With the Departure of Tiernan Brookes , Lucien Mahovo ,  and Luther Munakandafa being given the opportunity to seek pastures New I would ask is there really any point in Notts having an Academy? If I remember correctly the last player to come through the Ranks at Notts was Curtis Thompson, who played for the Club 83 times over a period from 2011-2018. Since that time despite several youngster showing Promise each just repeatedly get loaned out over and over again, and once their contract is finished, they are let go to carry on the Careers at other Clubs.

Main Case in Point. Tiernan Brookes was with the Club 7 years and in that time was loaned out 7 times. He was described by Lincoln United Chairman Rob Bradley as the Best Young Keeper he'd ever seen. He also covered for Sam Slocombe when Sam was injured and in each of his matches (4) it was declared he was going from Strength to Strength. If (like he should have done) been given a chance in the Notts Goal instead of the Club signing Aiden Stone, Tiernan could well have been the Notts first choice keeper this season.

The Magpies have Now given Ryley Reynolds a 2 year contract, his first Professional Contract I believe. So what's going to happen to him? My Guess he'll play some Pre-Season Games, he may get 1 or 2 Cup appearances then sent out on loan. To "Learn" how to Play the Men's Game.  Then once his contract is finished he'll be allowed to Move On Elsewhere.

So Much for Richard Montague's we want to Encourage Players from the Academy to go on and Play For The First Team. Yeah Right. How can they get a chance to play for the first team if they never get anywhere near the Pitch?  Their Best Hope maybe a place on the Bench. Look at last season the opportunity of a youngster playing along side Jim O'Brien, the wealth of Experience JOB has  could have helped the Kid progress at an incredible rate and they may have been able to, step into Jim's shoes once he'd left the Lane. That's how Academy players improve, not repeatedly sent to different clubs at a lower level. Plus how does this Reflect on the Head of the Academy? He's got all this young Talent and he's convinced they can Do A Job for the Magpies, only to see Players Depart to Pastures New once their contract is up. Truly the Mind Boggles.

There's an interesting article in the Guardian about Football academies.

"Forget building with youth: club academies now exist to boost revenue

With Premier League sides horse-trading their best young talent, there is no chance of another Class of 92 today"

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/sep/05/youth-academies-premier-league-clubs-revenue-stream

 

At present, Notts faces a challenge in terms of how much they can develop a young player, and this is an area that requires improvement. The academy performs admirably, but it’s typically the larger clubs that recognise the potential and are then able to further nurture these players. Notts lacks a defined pathway for young players to gain experience in the first team, aside from sending them out on loan.

The academy continues to play a crucial role for the club. However, it will require a manager who believes in the young players and is willing to give them the opportunity to learn and match the quality of the first team. After two seasons as professionals, our young players should be ready to step up, but this is often when Notts decides to let them go.

Very few young players make it to a third season. Without gradually increasing their appearances in the first team, they will never reach the required standard.

@True Magpie How True your words are. Notts lack a Defined Pathway for young players to gain first team experience and a Head Coach is needed to have belief  in his Academy Graduates and Not Be Afraid to Give his Youngsters a Chance. 

That's why I said playing the young un's along side Experienced Notts Players will Help Them Improve their Footballing Skills. New signing Curtis Edwards seems to be one of the Teams most Experienced players now, put a Young up and coming Academy Player along side him, to watch how he plays his game and learn from the Guy in Proper Match Conditions, then Maybe Just Maybe the Academy Lad will Improve a lot Faster than being continually Loaned Out.

As explained in the article I posted, academies are more concerned in producing good young footballers to make money on them, rather than see them graduate into the first team.

I think that academies should be in place to produce talent for the first team as they were originally intended to do, but apparently Clubs see things differently nowadays. Money always talks the loudest.

With the Greatest of Respect @Robbie your Article appeared (to me anyway) that it was just about the Academies of the Premier League. Teams like Notts are way down the list of selling Players for vast amounts of money. Did Notts receive and any cash for Tiernan or Lucien? Probably not but if any money was exchanged then it would have been a Piddling Amount compared to the upper echelons of Premier League Clubs.

Looking at the signings made by the Notts Recruitment team over the past few seasons, it seems a lot of  New Players who come to the Lane are signed on a Free Transfer and only the occasional player is bought with money, I.E. Macca £50.000 and Jatta £125,000 (?) that the Fans Know of as most of the Notts Dealings are done under the Undisclosed Fee umbrella. Which of course is their right. Buying (at a low price) or getting a player on a Free Transfer makes Financial sense, But I believe that bringing on your own Players is more Rewarding than going out and signing players who may or may not fit into the Notts playing system, a System (you would hope) an Academy Player was all ready familiar with.

James Sanderson at 17 is an Ideal graduate to be given a run in the First Team for a few matches to see how he develops, in Match Conditions under the watchful eye of a Senior Player. Will Stuart Maynard have the Courage to put him in the team? Would he be allowed too? More than likely Not and young James will be Loaned out continually and then Realised once his Contract is up. If Notts are going to keep on doing this, What Is The Point Of Notts Having An Academy?

@Wheelbarrow repair man I was including all academies. I hope I am wrong, but Notts will probably finish up selling Sanderson on too. 

As you said, Notts won't make much on selling on academy players, but they might have sell on clauses built in, so they do make money if they become valuable.

Notts deal with bringing in free transfers and selling players for profit. 

That's how clubs like Notts make money nowadays. And of course Notts have the Nest making money too.

@Robbie I see your point regarding Notts may have a sell on clause in which they receive money should an Academy Player come good later on in his later career, But wouldn't it be Better for Notts to Benefit from his Skills for a few seasons then sell him on and include sell on clauses in that Transfer? Like they've Done with Macca (Hopefully).

we come very close to getting a youngster into the team, but then we abandon it. sam osbourne was always compared to established players but when he played he did score, plus he gave us something different. its a mistake to expect young players to equal or better than established first team players. you have to give them time to grow, so they can reach their natural ability and if we do things right, then signs of more potential will come with time.

selling academy players is one thing, but if they are good enough elsewhere. then they should be good enough for our level, i just think notts fear playing them regularly and things have to change if we want our own young players.

How very True @liampie how very True. If an Academy Player is Good Enough to play elsewhere he should be good enough to play for Notts or at least given a Run in the Team to see how he performs.  Sam Osborne is an excellent example who knows what he could have achieved if he had been given a Fair Crack of the Whip at the Lane?

@Wheelbarrow repair man

I get the point in the post that players just seem to graduate and are given limited opportunities and the club tends to send them out on loan to gain experience but then never breaking through to the senior squad before ultimately being sold off. It can be frustrating seeing this happen to many players especially the likes of Brooks, Mahovo and Munakandafa who probably all were capable of having a shot but to reiterate @True Magpie point, maybe Notts just haven't got the facilities or capabilities that other clubs have at their disposal to help them along and reach their full potential.

Curtis Thompson, another player you mentioned in this post, was a great player who should've been kept on rather than sold. He shown he was capable while he was at Notts and went on to further show himself as a good player at Wycombe.

There may be players who manage to break through but unfortunately being a League Two club, those players who break through will be sold off to clubs higher up as it will generate an income for the club, the player will have a better chance of reaching their potential and it's hard for a club such as ourselves to say no to and deprive these players of opportunities like these to move up. 

Cultivating talent presents a challenge. You can undergo all the training from a tender age until you sign a professional contract. However, nothing equates to the experience gained from playing in a real stadium, in a competitive match, and against high-calibre players. Notts seem somewhat reluctant to field their young players, not giving them ample opportunity to fully blossom.

This squandered potential is a source of frustration for me. I believe we all desire to see home-grown players in the squad. Yet, some supporters won’t afford them the necessary patience without criticising them. I don’t believe this hinders Notts’ progress. In my view, it’s largely attributable to the managers and the club’s desire for results.

@KB1862

Then there Doesn't Seem Any Point to Notts having an Academy then? If they don't have the Facilities or Capabilities other teams may have then closing down the Academy would save the Club Money. As it's been stated by @True Magpie there needs to be a Coach who is Brave enough and Willing enough to give the Youngsters a Chance. One Guy who would have fitted that Role would have been Jim O'Brien, he always seemed ready to Help the Younger Players (he was a Fan of Tiernan Brookes) when he was at the Lane, now that Expertise is at Sheffield United.

10 minutes ago, Wheelbarrow repair man said:

closing down the Academy would save the Club Money.

But then you're losing out on potential transfer fees with the sale of players coming through the academy which could potentially be more financially beneficial to the club more than saving money on an academy being closed. 

A braver coach might be a good option to take the chances on these players but again it comes back to the point that I made about being a League Two club. Young player breaks through - has regular first team football - clubs start looking into player - club higher up offers a transfer fee that the club can't turn down - player gets sold.

@KB1862

But Notts haven't had any Academy Players coming through, they may play the odd game or get to sit on the Bench but that's it. The Fee either Tiernan or Lucien if there was a Fee involved would have been very little, whereas if those players had spent time in the Notts first team and if either or Both had caught the eye of a Club higher up the Football Pyramid their Transfer fee would have been Much Higher, and a Grater Benefit to Notts.

Therefore by not letting their Young Talent shine by playing them in the First team  Notts will receive Little or No Cash when they Move On.