Breaking News Academy being closed down

[SUFCGoals]

The academy should have been one of the major selling points for any purchaser and now it’s being dismantled weeks before a prospective takeover.

It’ll take more than a decade to rebuild what has been lost these last few months.

Could be revamped when Nash comes in? He might want to heavily invest in it

 

[Maldon Blues]

Sensible business decision given where we are currently - cut everything that’s non essential.

Apart from the community side of things, I can’t see there is much point in a club like Southend having an academy these days. If we get a player who is even half decent, a club three rungs up the ladder will pinch him before we get any use out of him. That’s the way money works in the game these days.

And, as far as I understand, should we keep the Academy - which would now have to be entirely at the club's cost - we would not receive any compensation for these players.

 

[loz]

The academy should have been one of the major selling points for any purchaser and now it’s being dismantled weeks before a prospective takeover.

It’ll take more than a decade to rebuild what has been lost these last few months.

real shame - hardly great for our claims of being an important part of the community when we're removing a direct link to it.

Also something the current management team have been really engaged in from what I've seen - i play at Chase on Wednesdays and some of the younger academy groups are there before us, regularly see Kev watching the sessions.

 

[Chairman Trigg]

We really are sinking to new lows every day now.
We'll soon be looking at Col U as a big team the way we're going.What next the soccer domes sold as scrap...as we can't find the instructions!

 

[West Stand]

Correct, the academy is going this summer due to funding ending

here’s what was said previously

ACADEMY UDPATE

We are very proud of our Academy and the success it has had over the years identifying and nurturing talent.

www.southendunited.co.uk

 

[O's fan]

Just to give some context to this.

It has been mentioned earlier that funding for the youth system is cut after two years in NL. But also there is the issue of contacts and affiliation at that level. The contacts are worthless, and anything in place would be little more than a name. A good performance in a friendly match can see the player snapped-up for another club by a watching scout without compensation. Equally you might have a list a players you'd expect to attend a training session and they don't show for the same reason.

I know this because it was discussed at length by a director at Orient when we went down in 2017 and the importance of returning to the FL in the second year to ensure our academy remained. But there was serious consideration of closing the academy had we not achieved promotion.

 

[Maldon Blues]

Just to give some context to this.

It has been mentioned earlier that funding for the youth system is cut after two years in NL. But also there is the issue of contacts and affiliation at that level. The contacts are worthless, and anything in place would be little more than a name. A good performance in a friendly match can see the player snapped-up for another club by a watching scout without compensation. Equally you might have a list a players you'd expect to attend a training session and they don't show for the same reason.

I know this because it was discussed at length by a director at Orient when we went down in 2017 and the importance of returning to the FL in the second year to ensure our academy remained. But there was serious consideration of closing the academy had we not achieved promotion.

Exactly this. Even if we stayed as a Cat 3 Academy (to emphasise, with club footing the whole cost) we have no power to hold on to any players. we'd get nothing for them.

A number of teams at our level field an U19 team in the midweek National League Youth Alliance. Many clubs do this with a tie-in with a local college, so the players complete a college programme alongside their football. It is a way to help tie players to the club, but they can still move on freely. Most of these clubs will still call it an 'Academy' but it's not.

 

[Shrimpet steve]

Good! The money needs to be spent elsewhere,and when have we produced a decent player since jack Payne? And don't say a goal keeper as the majority have been decent

 

[Smiffy]

Exactly this. Even if we stayed as a Cat 3 Academy (to emphasise, with club footing the whole cost) we have no power to hold on to any players. we'd get nothing for them.

A number of teams at our level field an U19 team in the midweek National League Youth Alliance. Many clubs do this with a tie-in with a local college, so the players complete a college programme alongside their football. It is a way to help tie players to the club, but they can still move on freely. Most of these clubs will still call it an 'Academy' but it's not.

Yep, which is essentially what SUCET already do through their Post-16 Football and Education programme. Albeit at a lower standard than the NL Alliance.

 

[Blue43]

here’s what was said previously

ACADEMY UDPATE

We are very proud of our Academy and the success it has had over the years identifying and nurturing talent.

www.southendunited.co.uk

That was a year and a half ago, a lot has happened since then and based on the fact we can’t afford to pay the academy and it’s staff with funding, then what chance have we got now that funding has stopped.

Plus, since when have statements from the club been gospel

 

[stewart]

Its a sensible decision ,yes we may not like it , but one that had to be made ,we can hopefully keep the ones with talent from the u/16 to the u18s to form an under 19s in the midweek National Youth league Alliance . We at present havent got the money to run a senior squad so how on earth can we afford an academy . Lets just hope and pray for a buyer ,i still think come next Wednesday appointment with HMRC some clarity will emerge about whether or not negotiations are taking place with prospective buyers and how far advanced they are . I think these points will have to be made clear to the magistrate for him / her to even consider giving us a stay of execution. So lets just chill out and hope and pray for the best .My father always sid hope for the best but prepare for the worst .

 

[thenobster]

U19 team will be our first team anyway, so no need

 

[FarmdogSUFC]

Of course a statement from the club could clear this up

 

[Liam AAS]

Fundamentally, the EPPP funding model has rendered having an academy unprofitable. Gone are the days where clubs such as ours could bring young players through and sell them on to keep the club going.

The money would be better spent elsewhere, hasn't done Brentford any harm.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

Would I like to keep the academy and all of the other teams beneath the first team, absolutely. Do I think we should, definitely not.

Unfortunately we're a skint club who needs to live to our means. That means a first time and that's it, even then I doubt we'll have much of that to be honest.

We're a non league club and need to behave like it and live like it financially. We gambled on keeping things how they were hoping we'd get promoted when most relegated clubs cut their costs and sadly people lose their jobs and certain things have to be closed down. It was so poor of us not to do this two seasons ago.

 

[Shrimper]

Of course a statement from the club could clear this up

We'll never hear from Ron again I reckon

 

[Fairport]

If I remember right, Dave Webb was all for scrapping the youth section of the club when he was Manager. I think he said he was quite happy to sign players from other clubs youth production lines. Webby was usually right on most issues.

 

[duncan bulgaria]

Was told around Xmas time that most parents had been actively looking for alternative clubs due to the academy shutting , as previously stated there is a lot of talent in this area which we may never get the opportunity or nurturing and progressing

 

[Exiled Shrimper]

Fundamentally, the EPPP funding model has rendered having an academy unprofitable. Gone are the days where clubs such as ours could bring young players through and sell them on to keep the club going.

The money would be better spent elsewhere, hasn't done Brentford any harm.

Except Brentford, by dint of their promotion to the Premier League, have now had to restore their Academy. For the start of the 2024/25 season, all Premier League clubs must operate at least a Category 3 Academy (meaning operating teams from U9s to U18s as a minimum; Brentford currently just operate a Category 4 Academy in the Professional Development Phase (U18s) as well as retaining their B team).

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.

As to our own Academy, I’m not sure a final decision has been made (my information was that nothing had been decided as of last week) but, due to the uncertainty, I know a number of staff have departed since relegation to the National League and it’s only natural that players/parents would also be seeking a more secure environment to try to progress in the game.

If the club has designs on getting back into the EFL swiftly (and that’s largely dependent on new ownership), then closing the Academy completely is extremely short-sighted. A model that sees efficiencies made, but an U18/U19 team competing in the National League Youth Alliance and U9s-U16s playing friendlies against a mixture of Academies throughout the season - even given the fact as stated correctly by others that the club wouldn’t receive compensation for any players snapped up by EPPP Academies - is possible (I understand Cambridge and Luton both did this when they dropped out of the league for their younger age groups), but it would need more funding that the current owner has at his disposal, or at least seems to want to spend on SUFC.

 

[Napster]

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