Elite DC Magazine 2 September 2012
Inside this month -
Keele International Cup 2012 Torquay United taking over Cornwall Nathan Summers Interview My Favourite XI.....and more features!
Elite DC Trips and Tours Website Coming Soon
Elite DC Unit 1 Chantry Mill Plympton Plymouth PL7 1YB
Editors Say
0845 003 7339 admin@elitedc.org
It has been a bit slow in coming, but we now have our second Elite
@eliteadc @EDCTripsNTours
A lot has happened since our first edition, so you can read a bit
Editor - Severiano Catindig-Stagg seve@elitedc.org With thanks to: Craig Wilcox Daniel Peters Lee Nicholls James Barrow
DC magazine ready for your viewing pleasure. Hopefully it proves to be worth the wait. about the star performers from Euro 2012 and we have a great selection of photographs from the Keele International Cup this year. There were some excellent performances at Keele, with the Under 13’s going so close to making the final, losing out on penalties and the Under 12’s from our Rotherham United ADC’s taking home some silverware after a great weeks work. We have had a few lads in the Elite DC office on work experience so they have helped to contribute to the make up of this new edition. Going forward, it would be great to have more and more input from our players into the magazine contents. Any budding journalists or video makers that we have amongst our players, please get in contact. We are looking to get more and more interactive, we want your feedback, suggestions, contributions and general attention so you know what is going on at your Centre and with Elite DC as a whole. To help we have a couple of twitter accounts that you should look to follow: @eliteadc @EDCTripsNTours Use these to keep up to date, or keep in touch with the main office and see what is going on with trips and tours.
Severiano Catindig-Stagg Editor Elite DC Magazine
Conquering Cornwall
Nine years ago, Torquay United had no Youth Development programme.
The entire programme was disbanded by then manager Leroy Rosenoir. This gave local rivals Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City the pick of the best youngsters throughout Devon and Cornwall. It was four years until the programme re-commenced. Current Head of Coaching Matt Williams was charged with setting up a Centre of Excellence for the Gulls and drag-
ging the club from the English Riviera back on par with their fellow South West sides. ‘We’ve now been up and running for five years,’ says Williams, who now works alongside the clubs Head of Youth, Geoff Harrop, and Technical Development Officer Robbie Herrera to keep improving the clubs youth department. ‘We have made steady progress in that time and we are much more competitive in every age group, and a lot of that is down to the recruitment that we have made big strides forward in.’ The biggest addition to the clubs recruitment has been the
advent of a development centre structure feeding the Academy of the club. The club has 7 sites now, led by Head of Youth Recruitment Stuart Henderson and Centre Managers Shaun Keeble and Ed Timmons. Within that system, the club has been able to establish Torquay United as a real recruitment presence in Cornwall for the first time, and this is proving to be key. Pictures
Above - Torquay United are flying the flag in Cornwal. the first batch of Truro site players to trial at Torquay, whilst below them Rob Green nips in to secure the 2012 Westcountry Cup for the Truro Under 13’s.
Pictures
Above - Kevin McCallion has become the third scholar to emerge from the ADC system in two years. Below some youngsters from Torquay’s Truro site celebrate scoring.
Predominantly an area that Plymouth Argyle recruited from, Torquay opened their first development centre, which is based at Truro College, in the Duchy in September 2010, and the project has gone from strength to strength. More than 15 players have gone on from that centre alone to sign a schoolboy contract with the club, whilst more than double that have gone in for a trial period with the Centre of Excellence, which is now referred to as an Academy. Such has been the strength of the success at Truro, further centres at Penzance and Camelford have been set up to spread the recruitment across Cornwall even further. ‘The next stage is to produce a scholar and then a professional from the area,that would be fantastic’ says the clubs Head
of Youth Recruitment, Stuart Henderson. There are signs that this could happen in the very near future. Although from the Plymouth
Centre, Kevin McCallion (above) is now the third scholar from the ADC system in two years, whilst the current Under 15/16 squad contains some very promising Cornish prospects. Striker Liam Prynn is a player who went into the club merely weeks after the Truro centre opened, and he has developed excellently with the club. At Under 14 level goalkeeper Harry Searle shows great promise and is a towering presence in his penalty area. Then at Under 13 level Ed Harrison and Charlie Hambly form the midfield axis of a side that has produced excellent performances and results over the past 6 months. Keep rooting through the Academy squad lists and you can find quality from the Duchy at every age group and in numerous positions. In a county of over half a million people, if a young professional footballer is to be found, Torquay United are determined to find him.
Sir Bobby Charlton lifting the European Cup for Manchester United after inspiring them with 2 goals in their defeat of Benfica at Wembley in 1968
History Lesson
For Manchester United, and in particular
manager Sir Matt Busby, the European Cup had become the ‘Holy Grail’ of trophies. In 1967 he watched on as Celtic became the first British team to claim the title after defeating Inter Milan 2-1 in a thrilling final. Their triumph only resolved to strenghten Busby’s desire. Strangely enough the ‘Lisbon Lions’ from North of the border failed to get past the opening stages of the following seasons competition. Dynamo Kiev put an end to their attempts to retain their title, knocking them out in the first round. The Johan Cryuff led youngsters at Ajax Amsterdam fell to Real Madrid in
a 2-1 aggrefate loss in the quarter finals, whilst Manchester United, Juventus and Benfica all came through their ties to leave those four big sides to contest the semi-finals. Benfica paired up with
“If the tension does not become to great, this could be a classic match. The old Real Madrid had a touch of magic about them.” Sir Matt Busby, 1968
the “Old Lady’ of Italy, Juventus, whilst Busby’s United side clashed with Real Madrid. ‘If the tension does not become to great, this could be a classic match. The old Real Madrid had a
touch of magic about them,’ were Busby’s words in the build up and he wasnt wrong. It took a heroic effort from Bill Foulkes, a survivor of the Munich Air Disaster, to convert a George Best pass to secure United’s passage to a Wembley final against Eusebio and his Benfica side. The final was one of the all time great nights of English football. Bobby Charlton, so talismanic in Englands clinching of the World Cup at Wembley in 1966, again produced a mesmeric performance at the home of football. His goal in normal time may have been equalised, but in extra time he added a second after Best and Kidd, on his 19th birthday, scored to secure victory.
With Euro 2012 having been and gone in a flash of Spanish tiki-taka passing, a swathe of Por-
tuguese counter attacks and a damp squib of English technical inadequacy (Steven Gerrard aside) Elite DC magazine has picked out its top performers from the competition.
Andrea Pirlo - 33
Just a year after being released by AC Milan over doubts about his physical fitness, with his knees being highlighted as a major cause for concern, the Azzuri’s midfield maestro conducted a symphony of laser guided passes, arrowing free kicks and breath taking penalty converting that proved his former employers to be some way off the mark in their assessment of his ability to play at the highest level. Rather than just compete at the age of 33, Andrea Pirlo raised the bar.
Steven Gerrard - 32
Showed in an England shrit the form he has displayed over the last fifteen years at Anfield. Steven Gerrard stepped into the captaincy role with a calm assurance and played every game with a steely desire to haul his team beyond the group stages. Whilst the days of covering each and every blade of grass may have come and gone, in its place has developed an ability to dictate play from midfield and the maturity to chose when to gallop into the final third with the gusto he displayed during his formative years in the red of Liverpool.
Andreas Iniesta - 28
Andreas Iniesta is a breathe of fresh air in the pantheon of the worlds elite players. He isn’t squat and dynamic like Messi, or tall, lean and fast like Ronaldo. He doesn’t fly
into challenges like Danielle De Rossi or possess a rocket shot like Steven Gerrard, yet he is arguably the worlds best footballer and is at the crux of everything Spain do well. Caressing the ball under his spell, his vision and movement are unparalleled and he is always liable to pop up with a vital goal.
My Favourite Player
During his week of work experience with Elite DC, Lee
Nicholls took the time to tell Elite DC Magazine about his favourite player, Manchester United and England winger Ashley Young.
Ashley Young didn’t have the start to his career that you might expect of
a future England international. A youngster at Watford, he was turned down for a scholarship due to his size. But Young, to his credit, swallowed his pride and offered to train and play for free whilst studying a Sports Technology course on three days of the week.
Youngs rise was sensational.
Within a month of being told he was not good enough for a schol-
Pictures - Young made his move
to Manchester United(top) following a bright start to his career at Watford (bottorm right) and Aston Villa. He has gone on to earn 25 caps for England (below)
England Record
25 Caps 6 goals 15 wins / 3 losses 2 yellow cards Debut - v Austria, 16/11/2007 arship, he had progressed from the Under 18 squad to the reserves. 12 months later he put pen to paper on his first professional contract. Ray Lewington gave Young his first team debut, with the now full time member of the England coaching staff unleashing Young against Millwall as a subsitute in September 2003. He scored, of course. In 2007 Martin O’Neil took Young to Aston Villa, breaking the clubs transfer record in the process. In his 4 years at Villa Park, Young rose to prominence. His high ration of assists and goals has seen him go on to earn a big money move to Manchester United and 25 England caps to date.
I think that Ashley Young has the potential to be one of the best wingers in the whole world. His ability to fly down the wing and cut in with his right foot to curl the ball into the back of the new is briliant. He demonstrated this in the 8-2 demolishing of Arsenal, where he did this twice. Another thing is his speed. He has got unquestionable speed, and behind the likes of Theo Walcott he is one of the fastest in the Premier League. He also has good strength on the ball and and knows how to play a simple pass. His work rate is good and if he loses the ball then 9 times out of 10 he will work back and retrieve it and be read to go on the attack again.
Nathan Summers Interview
For millions of youngsters across the country, entering into full time foot-
ball is their dream. It’s the reason they turn up to train every evening come rain or snow, the reason mum is forever cleaning dirty kit and why dad’s car becomes a taxi at the weekend to get everyone to the ‘big game’ on Saturday. Unfortunately, for many players the reality is that they don’t quite make that step up. Nathan Summers is one of the lucky ones. An Elite DC player for 3 years, ‘Summers’ progressed from Torquay United’s Plymouth Centre on to a trial with the clubs Centre of Excellence. Things didn’t quite go to plan there, however a four week trial at Plymouth Argyle culminated in the offer of a 2 year scholarship, whichl kicked in to effect at the end of June. ‘It was out of this world, it just feels like all the work you have put in has paid off,’ is how he described his feelings when he received the news. ‘You just can’t wait for the next challenge to start, and to start trying to impress more and more people.’ Nathan was able to earn his scholarship on the back of just 4 games for Argyle, one of which he scored in, but it was just rewards for the effort that had been put in by the youngster from Looe long before that. After joining the Development Centre programme, Nathan immersed himself in his football, committing himself to every op-
portunity that came his way, as he explains: ‘I was at Elite and going on a lot of tours and learning lots of new things. I went to Keele and played different sides up there. Accrington Stanley were one of the sides and they were struggling with injury so they asked me to play in one of their games.’ Such was his impact he was invited to play the next day for the
side. As well as Keele, Nathan counts Sweden and the North East as other Elite trips he took part in. ‘The opportunities you get through Elite are massive, playing against the likes of Newcastle United, Accrington Stanley, Sunderland, Wolves, West Brom. You don’t get these games at club level, so it is definitely something you want to get involved in.’ For Nathan, the real hard work starts now. He is entering a system that already has fellow Elite old boys Andrew Elcock and Aaron Bentley in it, and competition is strong at any club when it comes to scholarship level. What is for sure is that after his grounding at Elite, and the vast amount of hard work he has put into bettering himself, ‘Summers’ has an excellent foundation on which to try and build a career in the game.
My Favourite XI
During his weeks work experi-
ence with Elite DC, development centre player Craig Wilcox took the time to give us his favourite eleven players of all time. Edwin Van Der Sar was Craigs choice of goalkeeper, with the former Ajax, Juventus and Manchester United man entrusted with guarding the net for his team. His back four continued the theme of ex-Manchester United players, with attacking full bakcs Gary Neville and Roberto Carlos flanking a solid centre back pairing of Gerard Piqué and Nemanja Vidic. In midfield, there is an excellent mix of qualities to give the team plenty of options. He starts with Spain and Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandes. In a career that has seen him win basically everything that is on offer at both domestic and international level, he brings great quality. Alongside him, Craig has plumped for global superstar David Beckham. The former England captain who has played for world greats
All Out Attack - Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Maradona and
Pele all make Craigs Favourite XI
Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan, his excellent delivery and leadership skills add a great deal to the side. In front of these two you will find Argentinian genius Diego Maradona. Whilst his career courted controversy, his ability puts him on par with the best to ever grace a football pitch. That leaves a front three, which compromises arguably the three best footballers to ever play the game. Through the middle, the great Pele. The Brazilian
won 3 World Cups, amassed 92 caps and starred in 1981 classic film Escape to Victory! His ammunition is to be supplied by the two most talented players in modern football. On the right, the record breaking, free-scoring phenomenon that is Lionel Messi. Already classed as one of the greatest ever, he plays down one wing as his main rival for the crown of best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, of Real Madrid and Portugal,causes havoc on the other wing.
Keele International Cup 2012
Elite DC travelled
to the Keele International Cup for the second consecutive year, with the July tournament offering some of our youngsters the chance to face the likes of Stoke City, Dagenham and Redbridge, Port Vale, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crewe Alexandra. There was also teams from Trinidad and Tobago, Canada and the USA in attendance to give the tournament a real international flavour and challenge our players. Here we have some excellent photos taken by James Barrow, father of Connor from the Bacup Development Centre, capturing some of the action.
www.elitedc.org 0845 003 7339
Magazine produced by:
Severiano Catindig-Stagg Media and Communications Officer, Elite DC seve@elitedc.org Lee Nicholls Assistant Editor