Is there any point in having academies ?.

[COYBL25]

How many kids from any Premier League Club ever make it to the top ?.

Each and every Premier League club must have thousands of kids come through their doors from age eight and onwards, yet virtually none of them make it, bar the odd exception - Rashford, Rooney, Barkley, etc. The majority ending up being let go or ending up playing in Lower leagues.

What is the point of have an academy, when it's cheaper and easier to buy a ready made foreign player who can come straight into the team ?.

 

[bol-uk]

I was thinking this.

We keep buying teenagers from around the world and then never see them again or they go on loan for a few years and disappear on a free.

Having said that, the 40mil profit on Stones and the 27mil for Rooney probably justify the lot.

FIRST BTW

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

Fella round the corner who was at r/s academy for years then Utd has said that they are starting to be thought of as a waste of space by the clubs & dying a death, they'd rather let the lower league clubs develop them then buy them off them than spend years with hundreds of kids for none / odd one to come through.

 

[andym78]

Chelsea seem to have given up on bringing players through from the academy to the first team. Theirs is just another revenue stream where they buy teenagers, send them on loan for a couple of years and then sell them for a profit. Think they make something like £10mil a year from it.

Managers only tend to be at a club for 2/3 years so it's hard for young players to make an impact at a club.

 

[Tubey]

Long thought it better to have feeder clubs in the lower leagues rather than an academy. In theory it makes sense, but in practice the foreign market obliterates any chance to make the final progression to the first team.

It'd be better for the English game if academies were limited to outside the top two leagues, as it means that kids come through a system where they have a great chance to play in a first team if they're good enough, and progress naturally.

Maybe even a draft system like the Americans have in football, where the Premier League clubs get to pick one or two kids a year from the lower leagues for a compensation fee.

 

[Prevenger17]

Barcelona's youth system from about 10-15 years ago worked. Haven't seen academies work since

 

[Armel]

How many kids from any Premier League Club ever make it to the top ?.

Each and every Premier League club must have thousands of kids come through their doors from age eight and onwards, yet virtually none of them make it, bar the odd exception - Rashford, Rooney, Barkley, etc. The majority ending up being let go or ending up playing in Lower leagues.

What is the point of have an academy, when it's cheaper and easier to buy a ready made foreign player who can come straight into the team ?.

Academies are necessary. I think what you describe is more a consequence of the quality of the academies and the natural talent that is present. This sort of determines the quality of the footballer that you deliver. Also the frequency of delivering a good one. They are also a possible way to develop a house style.

For premier league clubs almost all the players don't end up playing for the first team but I don't see this as an issue. They can still form a source of income. It's not a realistic expectation to expect a high number of successful graduates in times of globalization.

Some academies also prepare the less successful ones for a 'normal' life. For instance: The Purple hearts academy sends them to a special school and such.

I also think academies are necessary anyway because they are a way to integrate the club into the community, even though lots of the players aren't from the area. A youth policy is very important for a club. Specially for smaller clubs since they are able to get revenue from it and supporters (all the parents go to club organized activities and such) - not for premier league clubs obviously. It also makes it a somewhat achievable goal for young lads to go and play for the club of their choosing (youth levels are less strict; still difficult though).

I enjoy watching academy teams.

For instance:
Anderlecht academy: delivered: Romelu Lukaku, Tielemans (really like watching him), Kompany, Januzaj (hopefully he can turn it around)...
Standard: Witsel, Carcella ...
Genk: Courtois, Casteels, De Bruyne
Lille: Junior Malanda, Hazard ...
Man United: Rashford, Lingard (to some extent),
...

I've only named somewhat recent graduates.

 

[Khalekan]

Fella round the corner who was at r/s academy for years then Utd has said that they are starting to be thought of as a waste of space by the clubs & dying a death, they'd rather let the lower league clubs develop them then buy them off them than spend years with hundreds of kids for none / odd one to come through.

It would be much better for football all round if the big clubs scrapped acadamies and the lower leagues benefitted by having these young players cut their teeth at Rochdale, Crewe, Southend etc.

There would be more PL money trickling down to the smaller clubs through transfer fees and the young players themselves would remain grounded longer and not be earning fortunes at age 17 and running around with £500 "Louis Vuitton" wash bags.

 

[Yid4life]

Off the top of my head, Spurs academy players that are in our or other Prem first team/Squad. Mason, Bentaleb (Schalke), Kane, Rose, Caulker, Townsend, Marcus Stewart (RS), Carroll, Winks, Onomah, CCV, Livermore, Adam Smith (Bmouth).

You only need to sell one or two for a decent profit and it pays for the academy and gives you the chance of finding a gem or two (Kyle Walker-Peters and Marcus Edwards next for us hopefully).

 

[COYB]

Off the top of my head, Spurs academy players that are in our or other Prem first team/Squad. Mason, Bentaleb (Schalke), Kane, Rose, Caulker, Townsend, Marcus Stewart (RS), Carroll, Winks, Onomah, CCV, Livermore, Adam Smith (Bmouth).

You only need to sell one or two for a decent profit and it pays for the academy and gives you the chance of finding a gem or two (Kyle Walker-Peters and Marcus Edwards next for us hopefully).

i like that your a spurs fan but still call the rs 'rs' lol

 

[The Cowboy]

Academies are necessary. I think what you describe is more a consequence of the quality of the academies and the natural talent that is present. This sort of determines the quality of the footballer that you deliver. Also the frequency of delivering a good one. They are also a possible way to develop a house style.

For premier league clubs almost all the players don't end up playing for the first team but I don't see this as an issue. They can still form a source of income. It's not a realistic expectation to expect a high number of successful graduates in times of globalization.

Some academies also prepare the less successful ones for a 'normal' life. For instance: The Purple hearts academy sends them to a special school and such.

I also think academies are necessary anyway because they are a way to integrate the club into the community, even though lots of the players aren't from the area. A youth policy is very important for a club. Specially for smaller clubs since they are able to get revenue from it and supporters (all the parents go to club organized activities and such) - not for premier league clubs obviously. It also makes it a somewhat achievable goal for young lads to go and play for the club of their choosing (youth levels are less strict; still difficult though).

I enjoy watching academy teams.

For instance:
Anderlecht academy: delivered: Romelu Lukaku, Tielemans (really like watching him), Kompany, Januzaj (hopefully he can turn it around)...
Standard: Witsel, Carcella ...
Genk: Courtois, Casteels, De Bruyne
Lille: Junior Malanda, Hazard ...
Man United: Rashford, Lingard (to some extent),
...

I've only named somewhat recent graduates.

I do hope the bold bit is a common feature in academies. They take kids and promise them the world, when there's a very slim chance of them making it to the top. So I hope they compensate them by providing them with education and guidance in other career paths should it not work out for them.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I think the challenge is always making the progression to the first team. When the first team is strong then it makes that very difficult, and even with the loan system it is still rare for that to support that transition. Take Galloway for instance. To play in his ideal position, he needs to get passed experienced international players, which even with his PL exposure this season will be tough.

 

[COYBL25]

I do hope the bold bit is a common feature in academies. They take kids and promise them the world, when there's a very slim chance of them making it to the top. So I hope they compensate them by providing them with education and guidance in other career paths should it not work out for them.

There lies many of the problems mate. The education provided wouid appear to be nothing but lip service to satisfy legal requirements. A good mate teaches the Preston academy kids at a college in Preston. From what he says, as long as they turn up and get an attandence mark the club have fulfilled its commitment to educating them. The reality is that they turn up and do nothing, due to them believing in their own heads that they've made it as footballers.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

There lies many of the problems mate. The education provided wouid appear to be nothing but lip service to satisfy legal requirements. A good mate teaches the Preston academy kids at a college in Preston. From what he says, as long as they turn up and get an attandence mark the club have fulfilled its commitment to educating them. The reality is that they turn up and do nothing, due to them believing in their own heads that they've made it as footballers.

It's interesting to compare that with rugby players. There was a piece over the weekend about Itoje, the Saracens and England lock, who is currently at SOAS studying for a degree. Apparently it's something most Saracens players are encouraged to do. How many pro footballers have degrees? It's not like they don't have time to study.

 

[Billy Dean]

There lies many of the problems mate. The education provided wouid appear to be nothing but lip service to satisfy legal requirements. A good mate teaches the Preston academy kids at a college in Preston. From what he says, as long as they turn up and get an attandence mark the club have fulfilled its commitment to educating them. The reality is that they turn up and do nothing, due to them believing in their own heads that they've made it as footballers.

I think some academies do it properly. Southampton and Spurs academy players seem to have their heads screwed on. Chelsea's youngsters too so far.