Watford Academy to be downgraded

I think we have to trust these guys as they do have a proven track record when it comes to recruitment, after all the academy is about producing talent and selling them on, instead of local youth, the club will be operating worldwide..time will tell.

We won't attract good British youngsters by doing this. Not confident that this is the right move. Perhaps a fuller explanation by the Pozzo's or Management team is needed to sell it to the fans.

Now I am worried. Its the Academy that has kept us where we are today. Had it not been for our young players stepping up to the mark and providing much needed funds when we sold them on surely we would be several leagues down by now and broke. Lets hope our new owners know what they are doing............

I'm definitely more than a little apprehensive about this. I am well aware that it costs a fair whack to keep a Cat 1 academy Cat 1, and that there is no guarantee of producing top-class youngsters. HOWEVER, the Pozzo's are all about bringing players in on the cheap and then selling them at the peak of their value for a profit. Is this not the same thing? We have done it for years now - Barnes, James, Robinson, Smith, Bouazza, Sordell, Mariappa, Murray (?). I'm confident that the amount of money we have raised and will continue to raise in the future by running the best possible category of academy we can will make the cost of running one seem trivial. Of course, not going for Cat 1 status doesn't mean youngsters won't be coming through, but I think there will certainly be a diminished chance and any good ones will be poached more cheaply by big clubs. I'm not questioning the Pozzo's as they do know what they're doing, but I am very disappointed. I think we can certainly get used to seeing 5,6,7+ Udinese/Granada loanees every year until we outgrow those clubs, which could be a long time of course.

Don't worry steelcity I think it's just a mistake somewhere.. Don't worry you are welcome to comment your thoughts.. Welcome to the site...