The point is that we are a development club which club and player 'buy into'. Players hope and expect that the development leads to a leg up the pyramid which also benefits the club with transfer income. However, the 24 year cut-off for fees has complicated things. By that age a player will be looking at making progress and the club knows that there is a chance for 'lost investment'. So the difficulty is caused by the 24 year rule rather than the player "holding a pistol to the heads of the club". One notable exception was Billy Jones who made a habit of it