Marwood wants Academy patience

15 October 2012 09:34
Brian Marwood believes Manchester City still have 'a way to go' before having an Academy which produces first-team players.

The Premier League champions have invested heavily in player recruitment since Sheikh Mansour's takeover in 2008 and have now turned their attention to youth development. A £200million Etihad Campus is scheduled for completion for the 2014/15 season and is designed to help City produce youngsters capable of graduating to the first team.

City football administrator Marwood is excited by the project, however, he acknowledges that it will take time for home-grown players to make an impact in the Premier League.

"If you look at the acquisitions we've made at the youth level, a lot of them have been around 15 or 16 and that's going to take some time," said Marwood in The Independent.

"There probably is a gap. There is a way to go.

"We all hope we are going to produce something that's quite unique and quite special but ultimately it's about the people who execute the strategy.

"We are all very excited about building this incredible campus but it's about the people, not the buildings."

Source: team_talk