I, personally, have never doubted the benefits of having the Academy. From what I can see, clubs in the lower leagues that don't have a thriving Academy are in danger of sinking into oblivion. I know there have been some, not many, who would downgrade or even dispense with our Academy but this would be a backward step. It is not always going to bring players of the calibre of Ashton or Powell and the days of us selling players for £3 million are probably a thing of the past. However, our team has been populated with players coming through the ranks for the better part of 30 years and that, as a policy, has proved extremely successful by saving us vast sums of money in wages by not having to do what Port Vale have done this season in signing 19 players who may or may not turn out to be good enough.
Our signings have been very good since Dave Artell became manager but the best players at the club have come through the Academy in the form of Cooper, Lowery and Ainley. These players may not yield millions of £s but have indirectly made us money by not having to sign seasoned pros coming for the wrong reasons.