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Are football academies a thing of the past?
KADEEM SIMMONDS can understand why Huddersfield are closing down their youth teams after growing frustrated with big sides poaching their most-talented players
Toffees struggle to savour final games before heading to new stadium
Huddersfield chair Dean Hoyle has made the somewhat controversial decision to scrap their youth teams and he won’t be the last to do so.
The Premier League new boys believe there is no point in having under-18 teams and would rather use the money — £1.2 million — to better the age groups just below the first team.
Why develop a player from the ages of 11 to 15 only for a bigger team to poach him for pennies, then sell him for millions? You don’t see the rewards of all the resources put into the player, instead you see them trot out for other teams who have nicked the finished product from under your nose.
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