Do CRC Want Promotion?
With CRC currently at the top of the Ridgeons League Premier Division table, Jez George writes:
I thought that I should clarify our position regarding possible promotion for CRC from the Ridgeons Premier League following an article in the Cambridge News last week.
The rules state that to be considered for promotion to step 4 of the pyramid, you must finish in the top two and submit an application to the Football Association by 31 December. Assuming this has been done and you then win the league, provided your ground meets the criteria, you are guaranteed promotion.
If you finish second, you can be considered for promotion if the first placed team declines to go up. This application can subsequently be withdrawn but cannot be made retrospectively. This is why speculation will always be rife within all Step 5 leagues in the second half of the season, as no-one's intentions are clear until they make their final decision.
Lowestoft were the constant source of a "will they/won't they" debate and I will now admit to my huge relief in them accepting promotion. Last season, with Leiston and Lowestoft having hardly dropped a point between them at Christmas and with league finishes of 17th & 13th in our first two seasons, I did not even think about applying for promotion. Our subsequent second-placed finish was a surprise and thankfully Lowestoft's promotion to the Ryman League meant that oversight was academic.
Having looked at the rules more closely, it seems that apart from costing £150 for a ground inspection, there is nothing to lose in applying for promotion every year. Then all options remain open should you finish in the top two.
The question of "Do you want to go up?" is easy to answer. Yes. That is because you always want to develop young players by testing them at the highest possible level.
To close the gap between CRC and the first team would be fantastic for the best young players and everything we do must always be aimed at the best. We are constantly trying to raise the bar in terms of our demands on the players and the standards we set on and off the pitch, so playing at a higher level of football is something that we believe would enhance and not hinder development.
It would be particularly important for players immediately outside the scholarship scheme, who would already have two years of Ridgeons League experience. This development group of players aged between 18-20, which currently includes Rory McAuley, Sam Ives, Adam Marriott, Jordan Patrick & Darryl Coakley, need pushing when they are not in the first team.
At present the only option would be for them to go out on loan but if we could offer them a higher level of football under our roof, even better. The benefit of these players being able to play for CRC beyond their scholarship, while training with the first team but doing additional individual development sessions with Nolan Keeley and remaining under Matt Walker's tutelage in the gym has been seen when they have been called upon for first team action.
It is a far better system than any that previously existed and gives these talented youngsters the best chance of progression and bridges the gap between a scholarship and professional contract. It also gives youngsters with potential more time to develop as very few are physically ready at 17 or 18 to play regularly in the BSP or higher.
What happens between the ages of 18-21 is a graveyard for many players in this country, due to a lack of truly competitive reserve team football and little structure in place for their development. Therefore, they play youth football for too long and then reserve football, which is basically just an extension of youth football.
A lot of much bigger clubs are intrigued by our model and believe it to be preferable to their own, and that includes clubs in the Premiership. We take players out of their comfort zone at 16. Playing men's football gives them an early taste of the real world, preparing them mentally and physically for the first team at a much younger age. Even if the club was promoted and our Under 18's were able to return to the Football League Youth Alliance, we would not choose this option ahead of our current arrangements.
Therefore, I would put a rider on our ambitions of winning the league. We will never chase promotion if it would hinder our primary aim of developing young player. As the season progresses, our team will always get younger as McAuley, Ives, Marriott, Patrick & Coakley hopefully get first team call ups. We never want to hold up their progress by wanting them to remain with us to get Ridgeons League points. We know that our strongest team, including those five players, would probably win the league but that would defeat the object of everything we are doing.
On the other hand, if we win the league while remaining true to our beliefs and philosophy then it would be an unbelievable achievement. All of our players are under 20 apart from goalkeeper Martin Davies, and on many occasions we will be almost entirely under 18.
Blooding 16-year-olds like Jonathan Thorpe, Alex Bevan and Chris Tonks, who have all started a number of games already, is something we must never be afraid of doing. Nolan and I always tell the players to concentrate on performances and the results will follow. We must do the same by concentrating on development. Promotion will follow when we are good enough as a group.
We would always prefer a first team appearance for one of our players to a win in our league because our job is to produce players ahead of winning matches. Obviously it is important to create a winning environment because that helps to develop players, but we should never and won't ever be afraid of risking a result by a team selection.
It is almost unbelievable to think about now, but Sam Ives and Luke Berry were only paired together in midfield for CRC last September because Rory McAuley was suspended after getting sent off at Ebbsfleet. The two were magnificent in tandem for the rest of the season when at first we were not sure about playing two such young players together in that position.
Youth development is fascinating because the group is constantly evolving and with every day comes another situation, whether it's on or off the pitch, which provides a learning opportunity. The next four months will be very interesting as we get to the business end of the season in terms of decisions on our second year scholars and the recruitment of a new group.
Blaine Hudson and Luke Berry have been a model of consistency over the last eighteen months while Jack Eades has made tremendous progress this season. We are looking for others to show the same improvements and respond to the challenge, plus some of the first years to push ahead. Then we have the exciting prospect of how Maz and JP can take their first team opportunities when they arrive, following Rory, Ivesy and Daz.
Our aim is that our youth scheme provides a conveyor belt of players for the club in many years to come. Having watched our Under 8's and 9's last weekend, I know that we have unbelievable talent at these younger age groups, and the structure in place to ensure this long-term aim is achieved.
Jez George
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