U18s / the next crop of players.

Exciting times ahead of Bristol Rovers' academy as Byron Anthony outlines five-year plan

Bristol Rovers' Academy Manager Byron Anthony spoke to Bristol Live ahead of the under-18's FA Youth Cup tie at the Mem against Cheltenham Town

Bristol Rovers Academy Manager Byron Anthony has discussed the current on-goings of the club's academy as well as plans for its future ahead of Rovers' under-18s playing their FA Youth Cup first round tie against Cheltenham Town at the Mem this evening.

There has been plenty of discussion about the future of the football club and its ambition following the Kuwaiti takeover in the summer as the club currently search for a new first-team manager following the departure of Joey Barton. However, what hasn't gotten much coverage is that the academy is very much a part of co-owner Hussain AlSaeed and co.'s vision for the football club.

The immediate target is for Rovers' academy to go from category three credentials to category two which will allow the club to take on an under-21s side on top of the under-18s. Category two would see the Gas' youngsters play in a Professional Development League, further boosting competitiveness and the quality of young talent the club can attract.

Speaking to Bristol Live, Anthony, who has been in his role since July 2022 and played for the club for six years, discussed the process of taking the academy to the next level, saying: "I put a five year plan in place and then we started to work towards that over the course of last year. I identified some areas operationally and collectively, we've been staffed in order for us to improve, move facilities.

"The under-18s have moved through SGS (South Gloucestershire and Stroud College) which will move their facility into a more professional setup and hopefully in time we can move the rest of the academy there then.

"Our aspiration is to be a category two academy and move from category three to category two which will help us massively in regards to to recruitment of players, games program, we'll play a lot better of opposition, which again increases the opportunity of players that you push to the maximum levels and hopefully encourage more players to come through the system."

When asked how the club move up a category, the Academy Manager added: "Facilities is one major one. We have to have a dome on site or in contact or in a proximity in order for us to be able to get usage of that.

"SGS has that facility, we spoke openly about that. That was one of the key facilities to move towards that and staffing structure. So we have to increase our staffing force. We currently have 11 full-time staff. We need to move to about 18, but some of those are part-time staff moving into full time roles, et cetera. So they're probably the two main areas.

"Then some increases in time in regards of contact time, training time for some of the age groups, mainly for the under-nines to 16s; the under-18s are all currently full-time. Then we bring in an under-21s age group which allows us to continue development. Some of the players that might be late developers, we're conscious of getting to 18 and have invested in those players, maybe some of them since nine.

"We're not quite ready for first-team football at 18. We lose that window between 18 and 21. Where with category two, we get that opportunity to have an under-21s games programme and extend players' development and sometimes time with us to give them that little bit extra in regards of support."

With AlSaeed detailing plans to redevelop the Mem after plans to build a new stadium at the Fruit Market site were confirmed to be no longer in place, much of the focus from supporters, in regards to infrastructure, has been on the stadium. However, there are also plans to develop The Quarters into a multi-purpose facility.

Last month saw residents near the training ground in Almondsbury sent surveys in the post detailing a 'masterplan' for the site which would see an enhancement of training facilities for the academy and women's team as well as the first-team. Residents were prompted to tick types of facilities they would like to see made available to public on the site.

Having a dedicated space for youngsters to train, as well as being in the same building as the first-team, would be an exciting prospect. When asked about plans for The Quarters, Anthony said: "If you look across the bridge in regards to Cardiff City, Cardiff have recently opened a multi-million pound training facility for their academy, but that's been a long time coming.

"There's no reason why we can't see ourselves as a club in the Championship but absolutely, the facilities, there's a great pull in regards of academy players and first team players. So you get an understanding of where you're gonna be working every day in a training facility and obviously a match facility as well. Eventually the full academy will be based at The Quarters and it's part of the plan.

"They've been fantastic with me from day one [the new owners]. I presented to the owners in the summer in regards to the vision and the academy operation and what we're currently doing and what we look to be doing.

"They're fully behind the academy and the progress and the vision to get to category two and to improve facilities. Phase one moving to SGS and then eventually moving to The Quarters and speaking to them individually and collectively, they're in full support of the academy and being a huge part of moving this club forward."

Fans attending the match against Cheltenham may recognise a couple of the names involved with some current under-18s given the opportunity to train with and even play for the first-team during pre-season with the likes of Kofi Shaw, Will Larvin, Charlie White, Jerry Lawrence (on loan at Tiverton Town) and Theo Lynden (on loan at Melksham Town) given the opportunity to be in and around Joey Barton's squad.

The Gas youngsters have taken 11 points from their opening seven matches in the Youth Alliance League but will now have the exciting opportunity of playing in the club's home stadium.

It is worth noting that this interview took place before Bristol Rovers announced the sacking of Barton but Anthony was full of praise for the former Gas boss and assistant Andy Mangan who is currently taking interim charge of the first-team for their support of the youngsters. "I mean pre-season was a prime example of that with four players up with the first-team," he declared.

"It obviously helps them in regards of their exposure. Our conversations are regular, weekly, bi-weekly, and they'll change between certain staff but they keep an eye on those players. They're really important to making sure they do get those opportunities.

"It's tough at the minute because we haven't got that under-21's age group so we have to almost try and fast track their development a little bit which sometimes affects the players but the players have gone up and performed this year as you've seen the press in pre-season.

"Andy and Joe have both spoken highly of the academy graduates that have come up and that's great to see because it shows that they care about some of the progress that those players are making and hopefully we can get some some of the boys on the bench, whether that be in a cup competition or a league competition and go from there.

"Obviously if the first-team go on and get promoted to the Championship, we get promoted as a club. So everything improves across the board. But yeah, obviously we'll be looking to improve our recruitment philosophy then in regards of where we recruit and the numbers that we can recruit.

"For me it doesn't have a direct impact [the first-team's success with the academy], but obviously allows players to have an eye towards that, especially if you're recruiting players from further afield that are either competing high up the league in League One, or they are in the Championship. We can recruit better players.

"It gives our players a target as well so that the ones coming through, the ones with that opportunity to go on to play in the first-team or be in and around it. But it doesn't directly have an impact on our status and where we're at. Obviously it helps towards giving towards the vision and the goal."