mikeyjh
Well-known member
Some interesting arguments on both sides, from what I've seen. I guess the incentive to develop high class youngsters is there for any club that's bunging £2.5m per year into it.
What's that Mason Bennett like? He seems to have been around for ages (I know he started a game at 15), but is he all that? I feel like he's been overshadowed in the last couple of seasons by Hughes. Is that fair?
Yep, doesn't do anything to close the gap between the haves and the have nots for me, quite the opposite....
I've always thought that Mason will be the better of the two, but I think he's suffered a little more than Hughes with being 'bullied' by older more experienced players. Had a loan spell at Chesterfield, suspect that if the good guys win on Saturday he'll go out to L1/Champ next year. Our Academy is absolutely a case in point to support your earlier argument. The facilities have been there for 11 years (and to be fair the structure around Derbyshire and surrounding area) but it was only really when Clough was appointed that things started to move forward. Two things happened, 1) Clough bought in good people but then 2) The Roles were completely segregated, first team manager/coach doesn't have direct influence on the academy. We're pushing for Tier 1, but await planning on some additional floodlights.
