Pen pics of Liverpool's backroom staff.

MEHMET ALI has left Reading to become the new Under-23s assistant at Arsenal.

LEE CATTERMOLE has been appointed as Middlesbrough’s new Under-18s Lead, marking a return to the club where he began his own playing career.

WIGAN Head of Academy Gregor Rioch explains how the youth set-up has kept the club afloat - and outlines its ambitions for the future.

BRENTFORD Director of Football Phil Giles says the club could re-open their Academy in future because Brexit has forced a change of strategy.

DEREK GEARY has been promoted to Sheffield United Academy Manager following a reshuffle of roles at the Championship club.

MANCHESTER UNITED have topped TGG's Academy Productivity Rankings for the third straight year. Their Head of Academy, Nick Cox, says this is testament to the club's staff - and to a culture of youth development going back several decades.

CHELSEA invited the entire Chesterfield Academy to their Cobham training base on Saturday before the sides' FA Cup third round tie. A group of 237 players and 30 coaches trained with Chelsea’s Academy teams, played small-sided games with them and had lunch before watching the tie at Stamford Bridge.

AUTHOR and UCFB course leader Carl Wild explains why it's so important to develop decision-making in players during training sessions - and provides some examples of how to do it.

CRYSTAL PALACE went from vocal critics to enthusiastic adopters of the Elite Player Performance Plan. Ryan Baldi was present for part of this journey for his book 'The Dream Factory' and explains what happened.

CHELSEA legend John Terry is returning to the club in a consultancy role that will involve “coaching and mentoring the next generation” at their Academy.

FORMER West Ham midfielder Kenny Brown has returned to the club as Head of Coaching for the Under-9s to 14s.

The Elite Player Performance Plan heralded a new era for youth development in this country. The architect of the system, Ged Roddy, looks back on the first decade of EPPP and outlines the risks and opportunities that lie ahead.

CELTIC’S Oliver Morgan has been appointed to the new role of Head of Academy Performance Support by Leicester City.

CARDIFF CITY have been granted planning permission for a new ‘state-of-the-art’ Academy in Llanrumney.

FORMER Manchester United Under-18s coach Paul McGuinness has been appointed Head of Academy Player Development at Leicester City.

MANCHESTER UNITED have topped Training Ground Guru’s Academy Productivity Rankings for the third consecutive edition.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST have announced plans for a new two-storey building and enhanced facilities at The Nigel Doughty Academy.

A quartet of long-standing staff have left Burnley’s Academy, while former Everton Head of Coaching Sean Lundon has arrived at the club as a Youth Development Phase coach.

FORMER West Ham midfielder Mark Robson is returning to the club as Senior Professional Development Coach and Under-23s Lead. He replaces Dmitri Halajko, who is leaving after two-and-a-half years to become Coaching Manager at the Premier League.

A CORONER has recorded a verdict of suicide at the inquest of former Manchester City Academy player Jeremy Wisten, who was found dead at his home in October last year.

GREGG BROUGHTON is the Academy Director at Bodø/Glimt, the small club making a big noise in European football. He was our guest on Episode #32 of the TGG Podcast.

THE story behind the story of Arsenal's 'youngest recruit', which went around the world last month.

DERBY COUNTY'S Under-15s Lead Matthew Thorpe has been appointed to the same role at Liverpool, while U18s coach Adam Thorley has become U15s coach at Chelsea.

ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate has opened Crystal Palace’s £20m Academy redevelopment, which the Eagles believe will have a “transformative effect on the future of the club and local community.”

ELLIOTT DICKMAN has left Sunderland after 26 years to become Lead Player Development Coach for Newcastle United’s Under-23s.

ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate will formally open Crystal Palace’s redeveloped Category One Academy in Beckenham next Thursday.

MIDDLESBROUGH Academy doctor Tom Prichard has spoken about the moment he helped save the life of a Newcastle United fan who had collapsed during their match against Tottenham yesterday.

JASON WILCOX says his ambition is for Manchester City’s Academy to be the best in the whole of world sport.

DESPITE only launching in 2019/20, Manchester United Women's Academy is going strong. Academy Manager and Under-21s boss Charlotte Healy tells TGG about upholding the club's values, her measures of success and managing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's daughter.

MANCHESTER UNITED have launched an innovative ‘work experience’ scheme that will enable their Professional Development Phase players (Under-17s to U23s) to spend time with EFL clubs.

UNDER-23s Head Coach Mark Pembridge has left Fulham after 18 years following a major revamp of Academy roles at the club.

QPR have released details of their new 'training ground bond', which is inspired by one issued by Norwich City in 2018.

FORMER Birmingham City Academy Manager Mike Dodds has been appointed to the new role of Head of Individual Player Development at Sunderland.

WOLVES have launched a dedicated Academy website that they say is the first of its kind in the Premier League and will enable them to “provide a higher level of detail and resource than any other Academy across the globe.”

CARDIFF CITY Academy Manager James McCarthy has left the club after more than two decades following the launch of an investigation into “non-recent allegations of bullying and poor practice”.

JON GREY has been promoted to Academy Manager by Swansea City following two years as their Head of Coaching.

MANCHESTER UNITED have unveiled their new Pre-Academy coaching team after the Premier League introduced rules permitting Under-9s to be formally involved with Academies.

PAUL JENKINS has been appointed Academy Director at Burnley, having previously served as Technical Director to owners ALK Capital since their takeover of the club in December 2020.

ARSENAL Under-23s assistant Ryan Garry is to become England's new U18s coach.

MANCHESTER CITY Under-14 lead Jamie Carr will embark on an incredible double challenge in two of the world's most hostile environments next year to raise money for charity.

SOUTHAMPTON Director of Football Matt Crocker has explained why the club have introduced a system of Game Coach and Individual Development Coach, rather than the traditional Head Coach and assistant model.

PAUL WILLIAMS has been appointed Academy Director at Birmingham City, while Academy Manager Mike Dodds has exited the club after 12 years.

FORMER Wigan manager Gary Caldwell has been appointed interim Under-23s boss at Newcastle United following Chris Hogg's exit to join MK Dons.

QPR have formally launched a B Team for the 2021/22 in an effort to increase the number of players making the transition from their Academy to first team.

TRAVIS BINNION will take Manchester United’s Under-18s this season as part of a reshuffle of roles in the Professional Development Phase.

MANCHESTER UNITED'S Academy scout in Holland, Rene Moonen, explains how he scouted promising defender Björn Hardley - and why the way he operates has changed after Brexit.

ENGLAND Under-18s coach Kevin Betsy has been appointed as the new U23s boss at Arsenal.

FORMER Rochdale manager Brian Barry-Murphy has been appointed as Manchester City’s new Under-23s boss as the club unveiled their coaching set-up for the new season.

OLLY LANCASHIRE has returned to Southampton as a player and mentor for their B team. The 32-year-old centre-back, who has played more than 300 senior games, made 17 appearances for Saints at the start of his career.

ANTHONY FERGUSON has left AFC Wimbledon to become Head of Coaching at Category One Reading. He replaces Carl Plunkett, who left the Royals to join Crystal Palace in February.

FORMER Republic of Ireland international Paul McShane has returned to Manchester United as a player-coach with their Under-23s.

FULHAM have announced a restructure of their Category One Academy, with Huw Jennings stepping down as Academy Director after 12 years to take on a new Head of Football Development role.

STEVE HARPER has been appointed as permanent Academy Manager at Newcastle United. He replaces Joe Joyce, who was stood down from the role in February.

BRIAN KIDD has left Manchester City after 12 years, with Under-18s coach Carlos Vicens stepping up to take his place as assistant manager.

ASTON VILLA are pressing on with plans to open an Inner City Academy which will provide greater opportunities for kids in working class areas of Birmingham. Is it time for other clubs to follow suit?

BURNLEY Academy Manager Jon Pepper, who led the Clarets from Category Three to One, is leaving the club after five years.

ENGLAND Under-17s coach Justin Cochrane has been appointed Head of Player Development and Coaching at Manchester United’s Academy.

HUW JENNINGS and Dan Ashworth have received the 2021 Eamonn Dolan Award for their outstanding contribution to youth development.

HOW increased knowledge of the adolescent brain has changed the way Bristol City coach in their Academy.

MANCHESTER CITY Under-23s boss Enzo Maresca is leaving the club after only a season to become Head Coach of Italian side Parma.

LEAGUE TWO Harrogate are the latest club to enter the EPPP system after being granted Category Four Academy status.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST have been promoted to Category One Academy status for 2021/22 in what has been described as “a very important development for the long-term future of the club.”

BIRMINGHAM CITY have been awarded Category One Academy status, making them the 27th club in the country to reach the top tier.

FORMER Watford midfielder Richard Johnson has been appointed as the club’s new Academy Director, with Jimmy Gilligan taking up the role of Head of Technical Development.

ARSENAL have sacked Under-23s coach Steve Bould after two decades on the coaching staff at the club.

MANCHESTER CITY have won the Under-18s Premier League title to secure a unique hat-trick of trophies.

"If you’re not a political animal, you get swallowed up." A fascinating study reveals how change at the top of a League One club impacted staff in the Academy.

WATFORD Academy Manager Richard Thomas has left the club with immediate effect after two years in post.

MORE than half of Marcelo Bielsa’s first-team squad have played for their Under-23s so far this season in something of a return to the old reserve team model.

MANCHESTER CITY’S Under-23s have won Premier League 2 for the first time, with Pep Guardiola hailing a "fantastic achievement" by Enzo Maresca's side.

FORMER Barnsley Head of Coaching Greg Miller has been appointed as Portsmouth’s new Academy Manager.

BLACKBURN ROVERS have appointed Preston North End’s John Prince as their new Senior Youth Development Phase Coach as part of a revamp of their Academy staffing structure.

DES RYAN, Arsenal’s Head of Academy Sports Medicine and Athletic Development for the last eight years, is leaving the club to become Director of Coaching and Performance at Setanta College.

PLAYERS from Liverpool and Manchester City’s Academy and women’s teams are to wear special mouthguards during training as part of a landmark study into head injuries in football.

NICKY BUTT has stepped down from his role as Head of Development at Manchester United to pursue “a new professional challenge.”

ASH HIGGINS has returned to Burnley after 18 months at Liverpool to become their Assistant Head of Coaching.

FORMER England in-possession coach Mikey Harris has been appointed to the new position of Under-18s individual coach by Southampton.

NEW research paints a picture of the typical Academy coach as being young, single, childless, underpaid and overworked - but nevertheless still happy in their role.

STEVE GUINAN, Senior Coach Developer at the Football Association, led a research team that looked into the challenges clubs face in recruiting and retaining the best coaches - and the results were intriguing.

WITH the Under-21 Euros starting next week, Youth Hawk have profiled the players who have made it into Aidy Boothroyd's 23-man England squad.

SOUTHAMPTON have hired Lee Skyrme from the Football Association to become their B team Individual Player Coach.

WEST BROM legend Chris Brunt has returned to the club to become Under-23s assistant to Deon Burton.

MANCHESTER UNITED Under-18s coach Neil Ryan says winning is “just a bonus” for his side and that preparing players for senior football is the most important thing.

ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate says young homegrown players are finally “getting their chance and showing their ability” in this country.

SWANSEA CITY have announced new Under-23 and U18s coaches in a major overhaul that follows the arrival of Mark Allen as the club’s new Academy Director last month.

ALL players under the age of 16 have been given the green light to return to Academies for training from March 8th and in matches from the weekend of 27/28th March.

LEWIS DICKMAN has been promoted to Academy Manager at Sunderland, with Stuart English joining from Birmingham City as Head of Coaching and Leann Cowperthwaite stepping up to become Head of Academy Operations.

FOLLOWING Scott Sellars' promotion to Technical Director at the start of this year, Jonathan Hunter-Barrett and Laura Nicholls have taken over the day-to-day running of the club's Category One Academy. They told TGG how they've been getting on.

WHEN EPPP was introduced in 2012, Bolton were one of the clubs awarded Category One status. Now they are in Cat 3 and a large number of experienced staff have departed.

ALMOST three quarters of players under the age of 23 who were released last season have said they were not given enough support by their clubs, according to research by ITV News.

RANGERS Academy Manager Craig Mulholland tells TGG that the club's new partnership with Orange County will offer excellent opportunities for player development on both sides.

EVERTON'S Head of Academy Coaching, Sean Lundon, has left the club after 21 years to work for Italian wearable tracking firm gpexe.

BRIGHTON Under-23s coach Simon Rusk has left the club after nine years to become manager of ambitious Conference Premier side Stockport County.

DOES the sacking of Frank Lampard after 18 months suggest that the emphasis on homegrown players was just a passing phase?

ALL Under-18 and U23 players and staff at Academies will be covid tested twice a week from Monday following new guidelines issued by the Premier League and EFL.

IN his first interview since becoming Academy Manager in December, Mike Dodds gives the lowdown on a tumultuous two months at the club.

WOLVES Academy Manager Scott Sellars explains why the club are advertising for a unique role for showcasing young talent for development and recruitment.

MARK ALLEN, the former Rangers Director of Football and Manchester City Academy boss, has been appointed Academy Director at Swansea City.

ACADEMY matches and training for the U15s downwards are to stop until February 1st at the earliest - but the Professional Development Phase will continue.

MANCHESTER CITY Academy Manager Jason Wilcox says he has set his staff and players three key targets for 2021.

UNDER-16s lead Dan Micciche outlines the key principles of Arsenal's Academy and how they go about developing 'Strong Young Gunners.'

ASTON VILLA have submitted plans for a new ‘Inner City Academy’ in Birmingham, which will be targeted at youngsters living close to their Villa Park stadium.

MANCHESTER UNITED assistant Mark Dempsey - who worked with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Cardiff and Molde before moving with him to Old Trafford - is switching to a new role with the club’s Academy.

MIKE DODDS has been promoted to Academy Manager by Birmingham City as the club insist they will still continue with their pursuit of Category One status.

BIRMINGHAM CITY have admitted they are set to scrap all teams below their Under-17s - just three months after announcing they had applied for Category One Academy status.

BRIGHTON Technical Director Dan Ashworth says the club are fielding a 36-year-old in their Under-23s in an attempt to create a ‘hybrid’ of the old reserve team system.

DAVID UNSWORTH wants Everton's Academy to become “the best in the world” following a restructure that has taken place over the last few months.

SWANSEA CITY are advertising for a new Academy Manager after announcing that Nigel Rees is stepping down from the role after six-and-a-half years.

SOUTHAMPTON Director of Football Operations Matt Crocker says the club have ‘moved away’ from the loans system and will rarely send young players to other clubs.

BLACKPOOL have paid tribute to Academy Manager Warren Green, who has died at the age of 46. In recent seasons, he had “courageously battled against cancer while working in his role and was a continuous inspiration to all those around him,” the club said.

ARSENAL Academy Manager Per Mertesacker says every player in modern football needs to be a leader - of themselves.

ASTON VILLA have hired Nick Haycock from the Premier League to take up the new role of Head of Technical and Player Development.

MARCEL LUCASSEN, Arsenal’s Head of Coach and Player Development, has left the club after two-and-a-half years for personal family reasons.

ALL football in Category One and Two Academies will continue during lockdown, despite the government previously saying that only 'elite' sport, involving players aged 16 and over, would carry on.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST Academy Manager Gary Brazil has taken on the beefed-up role of Director of Football Development as the club look to move into Category One next season.

GRASSROOTS champion Les Howie is leaving the Football Association after 22 years as part of a major round of cost-cutting due to Covid-19.

GLENN VAN DER KRAAN has started working for Manchester City as their new Head of Coaching as the club completes an extensive Academy revamp.

MANCHESTER CITY Chief Executive Ferran Soriano says English football should re-consider introducing B teams in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

MIKE YATES didn't quite make it as a player at Liverpool, but the club's educational support helped him become a key coach in their Academy.

BLACKBURN ROVERS named an Academy graduate in their matchday squad for the 500th straight game when they beat Wycombe 5-0 on Saturday.

LEEDS UNITED have promoted Under-18s Head Coach Mark Jackson to take charge of the U23s for their first season in Premier League 2.

FORMER Blackburn, Blackpool and Bradford manager Gary Bowyer has been appointed Under-23s boss at Derby County.

PAUL REID reflects on a tumultuous two years as Academy Manager at Sunderland, including a record run of defeats, competing against the big guns and retaining Category One status against the odds.

LIVERPOOL Academy Manager Alex Inglethorpe takes TGG inside the club's Kirkby training centre and explains the principles that underpin one of the most successful youth programmes in English football.

BIRMINGHAM CITY have applied to move up to Category One Academy status for the 2021/22 season.

SWANSEA CITY have downgraded their Academy to Category Two status after four years in the top tier.

FORMER West Ham assistant Enzo Maresca has been appointed Under-23s boss at Manchester City.

FORMER Portsmouth, Middlesbrough and West Ham midfielder Gary O'Neil has taken his first job in coaching as assistant of Liverpool's Under-23s.

MANCHESTER UNITED have decided not to release any players under the age of 19 from their Academy in recognition of the impact that coronavirus and lockdown has had on them.

CHELSEA have been crowned champions of Premier League 2 Division One after the Premier League voted to determine the final standings of its youth competitions using a points-per-game system.

MANCHESTER UNITED'S Tony Whelan, Chelsea's Neil Bath and Leicester City’s Trevor Peake have received the 2020 Eamonn Dolan award for their exceptional contribution to Academy coaching.

FLEETWOOD TOWN have applied to move up to Category Two Academy status from the 2021/22 season and announced a seven-figure investment in their Poolfoot Farm training centre.

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN are creating a B team as they aim to become “leaders in transitioning young players to the first team."

FORMER Barnsley and Leeds United manager Paul Heckingbottom has been appointed boss of Sheffield United's U23s.

MANCHESTER CITY have promoted Spaniard Carlos Vicens to Under-18 lead coach, with Darren Hughes stepping up from the U11s to become his assistant. Danny Walker has moved from U15/16s lead to U23 assistant.

SIMONE LEWIS, the Premier League’s Head of Learning and Development since 2013, has left the organisation by mutual consent.

LEAGUE TWO Mansfield Town have been promoted to Category Three status, meaning eight additional teams will now enter their Academy.

LEEDS UNITED have been awarded Category One Academy status on what has been described as a “landmark” day for the club.

JON BEALE has left Hull City after six years. He joined the club as Professional Development Phase coach in 2014, before being promoted to Head of Coaching and then Academy Manager.

CRYSTAL PALACE have been promoted to Category One status and are now focused on becoming “one of the country’s leading Academies” to “capitalise on the hotbed of footballing talent in south London”.

BURNLEY have been promoted to Category One Academy status, making them the 25th club in the country to reach the top ranking.

PAUL REID has left his position as Academy Manager of Sunderland with immediate effect.

THREE staff have been made redundant from Barnsley’s Academy as the club cuts costs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

THE Premier League will not restart the Academy games programme until 12th September at the earliest, following a vote of shareholders last week - and no date has yet been set for a return to training.

SALFORD CITY are scrapping their Academy and switching to the B team model used by Brentford.

LUTON TOWN have asked supporters to return season ticket refunds to the Academy as they bid to be upgraded to Category Two.

THE six clubs bidding to move up an Academy category are set to discover their fates within the next few weeks.

STEPHEN TORPEY has been appointed Head of Coaching for the Under-15s to 23s by Manchester City.

AS many as seven Academy products could feature for Colchester in their League Two play-off semi-final against Exeter tonight. Academy Recruitment Officer Sam Thompson outlines how the club identifies and develops players in a highly competitive catchment.

MANCHESTER UNITED Academy Manager Nick Cox lays out the key tenets of the club's youth programme, including the belief that there is a higher purpose than just producing professional footballers.

STUDENTSHIPS are becoming increasingly popular in pro football. Sofie Kent-Ryan reflects on her experiences with a Category One Academy and offers advice to those following in her footsteps.

SHEFFIELD UNITED are looking for a new Under-23 boss following the departure of Andrew Hughes after just one season at the club.

MANCHESTER CITY are set to make significant changes in their Academy this summer, with both the Under-23 and U18 lead coach roles becoming available.

BARRY LEWTAS has been promoted to Under-23 boss at Liverpool, while Marc Bridge-Wilkinson steps up to take charge of the U18s.

LEICESTER CITY Under-18 coach Trevor Peake, who is retiring after 17 years at the club, looks back on his four decades in professional football.

DR PERRY WALTERS says new Development Coach roles are prescient, because they chime with the latest findings from developmental neuroscience.

THE Premier League will begin regulating pre-Academy football for the first time from next season, but there will be no minimum age at which players can train with clubs.

THE Premier League has announced that its games programme from Under-9s to U23s is being cancelled for this season, meaning there will be no conclusion to Premier League 2 or the U18 Premier League.

BAYERN MUNICH have announced they are scraping their Under-9 and U10 teams, meaning entry level to their Academy will be at U11s from the summer of 2022.

FOR the fifth consecutive season, Chelsea have topped Youth Hawk's table for call-ups to England youth sides. However, for the first time, they share top billing with another team.

BENFICA Technical Director Pedro Marques explains the four pillars of their famed youth Academy.

NEWCASTLE UNITED have become the first Premier League club to put their staff on furlough.

BURNLEY, Crystal Palace and Leeds United will almost certainly have to wait another season to be elevated to Category 1 status, as all audits have been delayed indefinitely as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

CRYSTAL PALACE’S plans to develop their Academy into a Category 1 site have been supported by Bromley Council’s planning committee.

BARNET have put all their staff on notice of redundancy following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

LIVERPOOL Under-23 coach Neil Critchley has been appointed Head Coach of League One Blackpool on a contract to the end of the 2022/23 season.

UNDER-23 boss Steve Stone has returned to work at Burnley four months after taking an “agreed break” following bullying allegations.

ARSENAL have made a trio of appointments to their new Talent ID Department, including the hiring of scout Phil Antwi from Wolves.

MANCHESTER UNITED are launching a new Emerging Talent Programme to “radically increase the number of schools, grassroots clubs and communities we interact with”.

THE Football Association has issued new guidance banning heading in training for Under-12s and recommended a "graduated approach" for U12s to U18s.

GED RODDY, the architect of the EPPP system, shares his guide to the core functions of an elite football Academy.

SAM ROSE, Professional Development Phase lead at Burton Albion, explains how he has tried to implement the High Performance Model in his work.

EVERY year, 25,000 children try out for a place at the Right to Dream Academy near Accra. With its links to FC Nordsjælland in Denmark, the Academy offers unique opportunities to youngsters in West Africa.

LEAGUE ONE Sunderland have retained Category One status, keeping them among the 24 highest-ranked Academies in the country.

ACADEMY Operations Manager Lee Herron has been chosen to head up Arsenal’s new Talent ID department, which replaces their former youth scouting section.

FORMER Nottingham Forest midfielder Chris Cohen has been promoted to Under-23 coach at the City Ground, with former team-mate Andy Reid assisting him.

KRIS VAN DER HAEGEN, Director of Coach Education for the Belgian FA, outlines the five primary reasons why children stay in sport - or drop out.

TRIBUTES have been paid to Forest Green Rovers Under-18s coach Chris Barker, who has died at the age of 39.

TRAINING GROUND GURU is launching a new jobs section, aimed at showcasing the best opportunities in coaching, performance, medical and analysis available in professional football.

FORMER player Michael Gilkes has replaced Ged Roddy as Reading’s new Academy Manager.

GED RODDY has been sacked as Reading Academy Manager after less than two years at the club, TGG understands.

NEIL BATH, Chelsea’s long-serving Head of Youth Development, says the club is finally realising its 15-year dream for the Academy.

LIVERPOOL'S new Elite Development Coach, Vitor Matos, explains what his role involves and how he is a 'connector' between Academy and first team.

FORMER Sheffield United Academy Manager Travis Binnion has been appointed as Under-14s to 16s lead coach at Manchester United.

NEIL REDFEARN has left Newcastle United after only six months as U23 boss because of irreconcilable differences with his assistant Liam Bramley.

READING have released aerial footage of their new £50m training facility, which will soon be home to their first team, Academy and women’s sides.

RICHARD SHAW has left his role as Crystal Palace Under-23 boss to “pursue other opportunities”.

CRAIG BELLAMY has apologised “if I inadvertently offended anyone” after a Cardiff City investigation highlighted “a number of significant concerns relating to an unacceptable coaching environment” during his time at their Academy.

LIVERPOOL have struck a deal with Loughborough University which will see them play some of their Academy matches on campus.

GREG MILLER, Barnsley's Academy Head of Coaching, tells Alastair Sievewright about his coaching journey and philosophy and gives some tips to aspiring coaches.

GED RODDY, the architect of the EPPP system, says new figures showing an increase in playing time for English Under-21s in the Premier League prove “long-term investment in youth is finally paying off”.

GAME TIME for English Under-21s in the Premier League clubs is at its highest level for 12 seasons, while minutes for foreign players are at the lowest level for five seasons.

RICHARD STEVENS has left Coventry City after 12 years to become Academy Manager at West Brom.

PETER BEARDSLEY has been banned from football for 32 weeks after being found guilty of three charges of racially abusing black players while he was coach of Newcastle’s Under-23 side.

LES FERDINAND charts his journey from star player to Director of Football at QPR and laments the fact that bigger clubs are now “stockpiling” young talent.

MATT WOOD was never paid in his role as Bury's Head of Academy Sports Science and is now looking for a new job after the club's expulsion from the Football League.

JEREMY SAUER is taking up the new role of Assistant Academy Manager at West Ham next week after 12 years at AFC Wimbledon.

FORMER Huddersfield Town first team coach Andrew Hughes has been appointed Under-23 coach at Sheffield United.

ASTON VILLA Academy coach Kevin MacDonald has left the club “with immediate effect” following an investigation into allegations of bullying that had been made against him.

ARSENAL loaned rising star Eddie Nketiah to Leeds United last week following a series of presentations to a committee made up of loans manager Ben Knapper, chief negotiator Hussein Fahmy and the player himself.

FORMER Sheffield United Academy Manager Travis Binnion explains the philosophy that shaped Harry Maguire - and a host of other top players.

OXFORD UNITED have given a squad number to every player at the club, from first team to Under-9s, in an effort to foster a ‘one-club mentality’.

MANCHESTER UNITED gave the most minutes to homegrown players in the Premier League last season, with champions Manchester City propping up the table.

ANDREW CROFTS has been appointed to an innovative Under-23 player-coach role by Brighton.

SHREWSBURY first-team coach Eric Ramsay has been appointed as Chelsea Under-23 assistant.

NICKY BUTT has taken on a new Head of First Team Development role at Manchester United, with Nick Cox stepping up to replace him as Academy Manager.

HANNAH DINGLEY has become the first female Academy Manager in English football by taking over the role at Forest Green Rovers.

LUTON TOWN have been producing top-flight players for more than four decades - a tradition that continues today with the likes of Max Aarons and Jamal Lewis. Their former Academy Manager Gregg Broughton explains how they've done it.

ASTON VILLA Under-18 coach David Hughes is leaving the club to become Southampton’s first Head of Academy Player Development.

NEIL WOOD has been promoted to Under-23 coach by Manchester United, with Quinton Fortune as his assistant.

THIS month we go behind the scenes at the TGG Youth Development Conference in Manchester, with speakers Kris Van Der Haegen, Leigh Bromby and John McGuigan.

WEST BROM Academy Manager Mark Harrison has left the club to take up the same role at near neighbours Aston Villa.

DMITRI HALAJKO is leaving Leicester City to become Under-23s coach at West Ham as part of a major overhaul at the Hammers Academy.

KRIS VAN DER HAEGEN, Director of Coach Education for Belgium, says coaches need to put their ego to one side and focus on what is best for each player in their team.

COACHES from Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham were among the attendees at a packed TGG Youth Development Conference on Wednesday, while Manchester United defender Phil Jones also made a special appearance.

FORMER England rugby coach and National Academy Manager Brian Ashtons says Academies should be about more than just developing players for the first team.

SWANSEA CITY have made three Academy coaches redundant, including the first full-time female coach in men’s football.

THERE will be attendees from the Premier League, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham and Germany’s DFL at Wednesday’s TGG Youth Development Conference, which is now a sell-out.

SOUTHAMPTON are poised to announce a new Head of Player Development after splitting the traditional Head of Coaching role in two as part of an Academy revamp.

FORMER Leeds United manager Neil Redfearn has replaced Peter Beardsley as coach of Newcastle’s Under-23s.

NEIL WOOD is in the running for the vacant Under-23 job at Manchester United following the departure of Ricky Sbragia after less than two years.

DWIGHT McNEIL has gone from 14-year-old Manchester United reject to the standard bearer for Burnley's burgeoning Academy.

WE are delighted to announce the four sponsors for the Youth Development Conference in Manchester on June 5th: Box Soccer, Playermaker, Hudl and Rezzil.

TGG gets a tour of Burnley's Academy, which is on the verge of going from Category 3 to 1 inside three years.

KEN GILLARD has been appointed as Arsenal's permanent Under-18s ?boss, completing the club's Academy coaching set-up.

GARETH OWEN has been promoted from Foundation Phase Lead to Academy Director by Stoke City.

OUR Youth Development Conference on June 5th promises to be of interest to anyone who works with young players.

EVERTON won the Premier League 2 title for the second time in three years with a 1-0 win over second-placed Brighton on Monday. But how excited should we get about it?

A GROUP of Norwich City fans and investors are set for a windfall if - as seems increasingly likely - the Canaries are promoted to the Premier League.

FORMER Notts County assistant Richard Thomas has been appointed Academy Manager at Premier League Watford.

MEET the six full-time female coaches in English Academy football.

CRYSTAL PALACE confirm that Head of Coaching David Muir has resigned following allegations he made a racial comment while on a Football Association coaching course in February.

TOTTENHAM’S Assistant Head of Player Development, Jon Goodman, has been appointed Academy Manager at MK Dons.

BRISTOL CITY are recruiting for a new physio who will work exclusively with players on loan at other clubs.

FORMER Newcastle Under-23 coach Peter Beardsley has been charged with three counts of using racist language to players by the Football Association.

STOKE CITY Academy Manager Gareth Jennings is leaving to become Head of Technical Leadership Programs for Fifa.

TRAINING GROUND GURU'S first Youth Development conference will offer insights from two of football's most successful Academy programmes.

FORMER Scotland international John Colquhoun hopes his youth development programme Box Soccer can bring back the best parts of street football.

READING Head of Academy Player Development Lewis Goater has left the club after almost 11 years to join Arsenal.

ABERDEEN are advertising for a pair of performance and scouting analysts - but have listed the roles as unpaid internships rather than jobs.

KRIS VAN DER HAEGEN, the Director of Coach Education for the Belgian Football Association, will head a special TGG conference on youth development in June.

NORWICH CITY loans manager Neil Adams tells Connor Southwell why his role is becoming increasingly important at the Championship table-toppers.

SCOTT SELLARS has replaced Gareth Prosser as Head of Academy by Wolves.

MANCHESTER CITY have come under fire after a team photo emerged showing their ‘Under-5s elite squad’.

NEWCASTLE UNITED have confirmed the departure of Under-23 coach Peter Beardsley - 14 months after after an internal investigation into allegations of racism and bullying made against him was launched.

FORMER Manchester United Under-18 coach Paul McGuinness shares his memories of mentor Eric Harrison, who has died at the age of 81.

SIR ALEX FERGUSON has paid tribute to “one of the greatest coaches of our time” following the death of Eric Harrison at the age of 81.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND Technical Director Michael Zorc admits England has now overtaken Germany when it comes to youth development.

WATFORD have suspended Head of Academy Darren Sarll following allegations of bullying.

WEST HAM Academy Manager Terry Westley has moved into a part-time role at the club that will focus on football development programmes.

WHEN discussing bio-banding, it can be difficult to separate the myths from the reality. Dr Sean Cumming, a senior lecturer at The University of Bath, answered some of the most commonly-asked questions for us.

EVERTON will spend 80% more on running their Academy this season than they did three years ago, according to CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale.

EVERTON Head of Academy Recruitment Martin Waldron, who was suspended pending an investigation into tapping up, has left the club to become a football agent.

RICKY MARTIN, the former Norwich City Technical Director, has been appointed as West Ham’s Academy Operations and Player Development Manager.

FORMER Manchester City Head of Education Pete Lowe says he's shocked by the bullying cases he's encountered since setting up welfare organisation PlayersNet. We explore what needs to be done.

FULHAM are looking for a Head of Academy Coaching after Steve Wigley was switched to a new role.

TRANMERE ROVERS, who scrapped their youth teams below Under-16 level in the summer, had a more productive Academy than three Premier League teams in our 2017/18 rankings.

LEICESTER CITY have appointed Guy Branston as loans manager with specific responsibility for the Professional Development Phase group.

WOLVES Academy manager Gareth Prosser is leaving the club after a decade to lead the new body that will be auditing clubs.

FORMER Luton and Norwich Academy Manager Gregg Broughton explains how we should judge the relative merits of Academies.

FORMER Blackburn and Newcastle winger Scott Sellars tells TGG about his work at Wolves' renowned Academy.

MK DONS Head of Coaching Steve Brown, one of the original auditors under the EPPP system, has questioned why Academy performance data is not put in the public domain by the Premier League and EFL.

HERE is the second edition of our annual Academy Productivity Rankings - the only such publicly-available resource in the country.

GARETH SOUTHGATE has said “we can’t allow the trend to continue” after the number of England-qualified players starting in the Premier League hit an all-time low last weekend.

FORMER MK Dons manager Dan Micciche has been appointed as the Under-15 boss at Arsenal.

AZ ALKMAAR have installed a foot squash court and teqball tables at their Academy and are getting youngsters to organise ‘deliberate play’ tournaments every month.

FORMER England international Steve Stone has been appointed as Burnley Under-23 boss.

THE future of Everton’s Academy Head of Recruitment Martin Waldron - father of Academy Director Joel - hangs in the balance after the club was found guilty of tapping up a former Cardiff City schoolboy in 2016.

KEN GILLARD has been put in temporary charge of Arsenal Under-18s following the departure of Kwame Ampadu to Monaco.

CREWE say the suspension of Foundation Phase coach Carl Everall is “totally unconnected” to his role at the club.

WEST HAM have suspended Under-18 coach Mark Phillips after he tweeted about attending a march organised by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance.

WEST BROM contributed more players to the England youth teams than both Manchester United and Liverpool during the October international break.

FORMER Leeds United manager Neil Redfearn has been drafted in to help Ben Dawson with Newcastle United Under-23s.

FIFA stakeholders have backed ‘groundbreaking’ transfer reforms that include a limit on the number of loans teams can make.

ROTHERHAM UNITED Development Coach Matt Hamshaw believes the club’s Academy is in the best shape it has ever been.

A Fifa task force has proposed that clubs be limited to loaning six to eight players because the current system can result in “stockpiling” and “sometimes prevents young players from fully developing their talent”.

IPSWICH TOWN owner Marcus Evans says the whole Academy system is nearing a “dangerous tipping point” because clubs are losing players for fees that “bear no relation” to their actual value.

SUNDERLAND find themselves playing in the third tier of English football for the first time in 30 years, but this can actually be turned into a strength according to their new Academy Manager.

NEW Academy Manager Paul Reid has promoted a number of his coaching staff at Category One Sunderland.

BRISTOL CITY have had to pay Liverpool a hefty penalty fee following the half-season loan of Ryan Kent in 2017/18.

DURING a decade of turmoil, Coventry's Academy has remained a beacon of quality at a beleaguered club.

MIDFIELDER Josh McEachran has revealed what life is like in the Chelsea loan group, with players training separately from the first team as they await their fate.

JONATHAN PANZO says he chose to join Monaco because they offer more opportunities than the “back and forth” of Chelsea’s loan system.

STEVENAGE manager Dino Maamria says top Academies are a “fake environment” and that he usually prefers to sign players from non-league.

THREE of the England Under-16 team that beat Croatia last weekend - managing to do what their senior counterparts couldn’t at the World Cup a couple of weeks earlier - were products of Brentford's Academy.

HUDDERSFIELD are about to embark on a new and controversial era for their Academy. TGG went to speak to Academy manager Leigh Bromby and lead physical performance coach Paul Bower to find out exactly what's happening.

NEIL RYAN, the son of former Manchester United player and coach Jim Ryan, has been promoted to become the club's Under-18 coach.

ENGLAND players no longer make their breakthroughs in the Premier League, having to instead prove themselves in less glamorous surroundings.

FORMER Wolves player and coach Rob Edwards has rejoined the club as Under-23s boss.

FORMER Stevenage manager Darren Sarll has been appointed Head of Academy by Watford following the resignation of Chris McGuane last month.

MANCHESTER CITY have appointed Barnsley’s Paul Harsley as their new Under-23 manager.

FORMER Arsenal Invincible Freddie Ljungberg is returning to the club in July to take charge of the Under-23 side.

SCOTT SELLARS has been promoted to Head of Academy Player Development at Wolves following an internal restructure of coaching at the club.

INCOMING Everton Director of Football Marcel Brands says he is looking for a ‘modern coach’ who will give the club’s Academy players a chance.

INCOMING Arsenal Academy boss Per Mertesacker says changing players’ mindsets will be a key objective for him in his new job.

CLUBS spend millions doing due diligence on potential signings, but have never been able to analyse personality - until now.

ARSENAL have suspended Under-23 coach Steve Gatting and his assistant Carl Laraman following accusations of bullying made against them.

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY manager Jos Luhukay says he will continue to build his team around young players next season.

FULHAM Academy Director Huw Jennings says England’s young players are technically better than ever and have left Germany trailing.

NORWICH CITY majority shareholder Delia Smith says she wants her club to be built in the image of Guy Roux’s Auxerre.

NORWICH CITY have smashed the £3.5 million target for their Canaries Bond - a day before it was even due to go on public sale.

THE Court of Appeal has found in favour of Ealing Council’s decision to grant planning permission to the club for the redevelopment of more than 60 acres of land at Warren Farm in Hanwell.

LIVERPOOL loan manager Julian Ward reveals how the club chooses where to send players and why it's so important for their development.

TRANMERE futsal manager Damon Shaw has vowed to work for free until the end of the season despite being made redundant in a round of cuts.

TRANMERE ROVERS have scrapped all teams and coaching for players under the age of 16 because they have found it “impossible” to operate outside of the EPPP system.

TRANMERE ROVERS are closing their fabled Academy and all but one of their futsal teams.

NORWICH CITY have launched a £3.5m bond through a platform run by Gianluca Vialli in order to “build a state-of-the-art Academy”.

MANCHESTER CITY are looking for a new Under-23 coach as they revamp roles in their Academy.

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN have launched the new programme for their Academy following the controversial decision to scrap all younger age groups.

WE’RE excited to announce the first TGG Live, led by the highly-respected former England rugby head coach Brian Ashton.

EVERTON Under-18s coach Paul Tait says the club's Academy is at the forefront of a move away from 'sanitised' football towards a more direct style of play.

READING have been thrown out of the FA Youth Cup for fielding an under-aged player.

CHARLTON Academy manager Steve Avory explains how the club manages to produce so many top players, from Jonjo Shelvey to Joe Gomez.

CHARLTON Academy manager Steve Avory says agents are routinely flouting FA rules by approaching players under the age of 16.

NORWICH CITY will retain Category 1 Academy status and become “leaders in youth development” for the entire country, says Sporting Director Stuart Webber.

WATFORD are introducing a B team next season in an attempt to bridge the gap between their Academy and first team.

FIVE graduates told me what made Exeter City's Academy such a good place to learn their trade.

HOW are League Two Exeter City managing to produce so many good young players, including Chelsea starlet Ethan Ampadu? Dan Kelly, their Head of Academy Recruitment explains all.

SECRETARY OF STATE Sajid Javid chooses not to call in plans for a new £10m training complex at the former Canford Magna Golf Club.

NEW Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis promotes Jonathan Woodgate from U18 to first-team coach to help him fast-track homegrown players at the club.

DAN HARRIS has been appointed Academy Manager at Oxford United following three years as assistant boss of Seoul E-Land in South Korea’s K-League.

LEE HERRON is leaving Reading after 17 years to become Football Operations Manager at Arsenal’s Academy.

BURTON ALBION’S determination to build a team with a homegrown core has been boosted by the use of St George’s Park this season, according to club captain Shaun Barker.

THE former Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United player replaces Steve Weaver, who left the club in August and later joined Norwich.

LIVERPOOL Development Coach Pepijn Lijnders - described as ‘unbelievably important’ by manager Jurgen Klopp - is leaving immediately to become head coach of NEC Nijmegen in Holland.

INCREASING opportunities for homegrown players will be English football’s biggest challenge in 2018, says FA Technical Director Dan Ashworth.

OUR top 10 best-read stories of 2017, ranging from Redfearn to Ranieri.

ENGLAND UNDER-16 boss Dan Micciche has reached settlement with the Football Association after being on gardening leave since the start of September.

NICK LEVETT has been appointed Head of Talent and Performance by UK Coaching after being made redundant by the Football Association.

PAUL CLEMENT inevitably got the chop after Swansea's awful start to the season, but the spotlight also needs to fall on those responsible for recruitment, including Dan Altman.

PETE STURGESS, the Football Association's lead for the foundation phase, tells us about the work that led to England's summer of success and how it is now being built on.

BRISTOL CITY have submitted formal planning permission for new training facilities to “enhance the pathway from Academy to first team".

EVERTON legend Joe Royle leaves his role as Professional Development Co-ordinator at the club, while new boss Sam Allardyce is looking to bring in a psychologist.

FIFTY-TWO of Huddersfield’s Academy players have now been signed by other clubs following the Terriers’ decision to close all teams below the Under-18s in September.

TRIBUTES have been paid to Dermot Drummy, the highly-successful former youth coach of Arsenal and Chelsea, who has died at the age of 56.

MANCHESTER CITY Academy manager Jason Wilcox admits something ‘unbelievable’ has to happen in order for teenagers to make it into the first team at the club.

JACK CORK has given a fascinating insight into Swansea’s recruitment process, suggesting it was NOT manager Paul Clement’s decision to sell him to Burnley this summer.

SVEN MISLINTAT, Borussia Dortmund’s Head of Professional Football and the man nicknamed “Diamond Eye”, has joined Arsenal as Head of Recruitment.

MANCHESTER UNITED boss Jose Mourinho says he aims to give a debut to at least one Academy player every season.

DEAN WRIGHT was previously Football Foundation Phase Coach at Huddersfield Town before his post closed when the Terriers decided to stop running any teams below Under-18 level.

CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN has highlighted the role Dennis Bergkamp played in his development when he was at Ajax.

SOON clubs will be able to start signing pre-contract agreements with players who are available on Bosman free transfers - and Scout7 provides priceless information about who is available.

BRUCE SURACI has been promoted to Academy Head of Coaching and Development by Bournemouth.

FITNESS COACH Matt Green has left West Brom after 10 years to become Elite Performance Manager at the Premier League.

SUNDERLAND'S Dr James McCarron has been appointed to the new role of Elite Performance Manager by the Premier League.

DEVELOPMENT COACH Pepijn Lijnders says the quality of Liverpool’s Academy players - and the club’s willingness to use them - will give a critical advantage over Premier League rivals.

MANCHESTER CITY chief executive Ferran Soriano admits there is “much more to do” to bridge the gap between the club’s Academy and first team.

MIGUEL RIOS, Fulham's former senior scout, has been appointed European scout by high-flying Wolves.

NORWICH CITY have landed Head of Academy Recruitment Steve McGavin from arch rivals Ipswich Town.

How effective is your team's Academy? A new study has ranked the 86 Category 1-3 clubs in terms of productivity for England-qualified players.

HEAD of Talent ID Richard Allen is leaving the Football Association to become Loughborough University’s first Director of Football.

LINCOLN CITY manager Danny Cowley says his club’s Academy has to teach youngsters about winning - because it's not something they learn in school.

DAVID MOSS has left his role as Head of Football Operations at Huddersfield after little more than four months in the job.

SIR ALEX FERGUSON explains why he made youth the foundation of his success at Man Utd - even when it led to complaints in the House of Commons.

MANCHESTER UNITED Academy boss Nicky Butt has derided Chelsea’s youth system, saying they produce outstanding players but fail to get them into the first team.

RECRUITMENT tech firm Scout7, founded by Lee Jamison in 2001, has been bought by Perform Group.

BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH Sporting Director Max Eberl says English clubs are producing the best young players in the world - but failing to give them a chance.

MANCHESTER UNITED are closing down seven of their Development Centres and changing the focus of the remaining 17.

NORWICH CITY have completed their review of the club's Academy set-up, resulting in a total of five staff losing their jobs.

NEW Manchester City Academy boss Jason Wilcox says challenging players will be more important than winning on his watch.

NORWICH CITY legend Darren Huckerby has been sacked as the club’s Under-23 assistant following a review of staffing and practices in the Academy.

BURNLEY have been awarded Category 2 Academy status, opened a £10.6m training centre and bolstered their scouting network as they try to cement their position as a Premier League outfit.

SIR ALEX FERGUSON says his experience with Paul Scholes proved to him that developing talent was more important than size.

AZ ALKMAAR have built a ‘Performance Playground’ to evoke the spirit of street football at their Academy.

NO-ONE was banging the drum for Harry Kane before he made his Spurs debut in 2014, which tells us there are very few 'dead certs' until young players are given a chance.

MANCHESTER UNITED have signed five Huddersfield youngsters - including the highly-rated Sam Murray.

MICHAEL MANCIENNE thinks Germany are much more successful than England on the international stage because their clubs “would rather push through a youngster with potential than make a signing”.

GED RODDY is leaving the Premier League after eight years following a mutual decision that his role of Director of Football Development “will no longer be required in the medium to long term”.

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN chairman Dean Hoyle provides a vigorous defence of his decision to downgrade the club's Academy.

MICHAEL BEALE has returned to Liverpool as head of coaching for the foundation phase at the Kirkby Academy.

EVERTON named an Academy graduate in their matchday squad for the 1,000th consecutive game on Sunday when Wayne Rooney and Tom Davies were included against Manchester United.

NORWICH announce the news we told you on Friday - that Steve Weaver has been appointed as their new Academy manager.

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN are downgrading their Academy from Category Two to Category Four status, meaning they will only now run Under-18 and Under-23 squads.

STEVE WEAVER has been appointed as the new Head of Academy at Norwich - but his arrival has not been officially announced because of the terms of Stuart Webber’s departure from Huddersfield.

FULHAM have retained the Category One Academy? status they have held since 2012.

MANCHESTER UNITED have appointed Lech Poznan’s Piotr Sadowski as their new Central European scout as they continue the massive overhaul of their recruitment department.

JORDI CRUYFF insists Pep Guardiola is still continuing his father’s legacy despite his record with homegrown players at Manchester City.

THE exit of Manchester City's brightest prospect seriously undermines their claims that youth would be given a platform this season.

RENE MEULENSTEEN worked with Manchester United's Academy for six years, helping develop talents including Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingaard. He told us about his methods and philosophy.

RANGERS' Academy boss explains why they chose to exit the domestic league and take on Europe's best.

SOUTHAMPTON have announced the death of their chief scout, Bill Green, at the age of 66.

FULHAM have appointed Daniel Talbot - son of Brian, the assistant director of football operations - as their senior/ European scout.

STEVE WEAVER is set to take over as Head of Norwich’s Academy at the end of September, when his gardening leave with Huddersfield Town has ended.

WEST BROM boss Tony Pulis says he wants half his team to be homegrown within the next two years - even though they have been hampered by playing Academy football “far, far too long”.

NORWICH CITY academy manager Richard Money has left the club by mutual consent as the complete overhaul of the football side of the business continues apace under Sporting Director Stuart Webber.

BLACKBURN ROVERS have appointed former player Tony Carss as their new Head of Academy Coaching.

DONALD PARK is to combine his current role as Head of Coaching at the Scottish Football Association with that of national Under-19 coach.

SEAN DYCHE explains how Burnley are expanding their scouting horizons as they seek to make the next step as a club.

ARSENE WENGER says the manager of the future will not even need a football background, because his or her decisions will be based on science and technology.

SEAN LUNDON has been promoted to Head of Academy Coaching at Everton.

NEW Manchester United Under-23 boss Ricky Sbragia says one of his key objectives in the role will be to make sure his players enjoy themselves.

ACADEMY MANAGER Steve Weaver has left Huddersfield Town shortly before their first season in the Premier League.

FULHAM manager Slavisa Jokanovic has hit out at the club's transfer strategy this summer and suggested there were plans to sell striker Sone Aluko?.

CHELSEA have sent their players on loan to 87 clubs in the last five seasons, with Vitesse Arnhem the leading destination.

CHELSEA manager Antonio Conte has defended his record with young homegrown players, saying they are often too impatient and that he is always under pressure to win.

BLACKPOOL chairman Karl Oyston has taken to LinkedIn to appeal for a new Head, Head of Coaching, Physio and Administrator for the club’s Category 3 Academy.

BLACKBURN ROVERS have confirmed they will maintain the funding and facilities necessary to remain a Category 1 Academy - despite having been relegated to League One.

This summer more than 1,100 players found themselves out of contract in the Premier League and Football League. The PFA and Scout7 try to put them back in the shop window.

BLACKBURN ROVERS' Head of Academy Eric Kinder has left the club.

GERMAN defender Per Mertesacker is to retire as a player at the end of next season and take over as Arsenal’s Academy Manager.

BOURNEMOUTH announce that long-serving Academy boss Joe Roach is staying on at the club - two months after saying he was leaving.

BLACKBURN ROVERS are confident of retaining their status as a Category One Academy, despite being relegated to League One.

The Premier League has created a new position of Elite Performance Manager to ‘support their mission of developing more and better homegrown players’.

MANCHESTER UNITED have landed a star signing for their formidable recruitment department - Juventus chief scout Javier Ribalta.

LEE DARNBROUGH has been appointed to the newly-created role of Head of Recruitment by Hull City.

ARSENAL have hired Hussein Fahmy from Team Sky to deal with their player contracts.

LEEDS UNITED have appointed Gaby Ruiz to the newly-created role of Head of European Recruitment.

A MANCHESTER start-up has launched the world’s first virtual reality talent ID and rehab system.

UKRAINIAN side Oleksandriya have been looking to sign a fast attacking player under the age of 21 - who has to be black.

MANCHESTER UNITED Under-18 coach Kieran McKenna says Academies are producing outstanding players - but admits their pathway to the first team is a big problem.

DAVID MOSS, Celtic’s former head of recruitment, is named as Huddersfield’s Head of Football Operations.

LEEDS UNITED have announced Spaniard Victor Orta as their new Director of Football.

VICTOR ORTA is set to join Leeds United as their new technical director as Middlesbrough continue a complete clear-out of their backroom staff.

DEFENDER Declan Rice became the first teenager to feature for West Ham this season on the final day of their campaign - just 24 hours after co-owner David Gold had declared it would be “extremely unlikely” that a teenager would be able to break into the side.

PSG are on the verge of signing Atletico Madrid Sporting Director Andrea Berta, according to reports in France.

STEVE McCLAREN has ruled himself out of contention for the vacant Sporting Director role at Huddersfield Town.

SUNDERLAND have brought in Rob Mackenzie on a three-month contract as a ‘recruitment operations consultant’.

PEP GUARDIOLA has warned he is again unlikely to introduce many academy players to the Manchester City first team next season, blaming the competitiveness of the youth league they play in.

GLASGOW RANGERS have withdrawn from next season’s SPFL Development League in order to play youth games against Europe’s top clubs.

JEFF VETERE has become the new Director of Football at Birmingham City - where he will team up with Harry Redknapp, one of the most outspoken critics of the role.

ARSENE WENGER has completely dismissed the possibility of working with a Director of Football as long as he is at Arsenal.

MANCHESTER CITY have been banned from signing Academy players for two years after being found guilty of tapping-up two schoolboys.

After months of speculation, Monchi has finally been unveiled as Roma's new Sporting Director. The Spaniard has become an almost mystical figure after transforming Sevilla from Segunda División side to perennial European contenders.

SPORTING DIRECTOR Stuart Webber has continued his whirlwind start to life at Norwich City by releasing seven players and holding informal talks with Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill.

NORWICH’S new sporting director, Stuart Webber, has appointed heads of UK and European scouting as part of his revamp of the club’s recruitment.

DAVE PARNABY, who is retiring at the end of the season after 20 years as Middlesbrough’s academy director, says youth football has become too ‘formalised’ and lost the art of play.

On the face of it, New Zealand Technical Director is a thankless job: the country is rugby obsessed, its top players play thousands of miles away, and only half a World Cup place is available every four years. Andreas Heraf describes it as a “great gift” though.

SPORTING DIRECTOR Stuart Webber has immediately made his presence felt at Norwich City by sacking technical director Ricky Martin and recruitment chiefs Lee Darnbrough and Tony Spearing.

HUDDERSFIELD will not consider former England boss Steve McClaren for their vacant Head of Football Operations role, TGG understands.

McClaren had been linked with the job following Stuart Webber’s exit last week. The 33-year-old ended weeks of speculation by joining Norwich City as their Sporting Director, having been put on gardening leave by the Terriers the week before.

McClaren has been out of work since being sacked by Derby County for the second time in less than two years last month.

Speculation has been rife that the former England boss could be in line to replace Webber after he was spotted in the stands during Huddersfield’s Championship win over Norwich last week.

However, the Terriers are looking for a specialist rather than someone with a coaching and managerial background.

Webber made his name as director of academy recruitment at Liverpool before moving on to QPR, Wolves and finally Huddersfield. He was a major success at the John Smith's, playing a key role in bringing former USA international David Wagner in as manager as well as overseeing a series of astute signings.

Together, Webber and Wagner transformed Huddersfield's fortunes, turning them from Championship strugglers to promotion contenders.

The 33-year-old is now setting about finding a replacement for boss Alex Neil at Carrow Road.

Chairman Mel Morris was scathing in his assessment of McClaren when announcing the former England manager's dismissal last month. He claimed “the heartbeat, commitment, focus and passion has been lacking something fundamental” under the boss.

FOOTBALL LEAGUE teams will be required to name at least one 'club developed' in their matchday squads next season.

STUART WEBBER has been confirmed as the new Sporting Director of Norwich City.

LIVERPOOL have been banned from signing academy players from other clubs for at least a year after being found to have tapped up a 12-year-old Stoke City player and offered both him and his family inducements.

STUART WEBBER is expected to be officially named as Norwich’s new sporting director following tonight’s game at Huddersfield.

WE’VE long known about the star player. Then there was the star manager. Now we have a new phenomenon - the star sporting director - and none comes bigger than Sevilla’s Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo - or Monchi. Now the 48-year-old says he has offers to come to the Premier League this summer.

MANCHESTER UNITED have signed up to make their debut at the Youdan Trophy – the youth tournament set up by former ref Keith Hackett, who promises it will become “the most prestigious of its kind in Europe”.

EVERTON director of football Steve Walsh has given an insight into the scouting overhaul he believes will deliver a top-four place for the Toffees.

THE way top clubs scout players has been revolutionised thanks to companies like Scout7. We took a look at how the online system works.

PREMIER LEAGUE clubs are talent trawling for children as young as four in a ‘race to the bottom’, according to the talent identification manager at the Football Association.

MANCHESTER UNITED’S global network of scouts have been summoned to Carrington for their first meeting following a massive overhaul.