York City should be fending off the advances of Premiership big guns Leeds United to establish a home-base of fledgling football talent.

And the pick of the area's young players also have to regularly roll off a Bootham Crescent production line, according to City's new youth development coach Adie Shaw.

The one-time City trialist, whose own career was cruelly curtailed at the age of 24 by injury, has returned to Bootham Crescent.Ironically he was once shown the exit by a managerial team of John Bird and Alan Little, the latter now in overall charge of the Minstermen.

A decade on from that knock-back, Shaw is back, describing his return as 'coming home'. His self-avowed aim is to build a conveyor belt of potential right into the Millennium.

The framework, maintained Shaw, was well in place. Now the task of the man, who at Chesterfield was influential in the formative years of Blackburn Rovers' recent record £7.5 million signing Kevin Davies, was to nurture the best local talent into the City players of the future.

"I am looking at lads coming from the York area at the age of say, seven, eight or nine, and staying with us until they are in the first-team," ventured the 32-year-old youth coach. "We have to make sure that instead of going to Leeds United promising players will come to York City.

"If they are good enough they will be given a chance here. For a youth development officer that's so refreshing. Not every club thinks that way."

Another factor persuading Shaw to leave Chesterfield was the club's new Wigginton Road training camp. "There will be Premiership and First Division clubs envious at such a training base," he said.

"One of the problems we had at Chesterfield was knowing where next we were going to train - a local park, a school field.

"York City have always had a good youth policy. I want to take it the next step further with the help of the staff already here like Paul Stancliffe. I am looking that in the next two three years we will have a conveyor belt of young talent coming through."

Shaw was nine years at Saltergate, the last six as youth development officer after initially working for the Football In the Community programme.

That switch was forced by injury on the Easington-born midfielder initially signed by Nottingham Forest then under the command of Brian Clough. Shaw's contemporaries included future England internationals Des Walker and Steve Hodge.

"He was the best manager I have ever worked with," recalled Shaw, fond of his Forest days though he never played for them.

An 'undisclosed fee' took him to Halifax Town and his first encounter with Alan Little, the senior midfield operator. After 100 appearances Shaw came to Bootham Crescent in 1988-89 for a trial spell under Bobby Saxton. He made six starts, but was released by the new Bird-Little managerial team.

On he moved to Chesterfield. But, aged just 24, he had to quit after nine knee operations. "Luckily there was an opening on the community programme."

From there he became youth officer and helped to train Davies, who only last month commanded that staggering £7.5million fee taking him to Blackburn from Southampton.

Shaw cited Davies as an example for all budding players. "Within five years he has gone from a Second Division player to a Premiership club and on the way to becoming a millionaire.

"That's the incentive for every youngster. It can be done."

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