(16-06-2021, 03:03 PM)bluetagagain Wrote: Let’s not bother with anything then , just have 22 first team players and fark the rest. It’s not about making lots of profit , it’s about local / county kids and Pompey’ ability to attract them. Now we’ve acquired ROKO ( another good things, well done Pompey), maybe they’ll build an indoor dome, they could recoup the money by hiring it out when not in use ). I still say £1-1.5M is loose change to the Eisners. It’s speculating to accumulate. They’ll get their money back when they sell.
Do you really think we can compete for the best or even ok local talent against a backdrop of not only premier league Academies but also European ones. We'd be spending millions for what particular reason? You need to detach your emotion from this and look at the reality of what the academy situation is in this country. Take a step back, weigh up the facts and look at what best serves us right now.
The Eisner's have many business concerns and I'm fairly sure they have a better idea of what makes a sound business investment than you or I and where the money is best spent. Right now the focus is on the ground and the training base.
Colchester have a cat 2 academy, they finished 20th in league 2. So do Crewe, 12th in League 1. There are only 21 Cat 2 academies and most are in the championship. Aside from the U23's playing in a higher league what advantages does Cat 2 bring us exactly? At our level we should have U23's pushing into the first team and they should be part of the main squad. Cat 2 does not mean success.