Re: Jim Cassell
Good article on Jim = City Legend, on Soccer City FC
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.soccercityfc.com/2008/04/jim-cassell-driving-force-behind.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.soccercityfc.com/2008/04/jim ... ehind.html</a>
Jim Cassell - Driving Force Behind Manchester City's Youth Academy
By: Alan (Soccer City FC Contributor)
The term legend is rarely spoken of about Manchester City other than in references to the past. Trautmann, Bell, Goater to name just a few players that have graced football under Manchester City. There is one other name that, although he hasn’t provided a moment of inspiration on the pitch, he has supplied the talented players who have. Four managers of the first-team have been and gone during his eleven year stay, but his continued presence has provided the consistency to which the academy now thrives on. This man goes by the name of Jim Cassell, the Manchester City Youth Academy Director.
The American historian Daniel Boorstin once said that “In our world of big names, our true heroes tend to be anonymous…The person of solid virtues can be admired for something more substantial than his well-knowess often proves to be the unsung hero: the hard worker.” This is a perfect quote to sum up the work and contributions of Jim Cassell to the club. While the legends on the pitch have the ability to turn a match with a flash of brilliance, the work of those behind the scenes can be often forgotten. I for one hope that every City fan knows about Jim Cassell, his desire and commitment is second-to-none and he can be credited for building an academy that is comparable with the best in the world.
Since he joined the club in 1997, the production line of talent coming from the academy every season has helped the first-team immensely and without it the future of Manchester City would be very grim indeed. He arrived from Oldham having initiated their successful youth and scouting policy and, having been born in Manchester, it was the perfect job he could not refuse. It was Cassell who created a 51-page dossier outlining the future plans for the academy, pin-pointing the exact problems at the time. The £500k investment in the reforms would turn out to be the club’s most astute piece of business. If one man deserves a job for life, there could not be a stronger case for the former local government officer. The impact he has had on the club can only be described as astounding.
The final piece of the jigsaw was complete on Wednesday night for the Youth Academy Director. That elusive piece of silverware that had always just seemed to evade the grasps of the academy, the trophy that Cassell admitted he was “desperate to win”. The opportunity to settle old scores was presented on Wednesday when City’s youth team worked themselves into a great position to win the FA Youth Cup for the first time since 1986. Modest Cassell was prepared for whatever the outcome, stating that if they were to miss out on the cup “we'll say well done to the opposition [Chelsea] and we'll regroup and get on with the production of players.” He needn’t worry about that though, the Youth Cup Final was won 4-2 on aggregate in fairly comfortable style. It was a side that played with pure freedom and expression, together with a solid defence and a strong work ethic that any team would crave.
The proudest man at Manchester City finally had the silverware that he, the staff and the players deserved more than any other team – for the simple reason that the under 18s have constantly shown over the past few years that they have the talent and ability to beat any of their counterparts. Whilst it has been the first Youth Cup success in over two decades, Jim Cassell has overseen academy teams that have won their divisional league for six times in 10 years and produced a significant number of first-team players that would be unheard of with other clubs.
The success of the academy can be measured on more than just one level. You can look further than the actual performances of the academy, expanding the horizons to the impact past and present academy players have had on the first-team. It is safe to say that a City minus Cassell would be a fallen team playing in the Championship rather than striding upwards with European ambitions - Jim Cassell has for years built the foundations of our team, making it possible to move forward and attract quality footballers. A bottom-three finish would have been almost guaranteed last season without our then top goalscorer Joey Barton, neither would we have kept so many clean sheets in the absence of Richards. Cassell’s proven eye for talent is the reason how Shaun Wright-Phillips, released by Nottingham Forest at the time, ended up at Man City, and his goals and contributions down that right flank made him the fan favourite he became.
A different way of measuring the academy’s success is through the transfer receipts for those academy players who have moved on. 'We've raised £32.5 million, so we're about £22 million in profit over 10 years,' Cassell says. 'And that doesn't include Micah, Michael Johnson, Stephen Ireland, Nedum Onuoha, Danny Sturridge and Kelvin Etuhu.' The valuations of these latter players added onto the transfer receipts of those academy players sold and the £60 million barrier would be exceeded comfortably. The academy has substantially helped the club economically as well, with such sales like Shaun Wright-Phillips for over £20 million helping to pay off the debts and placing the club in a healthier position. Cassell has blessed the managers of Manchester City with blossoming talent from within, in an era when sub-standard players have inflated price tags. Rather than diving into the transfer market with limited funds and relying on bosmans, the solutions were found in the academy.
Even with the influx of foreign players into Manchester City, the academy players have still managed to prove themselves to Sven-Goran Eriksson and forced their way into his first eleven. Jim Cassell has catered for 25% of the footballers who have played under Sven this season, as exactly a quarter of the minutes played have been by those raised through the academy. Cassell and the academy staff have developed the youth players so that they can cope with the physical and mental demands of the Premiership, turning the raw talent into more complete and capable footballers. Ched Evans, Kelvin Etuhu and Shaleum Logan all made their first-team debuts this season, where they made positive impressions and will return from their loan-clubs ready to become the next academy star to make the breakthrough. The Youth Cup victory has signified once more the importance of Jim Cassell, as more players are expected to make it - winger Vladimir Weiss lit up the match with his trickery and skills, a fine performance capped off by an unstoppable free kick, while the performances of captain Ben Mee and all his team-mates has meant that every single player has the capabilities to make a name for themselves. The success of the academy is so great that there is no reason in the world why these expectations cannot become a reality once again.
The work of Jim Cassell puts to shame any of the comments by Premier League managers who bemoan the cost of academies, with Rafa Benitez saying "The academy system is not working and that is worrying - there will be long-term effects”. More faith from high-profile managers could be the key difference, the belief is not there so any chance of a successful academy is immediately setback. “You have to work hard at something, and believe in it, to have a chance of being successful - youth development is no different.” Jim Cassell had the morals and the vision to make the City academy a success and the hard work has certainly paid off. City’s youth programme cost a mere £1.6m last year - The academy staff have worked with pennies in comparison to other clubs, yet have produced the riches and the gold that they desire. The character of Cassell could not be more appropriate for the job, his realisation that consistency is the key to success. The best coaches and facilities are meaningless unless academies are built on stable foundations. “"When I look for reasons why we've done well, I think we have probably only had one physio leave since we started. The coaches are all the same.”
Of course the success of the academy cannot be solely down to Cassell and the work of the coaching staff cannot be ignored. Alex Gibson has a proven record of coaching young players at the highest level, having won the European Youth Championship with England back in 1993 and was recruited from the Football Association. Former City captain Paul Power, previously Director of Youth Coaching at the PFA, and Steve Eyre are both valued members of the team. From the Youth Academy Director to the Head of Recruitment Barry Poynton to those involved in the education department, they are all responsible for guiding Manchester City to Youth Cup glory and hopefully the start of many more trophies for the academy.
He may claim he is just doing his job, carrying out the tasks which are being asked of him…the truth is that Jim Cassell has been a godsend to Manchester City in more reasons than what meet the eye. So here’s to the great man at the centre of one of the world‘s best academies. Jim Cassell - The Gent, the Legend, the Unsung Hero.
