Clarets Mad Youth Foundation - It's Fifty Grand

Last updated : 13 September 2012 By Tony Scholes

It's appropriate because that's where it all started back on New Year's Eve 2005 when Mark Walton (burgerfast to those on the message board) was reading his match day programme for that day's home game against Sheffield Wednesday.

"You can sponsor a youth player now for £200," he said, adding: "Do you think Clarets Mad would be able to raise that to sponsor one of the players?" I think my words at the time were: "I'll have a think about it."

I did have a think about it and I enlisted the help of some from the message board. We talked about it and came up with one or two ideas and eventually, in March 2006, we formally launched what was then called 'Clarets Mad Year of the Youth' at the Bridge Bier Huis by which time we'd already had pledged enough to sponsor a player and even beyond that to enable us to sponsor a centre of excellence team.

Then manager Steve Cotterill and head of youth Vince Overson attended that night and discussions then set us on the road to try and raise a potential £6,000 to purchase a smartboard system and camera for filming the youth games at Gawthorpe.

By 2007, and with that achieved as well as further money paying for some much needed equipment at Gawthorpe, the year was coming to an end, and so came the renaming to 'Clarets Mad Youth Foundation'.

We've since funded development centres, provided the filming platform at Gawthorpe that has also been used by the first team this season during training, purchased even more equipment and funded some our teams to enable them to play in tournaments such as the Northern Ireland Milk Cup and in both Phoenix, Arizona, Portugal and Malta.

Right now, we are set to pay for a much needed heart monitoring system with 18 heart monitors, and computer equipment needed under the new EPPP regulations.

During the six years and more the relationship between Clarets Mad and the youth department has never been anything but excellent and I have to say that, of all the people we've dealt with, none have been more courteous, more supportive and more respectful than Martin Dobson.

Sadly, not all departments at the club have been supportive, and some have even been hostile, to the point where one member of the club staff was responsible  for the decision to cancel last season's end of season dinner as well as other events.

But, the support elsewhere has been outstanding. I've mentioned Steve Cotterill above but all of Owen Coyle, Brian Laws and Eddie Howe have been equally supportive in attending events, directors John B and Brendan Flood were at the 2011 dinner and the support received from Paul Fletcher at two dinners was very much appreciated as was that of Jeff Brown who we invited once and got an extra one free.

And let's not forget the support of some of our former players who have joined us at the dinner table - Willie Irvine, Jimmy McIlroy, Trevor Meredith and Jimmy Robson among them.

There are so many other people to thank. Tom and Lisa in the club shop have been a huge help as has Anthony Fairclough who provided us with one of our best dinner auction items. We've been looked after so well at those dinners by the catering department, with a special mention for Chris Emmerson and Nottingham Forest fan Kevin.

The biggest help of all though has come from Tony Yates (tybfc). If I said he's been my right arm during this period I'd be vastly understating things. Tony and his wife Pam have been brilliant and without them I'm sure we'd be nowhere near this total yet.

But most of all, the thanks go to all those of you who have helped raise the money, be it through attending dinners, taking part in the golf days, the bowls competition, or by entering the fantasy games and sweeps on the site. Well done to every one of you.

Below is a photograph from the launch and some of the cheque presentations to the club.