Steve Weaver's seven-year spell at Norwich City has come to an end, and it is another sign that a new era is afoot in NR1.
Weaver was one of Stuart Webber's first hires as sporting director in 2017, a recognisable face to enact widespread change and hit the ground running in terms of implementing his ideas.
He hasn't always been popular, and not every decision has paid dividends, but the statistics surrounding his departure make for encouraging reading.
At that stage, Norwich's academy were operating out of portacabins and there was a very live conversation about the future of their Category One status.
Weaver departs with multiple success stories, a top-class training facility and having helped changed perceptions on the importance of youth prospects
In a wide-ranging interview with the Training Ground Guru, he explained why he has decided to end his spell at Carrow Road.
“I was having second thoughts about what was next and it’s naturally come to an end really,” he said. “My family is in the North West and I’ve given everything to this.
“I think I’ve done this part of my journey and am enthusiastic to do something different. I’m open about what comes next, but I love the grass, I love coaching and love being around footballers.
"Norfolk is a beautiful area and Norwich is a big club, it really is. There are a lot of good people there and good foundations for the future. The biggest problem with Norfolk is that I haven’t been able to nip and see a game though, because it's so far to the other clubs.
"For the first 20 years of my career I’d watch two or three games a week, minimum. The North West is the mecca of football in the whole world and I'll be able to get back to watching a lot of games again."
Weaver's tenure at the club has coincided with a fruitful period for young talent, stalling during David Wagner's final campaign in charge of the club.
Several have been nurtured and given opportunities, from Max Aarons to Jon Rowe to Andrew Omobamidele. Weaver reflects on that with real pride as he prepares to hand over the mantle with his head of football development role now being advertised.
“Until last season about 26pc of the first team were homegrown players,” Weaver explains. “The current generation is (Jonathan) Tomkinson, (Jonathan) Rowe, Adam Idah, Ken Aboh, Abu Kamara - a real good group of lads and it’s their time now.
"I had a very good relationship with Daniel (Farke). We had an understanding that if I gave him a player he would know he was good enough for the first team, and I knew that he would give them whatever they needed for the next bit of their journey. And he is excellent at working with young players.
“I worked very closely with Dean Smith too and we had an abundance of lads who came through.”
Weaver worked closely with Webber throughout his tenure at Norwich, having previously done so at Wrexham, Wolves and Huddersfield.
Whether the pair link up again in the future remains to be seen, but Weaver was full of praise for his former boss' qualities, as well as defending him against some of criticisms Webber faced at Carrow Road.
“There’s that old proverb - ‘Success has a thousand fathers, failure is an orphan,’” Weaver said. “What I know is that a motivated Stuart Webber is a force of nature. He transformed the club and is an outstanding Sporting Director.
“People criticise some of his recruitment, but he didn’t get (Gabriel) Sara wrong, did he? He didn’t get (Marcelino) Nunez wrong. But everyone has a shelf life. The one thing he has never had is money. He has been great at getting promoted but then your young players are being touted to leave and your hands are tied.”
Intrinsic to Weaver's philosophy during his tenure in charge of City's academy at Colney has been personal development over team triumph.
City's U18s have struggled for results, the U21s have been inconsistent and that has come with criticism.
But it speaks to where Weaver has put his priorities, towards graduating young talents rather than accolades and points.
"I have no interest in winning in youth football, because it's about developing people and players. I would sooner lose and make it hard and put an arm around them afterwards and say, 'It's hard, playing up.'
"Hence why our 18s never win. If you explain that to the parents they will understand it, eventually, most of the time, and what you end up with is a good player and a good human being.
"The best players are the most coachable," he says. "Nothing comes to you, you have to grasp it. Andrew Omobamidele is a really good example. He came over from Ireland and would be in the gym at seven in the morning.
"He'd come in with Dave Wright (former U23s boss) and Alan Neilson (PDP coach) and do some circuits. Ken Aboh would come in with Alex Matos at half-seven and go on the rebound boards. They were making the most of the opportunities available to them."
- Read Steve Weaver's wide-ranging interview reflecting on his spell at Norwich City in full on the Training Ground Guru's website here
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