Originally Posted by
pass_and_move
Does the Academy actually produce enough though? It's been running about 20 years now.
I can't remember back to the 1980's youth that this club produced because I was too young but I remember a fair few graduates of the 90's and this is before the Academy came along. The likes of Dave Watson, Nicky Eaden, Andy Liddell, Chris Morgan, Jon Parkin, Rory Fallon, Luke Beckett, Anthony Kay, Adie Moses, Scott Jones, Neil Austin to name a few and all went on to have good careers in the football league.
There was also young Chris Jackson who's career was tragically ended through a car accident which disabled him but he had broken into our 1st team and was becoming a regular. I saw him score a great header away at WBA in 1994. I believe he had the ability to go a long way in the game.
These boys were probably on YTS schemes at Oakwell and didnt have the facilities that the academy can offer.
The Academy has produced some good players over the last 20 years- John Stones, Jacob Butterfield, James Bree, Jacob Brown, Mason Holgate, Danny Rose, Scott Flinders, Noble Lazarus, Jordan Clark, Dale Tonge and a few more I have probably missed.
If it does cost a million pounds per season to run (personally I think it's probably more) then in comparison to the years before it was built you have to say that it has been unsuccessful in producing more quality for our 1st team.
When we built the Academy I was buzzing at the thought of more youth players coming through and thought that the future looked bright in that respect. It promised so much, each new manager gasped at the facilities when they came here and I thought it would level the playing field a bit more for a club like ours. However, building the Academy and it's presence alone is not enough. It has to be run properly with structure and geared towards more kids making their name at our club.
What has gone wrong then? Why has it not produced many more kids than when there was no Academy there? Is it simply down to luck in finding talent? How many young talented players look the ballax at an early age, sign up here but don't make the grade? Have we run it badly? Is it too difficult to bridge the gap?
One of my takes on it is the period between 2006 and 2014 when the club was clinging onto championship football for dear life season after season. Not many of our Academy players actually got a look in, there was too much at stake and the 1st team managers were very reluctant to give our youth a chance because we were often in a precarious position in the bottom end of the Championship.
The clubs philosophy has changed in the last few years where we now of course play youngsters, albeit youngsters that we've brought in from other clubs. However, I'd say that the chances of our Academy players getting a 1st team opportunity have increased compared to the years before which is a good thing.
I was impressed when Daniel Stendel arrived here and said that from the 1st team downwards the youth, kids would be trained and geared into the high press style that he wanted to implement throughout the club. That to me is how our Academy and the club could succeed in the long run, everyone singing from the same hymn sheet. Unfortunately we don't have our head coaches here long enough to leave their legacy.