ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Two sides of the coin

Firstly like to say what a great website this is for Everton ? keep it up Micheal and Lyndon.

My point is the head side of the coin is big money investor to take over at Everton, but I am glad to rather have an Evertonian in charge and no offence than a Yank or an outsider. Now the flip side of the coin is in my opinion is the solution to get back to the top where we belong.

We have just spent 1 to 2 million on Gosling which i don't have a problem with, but why not put up Everton football academies in Australia ,West Africa, Southern Africa, USA, Asia ? run professionally by soccer coaches trained on the Everton way? And every year hold an academy tournament in England or elsewhere where Moysee can go have a peek at the talent he can bring to Finch Farm.

I guess two or three new recruits yearly can be spotted.The rest of the players will be snatched up in their countries' leagues,with Everton holding the players rights if Arsene Wegner or Fergie want to grab. Advantages of this system are that run properly you have sixty new faces to look at yearly plus you starting to snuff the big boys talent searching.

I worked out it will cost about a £100,000 sterling to run an academy in Africa and Asia yearly. If Earl is as good as he says he is in marketing, the academies would be sponsored by local business. So all you blue bloods out there ? give me your feed back.

(This is my first post on this site that i read daily and must admit my blood has been blue for forty years and hopefully another forty.)
Gary Dos Santos, Cape Town RSA Posted 27/01/2008 at 10:15:10

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Comments

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Michael Kenrick

Thanks for that, Gary. Such a great idea... I wonder why nobody has ever thought of it before...???

Stefan Tosev
1 Posted 27/01/2008 at 16:46:51

We are doing it already, as far as I know there are projects in Canada,USA,Thailand,China

Jack Calvert
2 Posted 27/01/2008 at 17:00:14

I know recently Everton have set-up Acadamies in Thailand as part of the Chang deal. There are also several in America, I think. But as these are relatively new it may be a few years before players come through.

P.S. Also I know that in our u-18’s we have an Aussie and a Noewgian youth International Goalkeeper in Michael McEntagart and Lars Stubhaug on our books, so maybe it is begining to work

Mark Griffiths
3 Posted 27/01/2008 at 18:26:18

Great idea Gary, it might be an idea to set up these acadamies in countries that often produce real talent, Africa, France, Italy etc, but I am not sure how the respective clubs from that country would react to that and let's face it, any talented youngsters, let's say in Spain will want to go to Barca or Madrid from a young age, I don?t know?

The countries we have acadamies in now hardly have a history of great players in the game, but who knows?

I thought of an idea today, maybe there are holes all over this idea, as I have not thought it through that well, but why don?t the club have a transfer donation fund, where Evertonians throughout the year can send money? Mr Jo average maybe could send a tenner a month and the more wealthier fans more, aiming towards a goal in the summer where a few million could be generated??

As i said, i am probably just clutching at straws to gain extra revenue into the club.

Andy MacFarlane
4 Posted 27/01/2008 at 19:06:22

Welcome to our forum, Gary. In fact, as I understand it, the Club are actually attempting to develop something along the lines that you are suggesting. See the link to the Everton website
http://www.evertonfc.com/club/international.html Plus, there is the "Everton Way" online coaching service that is available, and which I know from experience is in place in a school in St Petersburg, Florida, where I have a holiday condo, for example, and which school I visit to "fly the flag" whenever I am across there. Best wishes to you all out in RSA

Ric Wallace
5 Posted 27/01/2008 at 19:31:43

I think its a good point Gary made.

Yes, we do have camps in the US and Asia, but why aren?t we looking at Africa, especially South Africa now we?ve seen Pienaar?s capabilites?
Ocenia too would be a good move.

We seem to be concentrating on the US- Man United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are already fighting over that continent. Why can?t we just look for players that are just as skilful in the other continents?

Mark Pendleton
6 Posted 27/01/2008 at 19:47:22

The transfer donation fund idea of Mark Griffiths?s is all very well, but if I?d helped to purchase Krøldrup with my salary being less than a week or two?s wages of the players I wouldn?t be so pleased!

Nick Toye
7 Posted 28/01/2008 at 01:39:31

Academies in small football nations are going to be invaluable in the coming years. Beckham is already porting his academy setup across the states and now into Brazil.

But are we able to do such a thing? Do the rules not state that a person has to live within a certain radius of the club to qualify for their academy?

We would have to set them up, and import the best lot from the "Bobby Charlton style soccer schools" - if I have remembered that right.

Ajay Gopal
8 Posted 28/01/2008 at 07:58:12

There was an article in this very site about 2 weeks ago, that EFC would set-up a football academy in India in collaboration with the local football administration. So, the management is thinking along these lines.

Jarrod Prosser
9 Posted 28/01/2008 at 21:51:45

There are Arsenal acadamy ads all over the radio, here in Melbourne.

’Is your child the next Faregas?’, the ad asks.

Why, considering that Australias best player wears #17 for Everton, is there not an ad asking ’Is your child the next Cahill?’.

If it’s financially viable to set up, then it should be done asap. they pay off could be incredible.