Academy director departs

[Jon Palmer]

https://bit.ly/ReadingMove

[Ihearye]

Pity we don't get a fee for all the staff we 'move on'

[Warwickshire Robin]

One thing is for sure JP, must be raking it in with all these interviews he is doing with the local press at the places all our players and staff are going to

[Jerry St Clair]

Interesting twist to this.

Reading look like they've lost Cat 1 Academy status. Has come as a surprise to everyone. I imagine Antoine is peeved to say the least........

https://twitter.com/cfridayjourno/statu ... 6396806147

[Shade]

Wow. What a kick in the nuts. Feel sorry for him.

[HamTown]

Genuine question but how does losing the status effect anyone? The facilities and personnel are the same?

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

Genuine question but how does losing the status effect anyone? The facilities and personnel are the same?

I think only Cat 1s can enter teams into the Papa Johns.

They are also allowed to recruit players from a bigger catchment area, so should be able to hoover up the best talent.

I don’t know if Cat 1s get more central grant funding or not?

[Shade]

Yes, they lose a lot of funding, can't play in Premier League 2 and also more likely to miss out on academy kids that are released from bigger clubs, which would have all been big factors in Antoine Thompson's decision to go there, you'd imagine.

[HamTown]

Thanks, can see what a big deal it would be for him now