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Huddersfield Town are contemplating shutting their academy



jamie the seagull

Well-known member
Jul 27, 2011
2,803
Two well-placed sources have told Sportsmail that chairman Dean Hoyle has discussed the possibility with Premier League bosses amid concerns surrounding the lack of youngsters making their first team.
Huddersfield believe it may be better to spend money elsewhere, although the academy structure could stay unchanged after talks.
Another option would be to downgrade their status from Category 2 — one beneath the top level.
Philip Billing is the only graduate in David Wagner’s squad and the central midfielder was signed from Esbjerg in Denmark as a 16-year-old in 2013.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...-consider-shutting-academy.html#ixzz4ruBCAnoj
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Albion Dan

Banned
Jul 8, 2003
11,125
Peckham
It's an interesting one. For all the cost and investment how many premier league teams bring kids through into the first team anymore? The ones fortunate enough to actually progress find themselves at lower league clubs. We didn't even bring Solly through the system. The fact we are spending 7 figure sums on kids for the u23 squad makes the challenge for boys coming through the ranks even starker.

I guess the flip is that you only need one star to emerge and it would repay the cost of the whole training academy and some.
 


Munkfish

Well-known member
May 1, 2006
11,861
It's an interesting one. For all the cost and investment how many premier league teams bring kids through into the first team anymore? The ones fortunate enough to actually progress find themselves at lower league clubs. We didn't even bring Solly through the system. The fact we are spending 7 figure sums on kids for the u23 squad makes the challenge for boys coming through the ranks even starker.

I guess the flip is that you only need one star to emerge and it would repay the cost of the whole training academy and some.

I think we can take a fair bit of credit for Sollys development, to the player he is now, granted he didnt sign for us at 12 but having the youth team certainly gave him a place to play as a scholar and up until he was 18/19 without that we wouldnt have had him at all.
 


Brovion

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 6, 2003
19,322
It's an interesting one. For all the cost and investment how many premier league teams bring kids through into the first team anymore? The ones fortunate enough to actually progress find themselves at lower league clubs. We didn't even bring Solly through the system. The fact we are spending 7 figure sums on kids for the u23 squad makes the challenge for boys coming through the ranks even starker.

I guess the flip is that you only need one star to emerge and it would repay the cost of the whole training academy and some.

As you say: one star and financially you've justified you academy. Also if you sign just one expensive flop then the combined cost of the transfer, fee, the agent fee and the massive salary package would probably be enough to keep your academy going for years. Shutting it is the ultimate in short-term thinking.
 


SAC

Well-known member
May 21, 2014
2,534
I believe that an academy is important for high spending Championship teams as certain costs can be put against them that wouldn't be possible if the academy wasn't there. In the PL it becomes less important from a financial point of view. From a community point of view, I think having a successful academy is very important.
 




Rod Marsh

New member
Aug 9, 2013
1,254
Sussex
As you say: one star and financially you've justified you academy. Also if you sign just one expensive flop then the combined cost of the transfer, fee, the agent fee and the massive salary package would probably be enough to keep your academy going for years. Shutting it is the ultimate in short-term thinking.

I don't even think you need to make stars to make it pay. With the way prices are now we could sell a 20 year old unproven player to a league one side for a couple of hundred thousand minimum.
 








Turkey

Well-known member
Jul 4, 2003
15,568
I don't even think you need to make stars to make it pay. With the way prices are now we could sell a 20 year old unproven player to a league one side for a couple of hundred thousand minimum.

It costs millions a year to run a Cat 1 Academy. Recall reading about it in the past. Can't find the ideal link now but this article for example says its a minimum of £2.5m a season to run Cat 1: http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.u...demy_status_despite_relegation_to_League_One/

Ipswich MD here talking about clubs spending £4/5m a year: https://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town...could-force-clubs-out-of-academy-category-one

It is difficult to make an Academy pay for itself.
 
Last edited:


AZ Gull

@SeagullsAcademy Threads: @bhafcacademy
Oct 14, 2003
11,589
Chandler, AZ



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