I seem to recall that an accountants value of a player is related to:-

Ability - Goes without saying

His Age - Younger increasing in value - Older reducing in value

Playing Position - Forwards are past it at a youger age and therefore their value reduces quicker - defenders retain their value longer.

Potential Transfer Value - is related to the foregoing and the time left on their contracts 

Why therefore is there an apparent move to shorter contracts, for younger players, at ICT??

If this be the case, does this not reduce the net worth of the player/club?

With younger players the club have the security of knowing that if they decide to sign for another club then they are guaranteed a payment regardless of contract length to compensate for training etc.  Granted, the amount could and would be more if they were on longer contracts, but I can only assume the club look at it on a risk v reward basis, balancing the likelihood of a youngster making the grade based on the number that come through the ranks.

Brewster talks a lot about 'comfort zones' and 'getting a reaction'. I assume his thinking is that some players will offer more if they are playing for a new contract (see Bazza) but the lack of job security offered may impact negatively on the player's confidence or lead to them looking elsewhere for a longer-term deal (see Denzil).

In the case of the younger players the policy makes a degree of sense - we don't know yet if any of these players (Rory, Zander, Vigurs, Kerr etc.) are going to make it and if clubs do come in for them then the length of their contract is, as Caley D says,  irrelevant because the Bosman ruling only applies to players over the age of 24.

Brewster talks a lot about 'comfort zones' and 'getting a reaction'. I assume his thinking is that some players will offer more if they are playing for a new contract (see Bazza) but the lack of job security offered may impact negatively on the player's confidence or lead to them looking elsewhere for a longer-term deal (see Denzil).

In the case of the younger players the policy makes a degree of sense - we don't know yet if any of these players (Rory, Zander, Vigurs, Kerr etc.) are going to make it and if clubs do come in for them then the length of their contract is, as Caley D says,  irrelevant because the Bosman ruling only applies to players over the age of 24.

Spot on Caley stan!

Point Taken - Thanks!