Academy

[MisterPleasant]

Before we get into too much of a froth, what we have here is a partial view from an interested party. Nothing wrong with that but we've learned on other occasions that there are 2 sides to a story

[Rtw6095]

Whilst it is sad but if the lads are good another club will have them. My guess is 99.9% won’t be up to it though as a Barrow academy based on local players will never supply many or even any regular 1st team players as the talent is not here. Sorry for sounding harsh but having seen the quality around the lads are better off pursuing a career in the yard or further education than relying on a 4th tier academy.

Absolutely correct. Alot of people miss the big picture with the words of Academy. The kids receive excellent coaching and at a personal level for them it's great they receive extra training and most importantly enjoy themselves. However a career in football is nothing but a dream. There's nothing wrong with that and maybe a few of them will play football at a decent level one day. In the same breath even if one or two of these kids play for Barrows first team in years to come it would be a great success story but as you say the pool to find talent in cumbria is small.

People need to see it for what it really is. It's extra play time for the kids. It's not the yellow brick road to mansions in Chester or £250k a week. It's developing a child's natural talent to be the best that THEY can be.

[BoltonBlue]

Beyond disappointing. My lad is at Wigan Academy U14’s, apart from work one of the other factors of us moving out of the area was that there is absolutely no facility in place for local promising kids to develop beyond the Barrow & District JFL.
My understanding was that Barrow U15’s were to enter in the JPL from next season, where National League North/NPL/even NW counties clubs have academy set ups flourishing.

[Jon D]

Youth30 if you write on the forum in the future I would check the message you've written for grammar errors.

It's not [SwearFilter] school. Bell

[Mrsbrown]

Youth30 if you write on the forum in the future I would check the message you've written for grammar errors.

I think you will find the correct term is 'grammatical errors'.

[Youth30]

If you read my post there are lads that are coming from away and a few locals. The point I am most annoyed about is the timing most kids who are in academies get told early feb if they are getting released etc. Our lads are being told a few days before there GCSES. This is how the club are operating, it was all going ahead until the end of March everything was in place.

[Bluebird2000]

Poor decision, quite the opposite of the forward thinking, community club Barrow are promoting themselves to be.

It was only July last year when the club revealed its plan for the Cat 4 Academy & the club’s hierarchy claimed they were "hoping to develop their own top-level performers". In an interview at the time, Tony Shearer said: “I think other clubs have shown you can do it, Accrington Stanley, Fleetwood Town and even clubs like Exeter City, I like their model in terms of developing players.” Shearer said: “We want Barrow people playing for Barrow. That FA Trophy winning side of 1990 and before, I am guessing half of the team was from Barrow, which is great. We might not get half now, but we have got to get more. If we want to create self-sustainability, we need to develop players and move them on, this area of football has been done well at EFL clubs that have bypassed us. The idea is that it's local area people in the Furness area first.”

What happened to all that then?! Barrow have talked the talk, now time to walk the walk. Sounds like they've dangled the carrot of a scholarship to these lads, made them do all the hard work, offered them a verbal contract & then snatched it away at last minute, without even a face-to-face explanation.

Poor show Barrow AFC board, not the actions of a professional League 2 club in my opinion.

[Rtw6095]

If you read my post there are lads that are coming from away and a few locals. The point I am most annoyed about is the timing most kids who are in academies get told early feb if they are getting released etc. Our lads are being told a few days before there GCSES. This is how the club are operating, it was all going ahead until the end of March everything was in place.

Are you saying the academy is NOT happening altogether or just not happening for a few lads???

[Jonty]

Like everyone else- not good news to read. One of the progressive developments of the club was to set up an Academy. When it was announced it felt like an extra step in the professional development of the football club and an exciting development.
Will await official announcements on the reasons for this decision and also would like to hear the Trust view on this and whether they have any say on such matters. If it a financial constraint or do we just not have the capability to deliver this. (Ie base and location for the Academy etc)? Is it still the aim to have an Academy and this is just a delay in setting up? Need to hear the official word.

[beachy01]

Disgrace. I had a family member who was promised a contract

1 things for certain if they are going to do it they need to do it properly. We all know we would have done it half arsed

[Rtw6095]

Disgrace. I had a family member who was promised a contract

1 things for certain if they are going to do it they need to do it properly. We all know we would have done it half arsed

Is this about lads not getting contracts or is it about the academy not happening. Very confusing.

[beachy01]

Im presuming this thread is about the academy not happening

If its because a player didnt get a contract, shit happens, thats pro football for u

[Rtw6095]

Im presuming this thread is about the academy not happening

If its because a player didnt get a contract, shit happens, thats pro football for u

I thought it was about the academy not happening but I'm getting the vibe that it's not happening in time for the current U16s.

[beachy01]

Im presuming this thread is about the academy not happening

If its because a player didnt get a contract, shit happens, thats pro football for u

I thought it was about the academy not happening but I'm getting the vibe that it's not happening in time for the current U16s.

Thats pretty poor then as they'd already promised contracts to young lads. Poor showing

[Hoddlegenius]

The first issue if it’s true and the Academy won’t go ahead is very bad for the towns young players and the clubs standing in the community.

I don’t think anyone thinks it’s going to start an Ajax type conveyor belt of talent but it would give players who want to play as high as they can throughout school age football the platform to do so. This would then surely produce a first team calibre player every now and then?

It shows real lack of effort on The clubs part to not have an academy on top of training elsewhere and having zero links to the town barring the board members…surely Barrowvians would turn up in greater numbers if there was more of a ‘home’ feeling to the club as a whole?

Secondly to try and sweep the whole thing under the rug and not come out to say why there will be no academy etc. is cowardly and again shows disdain for the locals involved in the youth set up of the club.