Birmingham are scrapping their academy set up

Not surprising considering how much they cost to run, most clubs wont get any financial benefit from it long term
 
With the new post-Brexit transfer rules coming in for European players, the top clubs will cherry pick the best talent from English clubs more than they do already. I can see more and more clubs deciding to close their academies if this happens.
 
Would there be any appetite for B teams?

"The club will look at a different model of youth development, with a B and C team, similar to a set-up adopted by Brentford in 2016.

The Bees took the move because of the restrictions imposed on them by the Premier League’s elite player performance plan – Blues are looking at it in the light of the cost of the coronavirus pandemic and the potentially changing landscape following Brexit.

It is thought the academy costs Blues somewhere in the region of £3million a year and they have been investigating other ways of producing more talent with a view to increasing the flow into the first team.

BirminghamLive has seen a letter emailed to parents this evening regarding the potential changes, although they have not been given concrete details about what it means for their young players.

The letter tells parents the club is 'exploring opportunities to enhance the Academy programme'.

It adds: "The Club have been researching ways for a period of time of restructuring the Academy with a specific focus on re-branding the Professional Development Phase in order to increase productivity, opportunity and pathway within the Academy to support the First Team."
 
TeaCider said:
They can run the academy for 10 years solely on the money made from selling Bellingham.

Seems daft from them.
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I think that is the point they are making aren't they? In ten years and £30 million you might get a Bellingham. So they're thinking the other way mentioned (B teams like Brentford?) will lead to a more successful acquisition of talent ready for the first team. It mentions club density in the area their academy pulls from, I assume Brentford will suffer from the same.
 
Middlesbrough123 said:
Keagen did it at Newcastle, I’m not exactly sure what effect that had on them but they brought it back
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I don't think it is 'scrapping' the entire thing like that, it seems to be having second or even third teams playing in competitive leagues rather than the under-23 academy league, which I'm assuming has restrictions on who can play and is subject to the Academy rules for distance and stuff too? So they can have a wider pool playing more competitive football as a feeder to the first team.

If Brentford are following this model I assume from their recruiting prowess they have done their due dilligence.
 
Brentford B don't play in competitive leagues though.

They just play a bunch of random friendlies all year.
 
Block21 said:
I reckon it’s to do with cost. Seems strange how they have made a future star in Bellingham and then got big bucks for him and sacked it all off
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Very good point raised there, the player was a classic example about the benefits of having an academy
 
TeaCider said:
Brentford B don't play in competitive leagues though.

They just play a bunch of random friendlies all year.
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I wonder if this is the wider plan then? Teams have a second team outside of the academy that can play each other? And whoever else they like without restrictions?
 
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