The Increasing Value of the Academy

kirsikka

kirsikka

UTC Legend
We were all delighted at the news that we're now up to category 2, and some wondering if we might try and take that final step whilst the door is still open to new entrants. Hopefully this will continue the recent good work in bringing players through for the first team, whether that's those that join at a young age or the cast offs picked up at 16 or 18.

Thinking about Foley's vision, the academy should become an absolutely vital cog in the machine in more than one way. It isn't only about providing players to play for us but as an important revenue stream.

FFP in the PL has tightened up in recent years and has started to bite numerous clubs. We're current in our honeymoon period but it will become a limiting factor in a couple of season's time unless we are able to sell on a few players at a large profit.

This is where the academy can contribute. We aren't likely to be selling players for huge sums that have never played for us, like Man City. If a youngster is that good, they'll make our squad. However, look at how Man City have been using their academy. Any money invested there isn't counted towards your FFP calculations so if you can collect a group of young players and sell some of them on, it's pure profit that gives you extra wiggle room for your FFP calculations.

Last season Man City they sold academy players to Southampton for about £25m. Already this season they look set to raise another £15m with a sale to West Ham.

We are never going to be pulling in the shirt manufacturer deals, training ground sponsorships, far east noodle partnerships and so on that bring the biggest clubs extra hundreds of millions a year. We can certainly do better with our commercial revenue, and that seems to be a big focus, but we have to look at other ways to bring in the cash.

If we can get our academy producing a production line of yougnsters that we don't think willmake the grade with us but can be sold to Championship clubs that'll be invaluable for our FPP ticking time bomb.

You could say Man City's academy is an overnight success fifteen years in the making. If we invest now, it likely won't provide returns for a good number of years. However, seeing the investment that's already been made and looks to continue being made is encouraging for our future. Not only with graduations to our first team in mind.

And yes, I recognise it sounds a bit like farming players but I'm not sure it's in the Chelsea mould. If we're set on a small group and trying to help them progress it isn't in the same industrial farming area as having 64 players out on loan, and whole other groups at the club.

So, fingers crossed we've set our sights on Category 1.
 
We should be Cat 1 by now...it's 8 years since we entered the PL !
There are at least 7 Championship clubs with Cat 1 including little Leeds...and wee Southampton...plus at least one in L1....Derby .

Bill needs to sort this out soon !
 
New Old Cherry said:
We should be Cat 1 by now...it's 8 years since we entered the PL !
There are at least 7 Championship clubs with Cat 1 including little Leeds...and wee Southampton...plus at least one in L1....Derby .

Bill needs to sort this out soon !
Click to expand...

For a long time it was a closed shop. It wasn't only that they weren't approving promotion to Cat 1 for clubs, it was that they were actively moving the goalposts to prevent it.

Something changed two or three years back and they started letting new ones in. We were hardly in a position then to try but we are now. Which is why I'm hoping we target it whilst it's still open to new entrants. They could change the policy again and then we'd be stuck on the outside.
 
The biggest step to gaining Cat 1 or Cat 2 classification is mainly down to facilities at a club. Along with an audit of the club and the academy, they also require certain facilities including an indoor training pitch before you will be considered for Cat 2. At Cat 1 the club is also responsible for educating the players as they are on day release from their schools. This includes employing teachers and meeting the governments required standards.
It doesn't work that just because you have been in the PL for 8 or 80 years that you should automatically be Cat 1. It is up to the club to prioritise how seriously they take in producing their own players and this isn't always on the agender for a lot of clubs. Even at Cat 3 there is nothing stopping you pushing on to try and produce players even though you don't have the required facilities.
The work that has been carried out down at Canford, and the backing the club is getting from their new owners is very exciting, but I do still feel that the clubs mentality needs to change to get the right people in the right seats and also improve the quality of coaching to give the young lads any chance of progressing. As a snap shot we are starting the season with at least 5 age groups not having a permanent coach that is confusing for the lads and very unprofessional as fixtures now start.
 
fred1407 said:
. As a snap shot we are starting the season with at least 5 age groups not having a permanent coach that is confusing for the lads and very unprofessional as fixtures now start.
Click to expand...
Interesting insight, and that's a lot of vacancies. Do you know which teams?

At a guess, maybe Saadi has been brought in to fill one of those gaps.
 
Interesting topic.

Developing our own Championship ability players would be beneficial in all sorts of ways, not least directly useful when we're inevitably at that level of course.

K is right in that selling to the Championship should be an income stream we can use. Currently our sales to the Championship tend to be players we bought from the Championship and we make a loss or break even on. Pearson, Dembele, probably Lowe.

Championship finances are a messy world getting messier, there's a question as to how large that market to sale into is, outside of the parachute clubs.

I also wonder if we as a club will long have a certain tinpot stigma attached to us, and no self respecting Championship club of historical merit (be it real or in their own mind) wants to spend a few million on a Bournemouth youth or reserve product?

At this moment we're much more likely to profit from sales upwards, more in the Ake Wilson and Ramsdale mould. And that's fine, it'll always be part of our business model (short of becoming Real Madrid). But making some money in the other direction would be useful too.
 
No issue with farming players but academies are expensive.

For clubs where FFP is just a barrier preventing the owners spending billions on players like Chelsea, Man City or even Newcastle it's a good mechanism. Spend £10M a year, sell a player for £10M a year and get £10M of wiggle room within FFP.

I think our owners will only be interested if it's providing assets greater than the cost. If we're spending £100M for cat A for a break-even or loss-making asset I doubt they'd be too interested.

Personally, I think we should look to avoid the whole EPPP clusterfuck using affiliate clubs if at all possible.
 
Off-topic. I was just wondering as to why we have released this Chris Francis ??? His name seems to be popping up everywhere and associated with a number of PL clubs. Has he slipped under the radar and from between our fingers?
 
Southampton Football Club plus Leeds, Norwich and Derby have a Cat 1 Academy. ..and it hasn't got them anywhere.
If you don't produce a genius or two and get them into your team...what's the actual point ?

OK it can make MONEY....but that would need to be spent on useful players that ironically have been 'deveioped' in some other clubs 'Academy'...and then it's a mighty gamble

Plus....plus All the 'boy wonders' end up at Manchester, Liverpool and Arsenal etcetera.


One big daft Circus if you ask me.....well no one did ask me but there you have it and you can take it or leave it...suits me either way !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

;