Quote Originally Posted by Furberstreet View Post
A six figure sum for an Academy graduate would seem to be about par these days. That said, Cooper has come through the Academy, played a fair number of first team games and has moved to a club in a higher division. In the same way the Academy bolsters the first team squad, so some of the graduates move on up and bring in badly needed revenue. Yes, the sale of Academy graduates does not necessarily pay for the cost of the Academy each season, but the graduates underpin the first team squad. Not all will make the grade and not all will progress beyond the division Crewe is playing in - a reality certainly not unique to the club.
Did Cooper make that much difference or 'bolster' the first team squad, only our results over the last few years suggest the opposite. Some fans think he did OK but I always tend to look at how many goals they score and just going by the radio commentaries, he's not much good when he gets into those positions but I will leave that to the fans who pay and watch him. Academy players do 'bolster' the squad but so could a hundred non leaguers and off shoots of other PL academies too but that's the usual discussion.