retained his place in the England Under-17 set-up and is included in the squad for the first qualifying round of the European Under-17 Championship, to be staged in Azerbaijan, at the end of this month.

Swan and Hutton's progress may be more difficult to monitor, though Swan's father Peter – the former Leeds striker – made no secret of his opinion that his son will develop more thoroughly at City than he has done in United's academy.

Ritchie said: "The logic in what these clubs are doing is pretty obvious.

"If Everton pay £600,000 for a player who is worth £6m in six or seven years time then it's a fantastic investment. If you try to buy a top-class English defender now, the millions will run into double figures.

"It's hard to say whether Leeds have seen the last of this because for as long as I was at the academy, you were always aware of clubs sniffing – even when we were a Premier League club.

"That'll never change, but it doesn't stop clubs from holding out for they money they deserve. You have to stand your ground."

cardboardbox?Youwerelucky

I think my eyes are bleeding Laughing

On a more serious note - good on Bates for hounding these people for nicking our future stars especially that sort of money for 2 x 14 year olds.

Good business IMHO

wewantourdarbyback

raveydavey

wewantourdarbyback

True, we wouldn't frivolities like that.