Leeds United CEO Shaun Harvey has branded the approval of the Premier League's Elite Player Performance Plan as a dark day for football.

Leeds were one of 22 clubs who voted against the proposed changes to the youth development system at a Football League meeting at Walsall on Thursday.

The new system replaces the current tribunal system and means Premier League clubs recruiting young talent from Football League clubs will pay a set compensation fee based on each year the player has spent in the youth system.

"The EPPP has been discussed for 18 months and we were one of the clubs who voted against at the meeting," confirmed the Elland Road CEO.

"There is a lot of merit in parts of the EPP, but we voted no because we don't believe the new compensation structure which is being put in place fairly or adequately represents the development time that goes into each of the young players.

"Naturally, it's only the best players that clubs will be interested in and when you lose your best players you have to question the validity of the system. We're not going to be given protection for the players we're developing when predator clubs can come and take those players away from you against a fixed compensation criteria, and we don't believe that is equitable.

"Take Luke Garbutt as an example who left here for Everton, despite offers from us to stay. A tribunal agreed a fee of £600,000 with a further £750,000 on appearances and a 20 per cent sell on. Under the new system we would have received £134,000 instead of £600,000 with further contingent payments based on appearances.

"Our costs will have been exactly the same and that's one example why it's a dark day for clubs who have developed players over a period of time. For 22 clubs to vote against shows there is a real depth of feeling against this.

"The old system of a tribunal limited the number of moves and it suited clubs who were training players and doing well to have that lack of certainty because it gave them a better chance of keeping their players.

"Our Academy has generated substantial fees, but it remains our motive to try to bring players through to our first team squad, as is proven by the number of homegrown players we have in our squad at this moment in time."

Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore has argued that clubs could actually receive more funding under the new system, but Harvey has questioned how many players will actually go on to fulfil the criteria required to reward their first club.

"If a player goes all the way through and makes 100 appearances in the Premier League there will probably be more money than has being awarded for players under the age of 16," said Harvey. "That's the key issue. But what it means is that it's all contingent and based on success rather than being guaranteed.

"What clubs losing players are now going to find is that they're now losing the opportunity to develop that player to his full potential. That reliance will be put on another club to deliver. If they do well then yes you'll make some reasonable money. But unfortunately I don't think there's a demonstratable track record of players leaving Football League clubs, going into Premier League clubs before the age of 16 and making up to 100 appearances.

"You're going to do well to find any in recent times - that have actually been taken early from a club's academy. The Premier League will point to players such as Joe Hart who came from Shrewsbury and they could point to Fabian Delph. The difference is that those players were all released by the clubs with negotiated compensation. The clubs who were selling were willing participants or at least being rewarded for having actually played first team football. If the players leave at an earlier age this will no longer be possible.

"With this new criteria we're effectively being told what's happening because all another club has to do is secure a player's signature. There'll be a window of opportunity in which they can do that without any fear of breaching regulations in relation to what's commonly known as tapping up."

And the Leeds CEO firmly believes that while the Premier League are "banging the drum about what this will bring to player development" the new system could have the opposite effect on the development of young players.

"The fundamental flaw in the EPPP is that a player moves on and there's no real outcome at a Premier League club," said Harvey.

"You have to be a world star virtually to play in the Premier League, not just a very good youth player. The best youth players are having to come outside the Premier League to get first team experience.

"That's one of the issues that the Premier League are going to have to address - where does the opportunity come from for these players?

"I think there's a real chance that the development paths will ultimately be blocked. It's not the case of being the best player at nine 10 or 11. You've got to be the best player at 18, 19, 20 . At that stage in the Premier League there's big, big competition and if opportunity are not there than talent won't flourish.

"I certainly think there'll be a dilution of what clubs are doing because if you look at losing players for a reduced amount of compensation that doesn't cover the cost of running a development scheme then there will be many clubs looking at the situation to see if it's worthwhile.

"All that said you are always going to get players who leave your development scheme. Michael Woods and Tom Taiwo went to Chelsea and compensation was agreed. One is now at Walsall and the other is at Carlisle. The move may benefited them financially, but did it benefit their careers?

"Danny Ward is another who left us and went to Bolton. Now he is at Huddersfield. Could he have been in our first team squad today? Could Tom and Michael? There's a real possibility that had those players stayed here they would have been in our first-team squad today or actually sold on to Premier League clubs having gained some first-team experience."

Despite the strong anti-feeling from a number of clubs - Leeds are not the only ones to speak out - 46 members of the Football League did vote in favour of the proposals.

"I think the main reasons some clubs voted yes is that there has been no funding coming through from the Premier League this season who have historically funded youth development football in this country," he said.

"That was beginning to have an effect on some of the lower league clubs finances and there was a real pressure building that this year's youth development funding was being withheld and that was strangling some clubs. On the basis the money was going to be witheld a number of clubs voted 'for' because they couldn't do without the money.

"What this is doing is rewarding clubs that don't produce players because they could plausibly get more money through grants."

So, how does a club like Leeds combat the threat of losing hand-picked players for an amount that could well be less than it costs to develop an entire age group for a 12-month period?

"What we have to do is work hard with the players we have and their parents to convince them that Leeds United is the best club for their boys to become a professional player," said Harvey.

"We back ourselves in a fair fight whereby our facilities are good and coaches are good. Any player who wants to leave will always cite better opportunities elsewhere and improved coaching.

"It's the obvious knee-jerk reaction but with 120 boys in our system at the moment and our track record and the players that we have in the first team at the moment arguably right is on our side.

"It's the number one argument which you would put forward. You have a real opportunity and a real ability to play first-team football here. It's down to the individual boy. That's the point we're going to have to make to the players here. Stay with this club and you'll have a real opportunity because we've got a track record of bringing boys through.

"If they then turn out to be the stars that some of them will be then there's opportunity in the Premier League will come in any event - hopefully with Leeds United. They'll be going straight into the first-team squad rather than having to learn their trade with many others who are involved.