Tom Piatak: "We want a pathway for our academy"
28 July 2025
Club chairman Tom Piatak wrapped up Thursday night’s Q&A with his thoughts on a number of areas of the club.
Speaking first about the importance of the academy, he said: “You see us making a huge investment in the training centre, which the first team is going to use, but that training centre is all about youth development and being a community centric club.
“That's why we chose the Sheepmount as the location. And the investment going in there is absolutely critical for youth development.
“I'm thrilled seeing the youth players right now that are playing well for us in pre-season. That is, I believe, a critical path and a critical resource that is necessary if we're going to build a sustainable club going forward.
“We need to be able to have strong Cumbrians come up through our club. And we need them and their parents to say, look at this facility, look at what's available. This is where I want my son or daughter to train and do what's necessary.
“And we want to keep them in Carlisle and Cumbria as a whole. So I would hope that the investment that you see that is going into the Sheepmount facility is indicative of our commitment to the youth pathway.
“I'm not sure how it was prior to our ownership, but we now have youth scholars that are on contracts. We have first team pros on contracts, Sam Hetherington, Jake Allan and others.
“We’re trying to bridge that gap from the U18 to the men's team, which can be a huge step. Some of them are practicing with the first team. Some are practicing with U18s, some will be going out on loan.
“We want to make that a critical pathway for us to have players come up and play for the first team. We're trying to get the infrastructure in place, get the facility in place, get that pathway to the bridge where they can get to the men’s team.
“I've been very honest about it. When we acquired the club, I said I was all about the first team. I was all about first team, first team, first team. And then as I learned more about the club, a lot shifted to say long-term, the academy is absolutely the most pivotal point to a successful, financially stable club, given the 60-mile radius that we have.
“The Middlesbrough match, our first one at the Sheepmount, 400 people showed up. When I saw the videos on the social media and on CUTV and all that, it just, it was the first one. And I was just like, that's what we want to see.
“We want to see the community being able to get access those matches and for the young players to be able to play in front of 400. And that was just the start.
“As fans start to realise on Saturdays, there's going to be more and more matches there, I think the crowd will grow and that'll just help build that youth, that academy. But it’s critical to us and we're making the investment. I hope everybody sees that.”
Then, on the Ladies’ team, he added: “They currently play at Creighton, but I know Tracy [Gannon] has had conversations with Nigel [Clibbens] and we're going to showcase some of their matches down at Sheepmount. I think will be a positive.
“Again, the more we can have the youth teams and the Ladies’ team and even some first team training at the Sheepmount, I think will build that community feeling. As we analyse the usage of the three pitches, I hope to see more of the Ladies’ team down there.
“I hope we can make it more accessible for them. My perfect vision, everything would be co-located down there in terms of training and playing matches for all of the teams.
“The more we can get down there I think it builds pride in the community, builds pride in Carlisle and Cumbria. And then that that helps support the club as it moves forward with hopefully new fans.
“If you have young families going down there to watch the Ladies play, hopefully they say I'm a Blues fan for life now, and they start doing it. I hope to see that. But we’re very supportive of the Ladies’ team and we should be seeing them playing down there shortly.”
Next on the agenda was the potential for short-notice fixture changes from TV coverage providers DAZN and the impact that can have on the fans.
“I'm fully aware of that,” he confirmed. “And that presents a huge issue for supporters, and quite frankly it provides an issue for myself when I'm over there, then there are the train schedules and the reliance on the train.
“I believe they have to give us roughly four weeks’ notice. I'm fully aware of the inconveniences this causes. We're going to work with them as best we can.
“This is just me talking, but unfortunately Carlisle United with a big name might be one that they want to shift more to get more coverage. It's a pro and a con.
“Nobody has said that to me, that's just something I'm thinking in my head saying I can see Carlisle United getting shifted to their prime time spots quite frequently.
“We realise the inconvenience that causes with travel schedules and planning. We're going to work with the National League and DAZN the best we can, but the more we find out about that we'll share it with everybody.”
