Academy to first team could probably be the most important part of the clubs success/failure over the next 3 years.

I think it’s a good move

I agree that this is an important role but my concern is if you are referring to Walker he wasn`t very good as an assistant coach and if memory serves me right he didn`t do that well with the youngsters. Although I might be proved wrong on that comment by those more in the know.

Wasn't Walker the coach when we won the Academy GF in 2022? I do wonder if the Arthur/Blease view is that the Smith approach didn't get the best of the coaches, not just the players. Pure guesswork though.

You might be right AC as I say my memory isn`t that good and reading the negative comments on here about Walker has probably soured my judgement of him.

I wonder if Tony Smith will still be in his academy coaching role for 2025?
I wonder if the club could actually replace Tony Smith with Tony Smith (Our previous head coach) for 2025?

That's me totally guessing by the way,But IMO he could be the ideal fit to be the head of our clubs academy