The 72 unite against Academy proposals - The video.

[Palace4ever]

now im confused, because this illustrates that the current system is flawed anyway. a tragic case to be sure, but doesnt say anything about the new.

though it does highlight something - doesnt really matter much what system is in place if "bigger" clubs can turn a young players head, then they dont develop as the risks at the higher level are too great. probably means we need better education of players to make them understand the wider implications and impact on their career.

No, the Bostock situation was far fairer under the current system than it will be under the new one. We got £750k for a 16 year old with the potential income of £3-5m had he done well. EPPP rules would have given us £130k with that rising to a maximum of £1m.

Young starlets have always left clubs to get better deals elsewhere and screwed over their current clubs in the process. The new regulations, however, make it even easier with no benefit to anyone except the very rich at the very top. Even the players (in the long run) are very unlikely to benefit.

The one thing the Bostock case has done is provided our subsequent young'uns with an example of what not to do. Zaha, Clyne, Williams, Scannell & co are all on 3.5 years + contracts. Now that they have put pen to paper we stand to get a good fee for their services. It is those who get snapped up before signing pro forms that will hit the clubs the hardest - and when a Man City come along and see that the potential player 'X' had at 13 is now on full view at 16, they can then plump to offer said kid silly money to come on board and we know that if the kids head gets turned, no matter what fuss we kick up - we'll get £130k rising to a max of about £1m. Under the current system we could take it to tribunal where the fees re-couped would be 5 to 6 times that at least.

The last hope is convincing the kids and their parents that the club they are at is what is best for them. Thankfully we have managed to do that well so far at Palace. Lets hope that continues for our sake.