May I ask what sport that is? The purpose of the Alex is to provide a successful professional football club that fans will support and pay to watch them. For them to say the academy is more important than that basic concept, tells me they have lost their marbles.
I think football is different than most other sports though that coaching is NOT essential as it wasn't for 100 years before and we had more success before it became the bees knees. The most important is aptitude and natural ability and I don't see how any amount of coaching could really make a difference as nobody needs teaching how to pass a ball, dribble, take free kicks, head a ball, score from 25 yards which we rarely see in modern football even with a lighter ball and better boots etc. I'm arguing that someone like Dario and an one assistant can do wonders not by teaching the basics but just being there and encouraging the lads and far more important getting them playing against others. You don't need coaching to get fit either...A sandbag running up mow cop was one idea...
No, coaching is a cottage industry that is only there to employ people that are far less talented than most of the kids with that natural ability I spoke of. BTW Dean Ashton was NOT a product of the academy as he was what 16 when he joined us? The sort of age that I say we should concentrate all our efforts on and leave the 5 year olds to the schools and other bodies...
What I am saying is if these kids have the natural ability like they always had before academies and got to play in their local leagues then if they are really good and stand out then they will get noticed and be offered a trial in fact that is how it used to be...and no amount of people arguing for million pound academies whereby the FACTS speak louder than words when less than 1% make the grade from them and so that surely cannot be much different than in the old days...Coaches will defend them to their dying day, naturally!