Education and welfare in professional football academies and centres of excellence: A sociological study Item Type Thesis or dissertation Authors Platts, Chris Citation Platts, C., & Smith, A. (2009). Education and welfare provision in professional football academies in England: Some implications of the white paper on sport. International Journal of Sport Policy, 1(3), pp. 323-329; Platts, C., & Smith, A. (2010). 'Money, money, money?' The development of financial inequalities in English professional football. Soccer and Society, 11(5), pp. 643-658 Publisher University of Chester Download date 02/10/2021 07:02:35 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10034/253657 This work has been submitted to ChesterRep – the University of Chester’s online research repository http://chesterrep.openrepository.com Author(s): Chris Platts Title: Education and welfare in professional football academies and centres of excellence: A sociological study Date: January 2012 Originally published as: University of Chester PhD thesis Example citation: Platts, C. (2012). Education and welfare in professional football academies and centres of excellence: A sociological study. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Chester, United Kingdom. Version of item: Submitted version Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10034/253657 Education and Welfare in Professional Football Academies and Centres of Excellence: A Sociological Study Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Chester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Chris Platts January 2012 Contents Page No. Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Introduction 1 Chapter One Literature Review 12 Chapter Two Figurational Sociology 53 Chapter Three Research Methods 89 Chapter Four The Culture of Professional Football 129 Chapter Five Players’ Views and Experiences of Education 177 Chapter Six ‘Bottom of the Pile’: Player Welfare in Professional 219 Football Academies and Centres of Excellence Conclusion 268 References 275 Appendices 287 i Acknowledgments If studying sociology has taught me to be grateful for one thing in life, it is the support and guidance that I have received from so many wonderful people around me, and to whom I will forever be indebted for helping me in various ways during the completion of this study. I would first like to thank the players and the clubs who took part in this study. It goes without saying that without being granted access to their Academies and Centres of Excellence, and the players’ willingness to engage in the research and be as honest and open about their lives, this study would never have come to fruition. I would also like to thank my supervisory team who have used their experience and knowledge to guide me through the process of completing such a complicated study. Thanks must go to Dr. Daniel Bloyce and Dr. Kevin Lamb for their guidance during the initial design stages of the study, where their ideas and suggestions were invaluable. They have also helped with reading drafts of the questionnaire and chapters, which I am also grateful for. Away from the supervisory team, the support of family and friends has been just as important and a sincere thank you goes to my Mum, Dad and Liz who have always been there for me, and their support when times were tough was especially appreciated. I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable support I have received from my friends James, Dave, ‘the lads’, Melissa and Esther who have helped with the project in various ways from reading draft chapters to motivational ‘chats’. A special mention is saved for Dr. Andy Smith who, over the course of these four years, has shown unwavering support for me and has been a rock on which I have been able to depend for so many things. A lot of my development as a researcher and a sociologist is because of his belief in me, his willingness to push me, and his willingness to pass on his knowledge to me. I could not have wished for a better lead supervisor. This research is for you, Smithy! Up the Owls! ii Abstract A career as a professional footballer has long been regarded as a highly sought after occupation for many young males within the UK and, against this backdrop, since the 1970s increasing attention has come to be placed on the way young players are identified and developed within professional clubs. Particular concern has been expressed over the number of players who, having been developed by professional clubs, fail to secure a professional contract, and the ways in which clubs should help young players safeguard their futures through alternative career training. There, have, however, been very few studies that have analyzed the education and welfare provisions that are offered within professional football Academies and Centres of Excellence, and fewer still that have done this from a sociological perspective. By drawing upon the figurational sociology of Norbert Elias, concepts derived from symbolic interactionism, and existing work in the sociology of youth, the objective of this study is to examine the realities of young players’ day-to-day working-lives, the experiences they have of the educational programmes they follow, and the welfare- related matters that arise within present-day Academies and CoE. Using data generated by self-completion questionnaires and focus groups with 303 players in 21 Academies and CoE in England and Wales, the findings of the study suggest that players continue to be socialized into a largely anti-academic culture that has traditionally underpinned the world of professional football, and in which the demonstration of a ‘good attitude’ and commitment to the more central members of players’ interdependencies (especially coaches and managers) dominated all other concerns. Indeed, it was also clear that the deep-seated values players held in relation to the professional game as part of their individual and group habituses were shaped by the figurations into which they were born and had been developed during the more impressionable phases of childhood and youth. Players’ welfare needs were significantly compromised by the strong degree of suspicion and obvious degree of mistrust that characterized their relationship with club management, which emanated from players’ fears that confidential matters would always ‘get back’ to others inside the club. This was exacerbated, in almost all cases, by players’ observations that they were treated as if they were ‘bottom of the club’ and whose welfare needs were not generally well understood by those working within Academies and CoE. iii Introduction The failure of the England football team to qualify for the 2008 European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, and their poor performances at the 2010 World Cup, contributed significantly to the already prevailing concern over the perceived decline in the success of the English national team. This concern, which has principally emanated from the media, organizations including the Football Association (FA), Football League (FL) and Premier League (PL), and others within the game, has tended to focus on three issues. The first relates to the alleged impact that the growing numbers of ‘foreign’ (that is, non-national) players playing in the English leagues, but particularly in the Premier League, is having on the standard of the English game (J. Wilson, 2007; P. Wilson, 2008). The second area of concern, which is closely related to the first, focuses on the extent to which the growing influx of non- national players is limiting significantly the opportunities that are available for English players (especially younger players) to play in the first team at their clubs (Alexander, 2008; Slater, 2007). And the third issue focuses on the apparent shortcomings of the youth Academy and Centres of Excellence (CoE) system that operate in many clubs in producing a consistent flow of young talented English players who can play at the highest level (Magowan, 2010; McNulty, 2010; Sinnott, 2008; Wallace, 2010). Although concern over the relative success or failure of English football teams and the impact of ‘foreign’ players on standards of the ‘English’ game can be traced back to the 1970s, these issues are currently of particular interest, in policy terms, especially for the FA. This is clear from the comments of the FA’s current Director of Football Development, Sir Trevor Brooking, who is of the view that ‘English football has been “hugely negligent” in the way it develops young talent’ (as cited in Slater, 2007). In this respect, Brooking – whose comments came after the recommendations of the Burns review (The FA) and Lewis report (Lewis, 2007) that the 1 youth system required urgent review – has claimed ‘radical change is needed’ within Academies and CoE. This was because, he argues, in comparison to other nations such as Spain and the Netherlands, the English system was is not perceived to be ‘producing the depth of players at the top level with the necessary technical skills now required by the major clubs and international teams’ (as cited in Conn, 2009). What is particularly notable about the current concern that has come to be expressed over the need to enhance the efficacy of the Academy and CoE system is that attention has focused almost exclusively on the twin concerns of the physical development of players and the ability of clubs to produce English players of the required talent (Platts & Smith, 2009). Rather less attention, however, has been given to issues related to the education and welfare provisions that are available to young players who work in Academies and CoE and the role these have in protecting young players’ future well-being should they fail to gain a professional contract. This is particularly surprising given the concerns that have been expressed over the number of young players who, because of the competitive market that surrounds gaining a professional contract in football, fail to make a career out of the game.