Harris comments on bringing through the youth | Page 2 | Vital Football

Harris comments on bringing through the youth

There’s no shortage of talent in the area, the problem we have is the best talent goes elsewhere because their academies are better.
 
Didn't Brentford close their academy a few years ago because of the rules that the FA put in enabling Prem clubs to steal youngsters for next to nothing?

I think they decided they'd get young players further down the line after release from academies.
 
LockdownLife said:
Didn't Brentford close their academy a few years ago because of the rules that the FA put in enabling Prem clubs to steal youngsters for next to nothing?

I think they decided they'd get young players further down the line after release from academies.
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A potential route we could take I suppose.But I don't think the under 18s costs that much because we do get a grant which I think covers about half of the cost I believe. But it would still cost a fair bit to run.Harris could be the sort of manager who could make it work. However I would worry that longer term it could be massively dangerous when Harris moves on.
 
GillsBluenose said:
Things must have recently changed then, as I am sure that both Mark Patterson and Barry Fuller have been involved with youth development in some form of Ashford based academy, while maintaining an intermittent connection with the Gills.

If they discovered any potential gems, I would have hoped that they would have tipped us off first but maybe Charlton have established strong connections more recently.
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The “Barry Fuller Football Academy” is still operating out of Homelands. I am not sure if its MO and to what extent it’s connected to Ashford United or Charlton and GFC in turn. I know someone who is a neighbour of Patto. He lives in Park Farm in Ashford and is a apparently doing well coaching with the Northern Ireland U21s now, but still lives in Park Farm.
 
SteveTreacle said:
The “Barry Fuller Football Academy” is still operating out of Homelands. I am not sure if its MO and to what extent it’s connected to Ashford United or Charlton and GFC in turn. I know someone who is a neighbour of Patto. He lives in Park Farm in Ashford and is a apparently doing well coaching with the Northern Ireland U21s now, but still lives in Park Farm.
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Patterson could be the answer as regards getting a letter to Steve Lovell.
 
SteveTreacle said:
It's even worse than that though. There used to be several GFC summer football camps for kids near where I live in the Ashford/Folkestone area - there was one at the Marsh Academy in New Romney and another one in Hawkinge. I would add that they were "pay for" ones too and not that cheap really and were always popular, so I'm sure they paid for themselves. Last summer I looked for similar such GFC summer camps to send my son too and there were none. Sadly, as I needed somewhere to send my son and he wanted to do some football in his close season from football for his club and school, I had to send him to a Charlton one at Norton Knatchbull in Ashford. There were several other ones in other locations around here. The Knatch one was certainly full and cost about £40-£50 a kid, so good money for Charlton and a chance to spot talent across the county. My son played at Ashford United the other day at Homelands and there were Charlton FC academy flags everywhere too, so there is clearly a link there too and I am sure Charlton would get first look at any players coming through Ashford United and probably Ashford Borough (whether it be the first team there or various youth age groups - the U10s certainly thrashed my son's team and had some decent looking players!)

Personally, I'm not a fan of teams operating outside of their catchment area and think Charlton should have a think about how they are affected by bigger teams around them. However, whilst Charlton clearly have more funds than us, I doubt they are made of money and their ability to set-up such summer camps is more about being organised and having a development plan and strategy than money as, as I say, I am sure they are self-funding.

Hopefully, this is the sort of thing Harris will be working on with Scally going forward. One question I do ask (and it is one I am genuinely interested in). What actually is the GFC School? Is it funded by the club? Does it make the club money? Is the aim to bring youth players through and presumably educating them at the same time? (It's clearly a project that Scally is well behind.) I wonder whether time, money and focus would be better spent on projects around the county developing local talent throughout Kent, running football camps and teaming up with Kent non-league teams.
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I’m a bit surprised regarding the question about the School as I thought it was quite widely known. I’ve certainly posted about it on several occasions. First point, it isn’t, like some of the SOB crowd have suggested, a “luxury” project. Each club is required by the Football League to have an approved community project. It’s a condition of getting our share of the TV money. Gills have taken the brave decision to go down the School route. The school provides for children in danger of being excluded from mainstream education. It’s brave because in education, there are very few success stories of such schools. However, the School‘s OFSTED reports have been good. The outcomes in particular have been good with the vast majority of pupils going on to further education or work. The School is literally turning lives around. It’s also quite an astute move because it does generate income with schools and the local authority paying for places. As I worked in education, I know how difficult it is to make a success of schools of this kind. Many education authorities have failed.

I get cross about this for two reasons. First, Scally gets little or no credit for a major success. Secondly, he actually gets criticised because he’s engaged in a non football activity. It’s one of the things that the SOB crowd seem utterly ignorant about.
 
Therealwaldo said:
I’m a bit surprised regarding the question about the School as I thought it was quite widely known. I’ve certainly posted about it on several occasions. First point, it isn’t, like some of the SOB crowd have suggested, a “luxury” project. Each club is required by the Football League to have an approved community project. It’s a condition of getting our share of the TV money. Gills have taken the brave decision to go down the School route. The school provides for children in danger of being excluded from mainstream education. It’s brave because in education, there are very few success stories of such schools. However, the School‘s OFSTED reports have been good. The outcomes in particular have been good with the vast majority of pupils going on to further education or work. The School is literally turning lives around. It’s also quite an astute move because it does generate income with schools and the local authority paying for places. As I worked in education, I know how difficult it is to make a success of schools of this kind. Many education authorities have failed.







I get cross about this for two reasons. First, Scally gets little or no credit for a major success. Secondly, he actually gets criticised because he’s engaged in a non football activity. It’s one of the things that the SOB crowd seem utterly ignorant about.
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Thanks for that Waldi, I have to admit I have been a bit lazy in finding out anything about the school but it sounds like an excellent project.
 
Sorry, Waldo not Waldi. Having bloody nightmares posting on here since the latest android update 😡
 
Therealwaldo said:
I’m a bit surprised regarding the question about the School as I thought it was quite widely known. I’ve certainly posted about it on several occasions. First point, it isn’t, like some of the SOB crowd have suggested, a “luxury” project. Each club is required by the Football League to have an approved community project. It’s a condition of getting our share of the TV money. Gills have taken the brave decision to go down the School route. The school provides for children in danger of being excluded from mainstream education. It’s brave because in education, there are very few success stories of such schools. However, the School‘s OFSTED reports have been good. The outcomes in particular have been good with the vast majority of pupils going on to further education or work. The School is literally turning lives around. It’s also quite an astute move because it does generate income with schools and the local authority paying for places. As I worked in education, I know how difficult it is to make a success of schools of this kind. Many education authorities have failed.

I get cross about this for two reasons. First, Scally gets little or no credit for a major success. Secondly, he actually gets criticised because he’s engaged in a non football activity. It’s one of the things that the SOB crowd seem utterly ignorant about.
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Like Nobby, I have to plead some ignorance about what the school involves and it sounds like a good cause. I'm hardly one of the SOB, if anyone reads my input as I am grateful for what Scally puts into the club and have said on a number of occasions that I think that he's putting in too much on many levels for his own health and wellbeing (mental and physical). I take the point that we need to do something for the community in order to glean the benefits of EFL TV money and the like. Whilst the school seems a noble cause general, I do wonder whether it gets too much focus and input from the club and wider community schemes across the county (link ups with non-league clubs, schools and councils in Medway and Kent are being neglected - this is after all the future of the club and a massive potential feed into our youth team being lost).

As I say, I note that the GFC School is a noble cause, but my son has also been a victim of a child who is "in danger of exclusion" and whilst I sympathise with his personal circumstances and he has family issues, he has caused physical and mental turmoil for a number of kids in my son's class so sympathy is somewhat lacking for kids in this situation and he's disrupted the whole class's education. I am of the view that it should be for local authorities to deal with such children and football clubs should concentrate a bit more on the day job and more traditional type community schemes.

Sorry for turning it political and I am sure I'll be hammered for it, but I'll lay on the table that I am far from part of the SOB.
 
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Archiepoptart said:
My ancient Motorola has suddenly developed dyslexatext. I feel your pain
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As my old German teacher, Mr Delay (anyone remember him?), at Chatham Grammar used to say when we cocked up: "dyslexia rules KO"! Would love to hear what the woke education authorities would make of that now... and he was a big Labour man! How times have changed!!!!
 
SteveTreacle said:
Like Nobby, I have to plead some ignorance about what the school involves and it sounds like a good cause. I'm hardly one of the SOB, if anyone reads my input as I am grateful for what Scally puts into the club and have said on a number of occasions that I think that he's putting in too much on many levels for his own health and wellbeing (mental and physical). I take the point that we need to do something for the community in order to glean the benefits of EFL TV money and the like. Whilst the school seems a noble cause general, I do wonder whether it gets too much focus and input from the club and wider community schemes across the county (link ups with non-league clubs, schools and councils in Medway and Kent are being neglected - this is after all the future of the club and a massive potential feed into our youth team being lost).

As I say, I note that the GFC School is a noble cause, but my son has also been a victim of a child who is "in danger of exclusion" and whilst I sympathise with his personal circumstances and he has family issues, he has caused physical and mental turmoil for a number of kids in my son's class so sympathy is somewhat lacking for kids in this situation and he's disrupted the whole class's education. I am of the view that it should be for local authorities to deal with such children and football clubs should concentrate a bit more on the day job and more traditional type community schemes.

Sorry for turning it political and I am sure I'll be hammered for it, but I'll lay on the table that I am far from part of the SOB.
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Just one small point but the Club’s success with the school probably comes from the feeling of self esteem the kids get from being at a school run at and by a professional football club. Local authorities and others don’t start with that advantage.
 
Jerryattrick said:
When did we ever seriously promote youth. I know we did late sixties but since then?

Late sixties in the under 18 local league (when youngsters were also allowed to play for schools and local clubs) there were a few gills youngsters but mainly those training with west ham and charlton (e.g hales).

we keep hearing of 'train youngsters' but its mainly rhetoric. Generally we dont even bother to take it seriously.
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Have you forgotten Ryan Bertrand poached from our youth team by Chelsea?
One of the problems we have is that Chelsea, West Ham and Millwall all have academies in Kent.
 
SteveTreacle said:
As my old German teacher, Mr Delay (anyone remember him?), at Chatham Grammar used to say when we cocked up: "dyslexia rules KO"!
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Yes, I remember him. This was his favourite time of year, apparently. "I like January and February. If Charlie Boy there wants to fart in my classroom, he can go and stand outside in the freezing cold for the rest of the class".
 
Don't quote me on the below as the memory is hazy and I stand to be corrected.

From memory the school used to be something like the GFC Community Trust school which had some poor Ofsted ratings about half a decade ago so the club took it over and rebranded it as the Gillingham FC School. Can't recall the details but I think the club donated some funding to the school and the school paid some money back to use the club's facilities or something.

But I seem to recall Scally was some sort of advisory non-executive director of the Trust school and he ended up upsetting a load of people in terms of taking it over. I think it was something to do with how much the club wanted to charge to use facilities or something going forth and the prior board of directors felt Scally was pricing them out. Can't recall if that was from the former Trust members or "so I heard" from people complaining on Kent On Line. Just recall a load of "Scally screwing people over and antogonising the fans" stuff.

Anyhow since then the new GFC School run exclusively by the club has seen remarkable improvements in results.

From memory the club signed some sort of agreement with Medway Council as part of that one year sponsorship but can't recall any details given.
 
Therealwaldo said:
Just one small point but the Club’s success with the school probably comes from the feeling of self esteem the kids get from being at a school run at and by a professional football club. Local authorities and others don’t start with that advantage.
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Or the fact the school has only 30-40 pupils and the students are taught in small class sizes rather than one teacher per 40 students in each classroom.

I reckon the more personal tutition and more attention given to the students probably goes a long way rather than being ignored in large classes in normal schools where the only way they can get attention is misbehaving.
 
madrid_gill said:
Yes, I remember him. This was his favourite time of year, apparently. "I like January and February. If Charlie Boy there wants to fart in my classroom, he can go and stand outside in the freezing cold for the rest of the class".
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What years were you there, Madrid? His nickname when we were there was "Bodge" - the reasons for which as I understand were far from great. Decent teacher though, but a bit flamboyant, which was ironic for someone who loved all things German|!
 
SteveTreacle said:
What years were you there, Madrid? His nickname when we were there was "Bodge" - the reasons for which as I understand were far from great. Decent teacher though, but a bit flamboyant, which was ironic for someone who loved all things German|!
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Left in 95. If I remember rightly from this topic having come up on here in the past, I was maybe a year or 2 above you?

We used to know him as "Uncle Bodge" as one of our classmates was distantly related to him. Good teacher though, as you say.
 
madrid_gill said:
Left in 95. If I remember rightly from this topic having come up on here in the past, I was maybe a year or 2 above you?

We used to know him as "Uncle Bodge" as one of our classmates was distantly related to him. Good teacher though, as you say.
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Sorry Madrid, my memory is fading - we may well have established this before! Mr D, as far as I am aware, is still alive and well and I think in his mid to late 80s. He lives and has lived for many years up my mum and dad's road in Walderslade, but spends a lot of his time in France (or he certainly used to).
 
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