Source: TheGuardian
The collapse of Barnet's academy is sad news for London's young players
Barnet’s failure to earn promotion back to the Football League means their young players no longer have a homeBy Gavin Willacy for Playing in the ShadowsBarnet were 11th in the National League when the pandemic struck, so reaching the penultimate stage of the play-offs could be considered something of a success. But their defeat at Notts County last Saturday means the club will not only spend a third season outside the Football League, but will do so without a fully fledged, EFL-funded academy. They will now become like any other non-league club, able to run community and college programmes for local kids, but all self-funded and without the weekly fixtures against EFL clubs they have enjoyed for the past 11 years. More than 100 young Barnet players are now free to join other clubs – if they can find one that wants them.Having been relegated from League Two in 2018, Barnet – and Chesterfield, who have known their fate for far longer – will no longer receive the parachute payments devised to soften the blow for clubs who have dropped into non-league football and jointly fund their academies. Even if they had the money to pay for it themselves, Barnet’s time is up: the Football League cut teams off after two years. If Notts County lose to Harrogate at Wembley on Sunday, their academy will be on borrowed time, too. Related: The strange tale of the England Schoolboys football team Related: Aston Villa have stayed up. How can they build on that success? Continue reading......read full article
