Expanding The Radius:

Cardiff City is a small club on the cusp of promotion to the Premier League. They don’t have the luxury of spending large amounts on transfers for football’s elite players, let alone the high wage bill that will follow. Throughout the last decade the Bluebirds have thrived on their youth policy – developing young talent that they sell on to bigger clubs to afford shrewd purchases that complements their young team. It has served the club well, but like other clubs they are restricted by the ninety minute radius. Academy players must live within a ninety minutes commuting time of the ground – sixty if they are under 14.

The Bluebirds have a good scouting network as well. “We’re looking in Southern Ireland,” Academy Director Neal Ardley told us. “We’re trying to create a link there. We’ve got a scout over in Northern Ireland who keeps us in touch with any good players. We’ve got a scout in the north-east, but these can only kick in at Under-16, because of the distance and travel. At Under-16 level these players can become available for us to have a look at.”

Poaching:

There are ways round the ninety minute radius. A FIFA regulation – Article 13 – has been honoured in the breach. Young players are not allowed to leave their country until they turn eighteen unless they go with their parents. This has become a loophole. Small clubs observe the rule – they can’t afford not to. Bigger clubs just relocate entire families, providing jobs too. That is driving a coach and horses through the spirit of Article 13.

And that is far from the only issue. Bigger clubs can afford the compensation. It’s far cheaper for them to pay it than wait until later and sign the player for a few million. The signing of John Bostock by Tottenham Hotspur is a case in point. Crystal Pale invested in him and developed him in his formative years only to lose his services at the eleventh hour for an arbitrarily decided amount that left the former Palace chairman seething.

So has that happened to Cardiff? “[It’s] Not actually happened here,” Ardley says. “Aaron Ramsey – potentially it could have happened, but the club done really well. The old academy manager Lee Robson done really well to sign him up with a professional contract, which then meant we were able to part with him for a bigger offer and we were in control of what we accepted and what we turned down.”

Ardley knows that Cardiff could easily have been in the same position as Crystal Palace, but they have been careful and so far they have held on to their best assets – only selling them if the price was right for them. “It hasn’t here,” Ardley reiterated, “but I know it has at other clubs. There was a boy that we were interested in that ended up going to Manchester City  because Swansea and ourselves couldn’t compete with the financial clout that Manchester City were offering.”

While it hasn’t happened to Cardiff yet, Ardley knows that poaching has happened to other clubs. The consequences for smaller clubs can be devastating. They put their resources and time and effort into developing a player, only to be robbed of the benefits after the hard work has been done. It can be soul-destroying, but there are signs of hope.

Protection:

“I know Michel Platini has voiced his concerns within Europe on foreign players and I think it’s a similar scenario to the Cesc Fàbregas situation,” said Ardley. “When you get to Under-18 levels we play your Chelseas and your Arsenals. A lot of the time there will be four, five foreign players who they’ve gone and got – the best players in the world and paid money for them.”

The big clubs can afford to do that – the smaller ones can’t. Ironically it saves the richer clubs money in the long run. “At that age it will be significantly less than what they would pay for them should they be hunting the clubs down at twenty-four, twenty-five years of age,” said Ardley, “so it’s hard. On that level we’re getting the best from Wales. We’re competing with the best in the world and it can be tough.”

Nevertheless, Cardiff’s academy has found a way to compete and help the club push for promotion, but Ardley thinks that football’s governing bodies should do more to help smaller clubs protect their assets. “I’m happy with the way we’re running at Cardiff City,” said Ardley. “There’s always way for improvement. Whatever I do – whatever we do – at the academy to get to the next level, hopefully some way, shape or form there will be rules and regulations that will help us along the way.”