Reading have announced that Eamonn Dolan, their academy manager, has died at the age of 48.
Dolan, a former West Ham United and Birmingham City striker, joined the Royals in 2004 and helped lay the foundation for a golden era at the academy that earned Category One status and brought through 32 players, including Gylfi Sigurdsson and Shane Long.
"He made a massive contribution to the modernisation of youth development not just at Reading but right across the professional game."
He was a major influence on first-team affairs, assisting managers Steve Coppell, Brendan Rodgers, Brian McDermott, Nigel Adkins and Steve Clarke as well as standing in the opposite dugout to Sir Alex Ferguson when in caretaker charge of the club at Old Trafford three years ago.
Along with Martin Kuhl, Dolan guided Reading to victory in the inaugural Under-21 Premier League Cup in April 2014, and was a staunch advocate of the Elite Player Performance Plan, the long-term strategy established by the Premier League to increase the numbers of home-grown players.
One of Dolan's most recent, and perhaps most long-lasting legacies, was his involvement in the Premier League's Elite Coaching Apprenticeship Scheme (ECAS), which was established in 2014.
Dolan was a leading figure on the steering committee which conceived ECAS as a means to identify and educate talented youth coaches with the aim of creating elite-standard coaches capable of nurturing and producing outstanding homegrown players for Premier League clubs.
Only last week, the first cohort of coaches on this course received their diplomas and certificates of higher education at a graduation ceremony at Ashridge Business School.
"Eamonn shaped the development of the academy over the last 12 years and the great successes achieved can be traced back to his passion, his boundless enthusiasm, and his positive approach to every aspect of player development at the club," said Ged Roddy, the Premier League Director of Youth.
"He made a massive contribution to the modernisation of youth development not just at Reading but right across the professional game."
The condolences of everyone at the Premier League go to Dolan's family and all the coaching staff at Reading.
