With City’s Chief Scout Chris Jones having recently departed to Crystal Palace and current media rumours that Head of Recruitment Kieran Scott is about to leave us for Middlesbrough to become their Sporting Director rather than wait a year to inherit the crown so admirably worn by Stuart Webber over the past few years, I thought I’d take a look at recruitment from a slightly different perspective.
In fact, I’ll reference the view from the *dark side* as in those clubs who specialise in youth development and are proud to do so, whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.
The Republic of Ireland boasts just such a club, as in Leixlip United, which lies not too far from Dublin in County Kildare. So what? you might very well say, as even now I guess very few Norwich City supporters are actively aware of them.
*Giving kids the basic tools to prosper in their own academy was the starting point. Balance, movement, speed, ball work, technical ability – these are the foundation stones. Leixlip could have 200 children just between the ages of two and four taking their first steps on a Sunday morning. The working principle is that no-one is left behind*.
Now that could be a Webber quote, couldn’t it, but it actually comes from a sports journalist on the Irish Examiner, one Brendan O’Brien.
Leixlip club secretary Robbie Martin adds: *“Any kid who wants to play football will find a team in Leixlip. We will not just concentrate on our elite teams but we are clear that as a club we will support any team or coaches that want to try and be the best within a particular age group.”
Sounds familiar once again? Yes, it does. Any member of the development staff at Norwich City might have said something similar.
So why am I banging on about Leixlip United?
Principally because I’ve actually been there and seen them play. I worked in Ireland quite a bit and had a couple of great times staying over in Celbridge with my colleague Karla and her husband Finn, a trades union leader and the best exponent of the art of providing authentic Irish coffee I will ever meet. All done at the table – there were no tricks or shortcuts from Finn.
I felt I had imposed on them for long enough one Sunday and drove towards the airport in my Avis tin can earlier than I would have liked as my flight wasn’t until the evening. Leixlip had come up in conversation, so I thought what the heck, it’s on the way, I’ll check it out.
It reminded me of Wroxham in terms of the *stadium* itself but I enjoyed killing an hour or so watching a large proportion of the match with some good company, many of whom teased me for my English accent. That was fully 25 years ago.
So why Leixlip? Andrew Omobamidele, that’s why.
That little club in Ireland I briefly visited all those years ago is where he grew, developed and flourished before we signed him. The pride that club has that he has recently been named in the RoI squad is beyond belief.
We also signed a less known youngster from Leixlip at around the same time who is with us to this very day as in Josh Giurgi.
It really is amazing how scouts actually source players such as Omobamidele and Giurgi in the first place. I would think that many clubs such as Leixlip tip them off but in this particular case any money received is ploughed back into the club and the community it supports.
I wasn’t bothered about Ben Kensell leaving for pretty much obvious reasons, but losing Chris Jones and the possibility of Kieran Scott too in the space of a fortnight did make me think a little bit about the whole concept of scouting.
It really can be a case of little acorns and mighty oaks as anybody who has been to Leixlip would surely realise – even if the process took me a quarter of a century to come to terms with.
For any MFW reader who can find the time, this makes for a fascinating read and there’s a great picture of Andrew and Josh there too:
Andrew Omobamidele traces hometown club’s route in from the margins (irishexaminer.com)
Thanks Martin. The link to the article in the Irish paper was well worth the read, and it was interesting to read their philosophy, which to be fair is pretty much the same as the FA’s, to make it inclusive for all kids, and to give everyone the chance to develop. The trouble is, too often the clubs (and particularly the parents) get obsessed with winning, rather than developing the youngsters.
I hadn’t really thought about the Brexit effect on young players, so that was (another) disappointment with the whole affair. How many Omabamideles could we miss out on because of this?
Hi Jim
I have an Irish heritage through grandparents [why didn’t Mick Mack pick up on me?] and often take a look at the Examiner, which is based in Cork City, especially since the breakthrough of Adam Idah – there have been some good articles about him also as the paper loves their local lads to do well in both England and Scotland.
The rule changes surrounding Brexit would make an article all by themselves which I’m sure one of our more technically adept writers will probably have a go at some time soon but it won’t be me as I’m not very good at that type of thing.
All I can say is that the new rules don’t appear to be doing the likes of NCFC any favours!
Cheers
Hopefully, the structure of the backroom staff is strong enough to cope with the inevitability of people leaving. Norwich have previously been a club which brought youngsters into the first team and I am always pleased when they cement themselves into the side; I am also confused that home grown players like Todd Cantwell quickly become the target of vitriol from sections of our support.
Hi Don
I’m never afraid to dish out *stick* on MFW if I feel it’s warranted but the one thing I try to avoid is denigrating the players for their performances on the pitch.
As you suggest, it’s counterproductive and gets nobody anywhere really.
There will always be a certain section of our support that criticises everything, even if only because they *can*. I find board members and policy makers fair targets but not players who are giving 100%, whatever the results.
All I can say about Todd is that his way of playing and [okay let’s be honest] his flashy boots and hairstyle may annoy some of the dinosaurs but I say good luck to him. There’s nothing wrong with having an identity.
I’d love to know what some of his critics looked like at 22 – my hair was much, much longer than Todd’s back in the day 🙂
Cheers
Ha. I have much more now than I did then Hair, that is
🙂
Great article Mr P and also the Irish Examiner link was a good read.
It was probably printed after you wrote your article, but the Scott to Boro article has been well and truly kicked into ‘the long grass’ where it belongs!!
My 11-year-old granddaughter plays for Wymondham Wolves under 11s and they have made it through to the final of what would normally be an end of season tournament. Quite a few of the girls that play for the the myriad of teams are now part of the NCFC Elite or Academy set up and it’s fascinating to see how their skills have developed in the last couple of years through the benefit of good coaching. We can only hope that some may become part of the ladies’ football team in years to come, but women’s/girls’ football is most certainly here to stay. 😀
The semi final on Saturday was a really good game between two well matched teams, with the gaame flowing from end-to-end.
Hi Ed
Yes I saw the debunking of the *Scott to Boro* story at around the same time this was published – I actually wrote it on Saturday afternoon.
The women’s game has advanced in leaps and bounds, it really has and is no longer the novelty it was when we were younger.
Figureheads such as Alex Scott and Steph Houghton really help in promoting the game but the grass roots has been taking off in Norfolk for some time now and it is a credit to NCFC that we have done as much as anyone to underpin the growth.
Good luck to your granddaughter’s Wolves in the final.
Cheers
Hi Martin
I read the Leixlip story yesterday and real enjoyed it and just wondered why city didn’t have a better link with this club ie more coming on trial.
But the FA and and the Dept for work visas gave screwed up football ⚽️ with these new rules it leaves the door open for all other European 🇪🇺 clubs to grab them young and make big profits, I just wonder if Scotland has the same rules as some one over the border wants as much contact with the EU as possible???
There us another piece in the EDP saying that no contact has been made by Middlesbrough as of last night so hopefully it is being given a short sharp knock back.
England on Tuesday can we give Scotland a helping hand ✋by thumping Czech Rep 🇨🇿 but then they need to do there vest and win.
Wednesday and Thursday 6-30pm T20 Cricket V Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 and final game 14-30pm Saturday so plenty of entertainment.
Onwards and upwards
OTBC
Stay Safe and Keep Healthy 🙏
Alex, I’m not trying to be awkward, but is there any chance you could drop the use of emojis in your comments? We’re all grown ups on here (I think), and we can read. Maybe it’s just me, but I find those little pictures irritating, and with my eyesight, they are sometimes hard to work out. The one with the praying(?) hands tends to look like something rather ruder!
Sorry mate.
C’mon Jim, no-one knows what you mean about the praying hands 😉
Hi Alex
I’m glad you enjoyed the article in the Examiner – I look at it quite a lot and really felt this particular piece was worth a share.
As I said to Jim [above] the ramifications of rule changes following Brexit are for somebody else to write about, not me, but it really doesn’t look too clever to me.
I’m sorry to say I don’t see England thumping anybody, let alone the Czech Republic!
Cheers
Very good article, Martin – I enjoyed it.
I did read the report from the Irish newspaper too.
As an aside, whenever I hear ‘Home Farm’, I’m always instantly reminded of one Keith O’Neill.
Hi Martin
I completely forgot about Keith O’Neill and his connection with Home Farm.
They and St Patrick’s are particularly influential in the Irish football pyramid of course.
Cheers