Salford have rumoured to have scrapped their academy it seems due to cost.

Will Wakefield follow?

No I don't think so. We have 1873 scheme which helps pay for junior development and for a club like us we need to develop our own juniors to feed into the first team

In a word . .

Yeah sure we would, when it can develop players like Johnstone who's just won young player of the year. Im sure we can get by without it

They were forced to play their last game against Wakey last season, it was meant to be at Salford but was re arranged at BV which Wakey won. Sad for the young lads but that's what you get when the clubs in turmoil.

Don't understand the link here?

I thought it was a prerequisite of being in SL? If not, it should be!

I don't even like the Hull model - it reduces the opportunities for young men / players and doesn't help to build the skills within either SL or the Championship clubs who pick up many players from them.

I would rather see them sign less players, and the same goes for us too. There are responsibilities that should come with being in the top 12 in your sport! So pleased we have our set up as strong as it is!

Very poor show from Salford. How the hell can you expect to grow a club if you don't invest in the area? Wakefield have put some investment into youth development and we're reaping the rewards.

This is what you get with a Owner who is only interested in reflected glory and why I hope we neve ever get one like the doc - I mean the fact that he uses the bogus doctor title says it all. All he wants is a trophy then he'll ditch Salford and move on as he almost did this year. So why develop talent when you can buy it in the hope that it works just once.

A ken Davy on the other hand I'd give anything for one of those.

Also in attempting to bring in success the way he is, is only short term.

Agreed. Leigh don't have an academy either and the fact that a top flight club, given the sky money and sponsorship recevied, can't run them is unforgivable. It should be no academy = no superleague. That the governing body allows it to happen is equally as poor.

The should be allowed in SL (because that's how P&R works), but they shouldn't be allowed any of the central funding or Sky money until they have a full functional academy. That will eventually incetivise Championship clubs with aspirations of promotion into creating their own academy so they can hit the ground running with full central funding for their first season, and will force clubs who don't have one into either creating one, or forking out the equivalent finances from their own pocket

I'm not sure whether or not it still happens, but when teams got their money from Sky, the total used to be made up of 2 payments, one being TV money, and the other towards youth development.

With that in mind, if it is still the case, then I think there should be some comeback on it to the club, if they have no Academy

I like reading your posts - but this ain't correct!

He is a qualified doctor - not in the medical profession,but a qualified doctor,anyway.

He's got a PhD, so he is entitled to call himself Dr; he's still a dick though.

AS others have posted, I thought that all SL clubs had to run an academy team.
In many ways they are more important than the senior team and the juniors are the future, not only for their respective clubs but, for the sport as well.
All that cash and still no decent advice our guidance on where best to invest it.

We know how the big boys poach players and sweep up many youngsters but, the likes of Wigan, Saints and Leeds have built their success on having a strong nucleus of "local" players and then add 3 or 4 quality overseas players to make them really tick.

Also, if the British (or should I say European) game doesnt develop it's own players, we will never be competitive on the International scene.

Yeah but most don't

It's supposed to be so. Don't know if you saw that post MC left on here about what we get from Sky, he said that we get £100k for the Academy from Sky and it has to be matched by the club. I presume that's the case for every Club.

A professional club, even a semi-pro one, is the top of a pyramid that involves the Academy, Development Squads, local amateur senior and junior clubs. It is a line to be drawn through all of them and our club, thank goodness, recognises this and works very hard at it. The Salford club have become disconnected since their move to the new stadium, which is often a point used against NM, but in Warrington they kept all those connections and indeed made the most flourish, which is partly why they are such a strong club these days. Salford are committing Hari Kari by doing this as they are removing the connections to the local community.
I cannot say how strongly I feel that this is a terrible step and that the RL should step in and make them reverse it - NOW!

But they won't because they are spineless and to many people in SL are still seduced by the Doctors cash.

With you on this Vastman

For me no Academy no place in SL regardless of who it is If this means spending less on the first team so be it
Spending the full cap and more did not help Salford todate and a few more

Completely agree. The RFL should step in....

Why would the RFL step in when they can stand back and watch Koucash burn his club to the ground

Why would any RL fan wish to see a club burn to the ground?

This is about the game as a whole, not just Salford, but I don't want Salford ato stop producing players - why should the other clubs produce Salfords players?

I also thought that each SL team had to have so many of their own Academy players in the first team, can't remember what the minimum was.