Breaking News Academy being closed down

[Medway Blue]

See Mark Pattersons gone

Blues yet to decide on future of academy

SOUTHEND United have yet to decide whether or not their academy will continue next season.

www.echo-news.co.uk

Yeah, think he left sometime ago.

 

[Wingnut]

Well they did say that after two years it stops getting funded ,personally I’d get rid total waste of time if any one decent gets through they are sold and the cash goes in with Ron’s other business

 

[Evening Echo]

SOUTHEND United have yet to decide whether or not their academy will continue next season.

Read more on this story


Help with Echo links

 

[Colchester and proud!]

Such a waste. I coach a youth team and see lots of very talented kids in the area. Most are now getting picked up by Col U, Concord, Billericay etc

One of your former schoolboy youngsters ( Chay Cooper) who left Southend to go to Spurs as a scholar who then released him 5 years later, plays in the National league South cup final Sunday for St Albans on loan from us. He looks a very promising player, but so far has only played one 1st team game for us as there is so many other more established players fighting for his position in the team.

 

[hlane17]

SOUTHEND United have yet to decide whether or not their academy will continue next season.

Read more on this story


Help with Echo links

This surely depends on funding.

RM fails to sell, the academy goes in the bin.

If the club is sold to the right person, I could see it being saved in some capacity.

 

[Liam AAS]

I don’t necessarily agree with the EPPP funding model making lower league Academies unprofitable, but it’s certainly more difficult and what clubs really need to do is to get players into the first team as the earlier they are snapped up, then the more rigid the compensation model is, unless you’re fortunate enough to have more than one club interested to drive up the compensation fees offered. It’s why you’ll often see PL clubs pick up youngsters from lower league clubs before they take up their scholarship, as once they are a scholar, there’s a chance they’ll not be far off the first team. Clubs like Exeter City and Cambridge United are good examples of clubs making the most of their Academy in recent years.

I appreciate that there's many points to your thorough and well-informed post but this just stinks, doesn't it? Sticking in teenagers to inflate their value. How is any club supposed to compete when they're including kids for £?

 

[Exiled Shrimper]

I appreciate that there's many points to your thorough and well-informed post but this just stinks, doesn't it? Sticking in teenagers to inflate their value. How is any club supposed to compete when they're including kids for £?

I didn’t mean for it to come across as putting players into the first-team environment to inflate their value; what I meant was that you need to identify talented players that get into the senior set-up on merit (think Dan Bentley, Jack Payne, Dru Yearwood, Kane Ferdinand, Elvis Bwomono). Often - but not always - you’ll pick them up at 14-16 from a higher category Academy when they don’t think they’ll make it, and you can then enhance their development and they push into the first team. That’s when the Academy will be self-sufficient or even profitable.

 

[in the know]

I'm not sure the recent events have been the major factor in the academy being affected, When we got relegated from the EFL it was known the funding would stop after 18mths (or is it 2yrs?). The money was never going to be found to keep it going unless we got back in the league quickly.
Sad as it is, it's not a surprise and hopefully lots of the players will be picked up by other clubs so that they're development continues.
Alternatively, who knows whether a new owner will be generous enough to reprise it and make good use of the new facilities

 

[Streaky]

I’m not offering… but any idea what the cost (if paid) are for our academy?

 

[Medway Blue]

I'm not sure the recent events have been the major factor in the academy being affected, When we got relegated from the EFL it was known the funding would stop after 18mths. The money was never going to be found to keep it going unless we got back in the league quickly. I
Sad as it is, it's not a surprise and hopefully lots of the players will be picked up by other clubs so that they're development continues. I
Alternatively, who knows whether a new owner will be generous enough to reprise it and make good use of the new facilities

I'd imagine Ron Martin wants a new owner to make that decision, rather than scrap it all now when a new owner might have wanted to keep it. Problem is, he needs to actually sell the club before it's too late for that decision to be made.

 

[Holy Joe]

I’m not offering… but any idea what the cost (if paid) are for our academy?

Wasn't the funding after relegation £1m for the first year and £500k for the second year. If correct a significant investment

 

[Streaky]

Wasn't the funding after relegation £1m for the first year and £500k for the second year. If correct a significant investment

In that case I can understand why SUFC choose not to have one.

 

[BoyWonder2]

If used properly - an academy is a good idea - shame we never really give our academy players a chance unless forced to

I’m not sure that’s entirely true.

We’ve seen a number of players from our academy play for the first team, and I’m not just talking about the tail end of Sol Campbell’s reign.

Tom Clifford, Charlie Kelman, Henry Sandaat, Dan Bentley, Ted Smith, Dru Yearwood, Harry Seaden, Elvis Bwonomo, Jack Payne, Jack Bridge all got there through their own merits, not because we were forced to play them. That’s just a small sample size.

 

[Strykr]

I assume someones done the maths and it costs more to run then transfer fees we got over the years?

If it was profitable surely it would keep going?

 

[BoyWonder2]

I assume someones done the maths and it costs more to run then transfer fees we got over the years?

If it was profitable surely it would keep going?

I imagine the academy has paid for itself over the years, and you only need one or two “stars” to make it profitable, equally you only need a few years without anyone “making it” for it to be ran at a loss.

A lot of the players go for “undisclosed” amounts, so I doubt many would be able to say either way with a great deal of confidence.

Our academy has been a real bright spot for this Club, but I believe it’s continuation is entirely dependent on a new owner, and what route they want to go down.

 

[Holy Joe]

I assume someones done the maths and it costs more to run then transfer fees we got over the years?

If it was profitable surely it would keep going?

It might be down to consistency of profitability - probably difficult to run it profitably every single year. Or to put it another way the cost is probably pretty consistent every year, but I imagine the income is highly variable

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I assume someones done the maths and it costs more to run then transfer fees we got over the years?

If it was profitable surely it would keep going?

Not necessarily.

It could turn a profit but any profit won’t be realised for many years. Ron doesn’t have the cash to make that type of long term investment so it’s now all about surviving until June or July when it’s someone else’s problem.

 

[londonblue]

I imagine the academy has paid for itself over the years, and you only need one or two “stars” to make it profitable, equally you only need a few years without anyone “making it” for it to be ran at a loss.

A lot of the players go for “undisclosed” amounts, so I doubt many would be able to say either way with a great deal of confidence.

Our academy has been a real bright spot for this Club, but I believe it’s continuation is entirely dependent on a new owner, and what route they want to go down.

Apparently the player that has made us the most is Isaac Hayden.

 

[Strykr]

Not necessarily.

It could turn a profit but any profit won’t be realised for many years. Ron doesn’t have the cash to make that type of long term investment so it’s now all about surviving until June or July when it’s someone else’s problem.

Its been going for many years. So profitable or not?

 

[Napster]

Apparently the player that has made us the most is Isaac Hayden.

300k apparently. Finley Burns was 175k