Cardiff City set to lose another youngster to Man City

[Cardiff Ultra]

This really grinds my gears. EPPP has been a disaster; it has simply enabled the top clubs to hoover up talent for pennies with no intention of playing them, and then sell them on to boost their income for financial fair play.

The idea that going to a top club will magically improve a youngster is garbage. They will never be on the same training ground as the top players and will be effectively sacrificing first team football for playing academy football at a nicer facility.

Thats before you even get into the morality of offering minors and/or their parents financial inducements.

Matando is a classic case. Signed by Man City off us for nothing after (alleged) financial inducements, never played for them but made them a tidy £8 million when they sold him to Schalke. Now he's kicking his heels on Rangers bench. Can anyone seriously suggest going to play in a slightly nicer academy was better for his career than staying at city and playing first team football?

[the other bob wilson]

This really grinds my gears. EPPP has been a disaster; it has simply enabled the top clubs to hoover up talent for pennies with no intention of playing them, and then sell them on to boost their income for financial fair play.

The idea that going to a top club will magically improve a youngster is garbage. They will never be on the same training ground as the top players and will be effectively sacrificing first team football for playing academy football at a nicer facility.

Thats before you even get into the morality of offering minors and/or their parents financial inducements.

Matando is a classic case. Signed by Man City off us for nothing after (alleged) financial inducements, never played for them but made them a tidy £8 million when they sold him to Schalke. Now he's kicking his heels on Rangers bench. Can anyone seriously suggest going to play in a slightly nicer academy was better for his career than staying at city and playing first team football?

Man City got around thirty two times more than they paid for Matondo and they certainly didn’t improve him by thirty two per cent, let alone three thousand two hundred per cent - in fact, did they improve Matondo at all? Having watched Matondo in quite a few games between the ages of thirteen and sixteen, I’d say he was unplayable at youth levels when he was allowed to use his pace and running power, but his team didn’t benefit as much as they should have because he often made poor decisions after having created an opportunity through that pace and power.

Matondo wasn’t alone in age group football in not making the correct decisions, but, as he was in his mid teens, I thought the footballing intelligence he lacked would eventually come through working in a professional footballing environment every day once he turned sixteen. This should have become even more true when he signed for what might be called the best modern day team and manager in the world and yet Matondo, now 23, remains someone who struggles to make the right decisions and, unbelievably given the hype over him around the time I was watching him play for us, I’d say he’d struggle to get in the current City team. Pace is so important in the modern game, but pace alone isn’t enough, Man City and Guardiola failed badly with Matondo, but they probably don’t view him that way given the huge profit they made on him.

[Citizen's Nephew]

Man City got around thirty two times more than they paid for Matondo and they certainly didn’t improve him by thirty two per cent, let alone three thousand two hundred per cent - in fact, did they improve Matondo at all? Having watched Matondo in quite a few games between the ages of thirteen and sixteen, I’d say he was unplayable at youth levels when he was allowed to use his pace and running power, but his team didn’t benefit as much as they should have because he often made poor decisions after having created an opportunity through that pace and power.

Matondo wasn’t alone in age group football in not making the correct decisions, but, as he was in his mid teens, I thought the footballing intelligence he lacked would eventually come through working in a professional footballing environment every day once he turned sixteen. This should have become even more true when he signed for what might be called the best modern day team and manager in the world and yet Matondo, now 23, remains someone who struggles to make the right decisions and, unbelievably given the hype over him around the time I was watching him play for us, I’d say he’d struggle to get in the current City team. Pace is so important in the modern game, but pace alone isn’t enough, Man City and Guardiola failed badly with Matondo, but they probably don’t view him that way given the huge profit they made on him.

👍really good post Bob.