BAIRN & BRED
It’s a sad day for the club and all the players and coaches... it’s hard to imagine Falkirk without academy
DARREN BARR knows better than anyone the devastating impact of Falkirk’s decision to scrap their youth academy.
Not only was he one of the first and most successful graduates of the renowned set-up almost 14 years ago.
But he also took his early steps in coaching at the Forth Valley Football Academy where the Bairns have made the shock decision to withdraw funding.
Barr, 32, was stunned when he read Record Sport’s story yesterday of Falkirk’s move to invest more in their first team at the expense of the grassroots in a bid to end their eight-year absence from the top flight.
He was one of the first in a conveyer belt of talent that produced players such as Scott Arfield, Mark Stewart, Stephen Kingsley, Jay Fulton, Murray Wallace, Conor McGrandles and current rising star Tony Gallagher.
The Morton stopper was also the first Falkirk player in almost half a century to be capped by Scotland when he made his debut as a second-half substitute in a friendly draw against Northern Ireland in 2008.
Barr admitted he doesn’t know the rights and wrongs of the decision in terms of finances.
But as the current development squad manager at Cappielow, he is helping to give kids the best chance possible to make it in the game – an opportunity he believes is now being denied to youngsters at the club where he spent six years.
Barr said: “I don’t know what’s going on within the club so I can’t speak about the decision in terms of finances.
“But speaking as someone who came through the system at Falkirk and was also recently coaching at Forth Valley Football Academy I can say it’s a very sad day.
“I don’t know the ins and outs of the decision but it will obviously have implications for kids and coaches.
“I was one of those coaches recently when I worked with the Under-14s and Under-17s for two years before taking over the Morton Under-20s. Pedro Moutinho was doing a bit of coaching and he asked me to go along and I got to know guys such as academy director Michael McArdle and Alex Smith was still about.
“I don’t know the consequences for people such as Michael and it
FALKIRK have been applauded for their bravery and foresight in pulling the plug on their broken academy system. The Bairns have axed their once-renowned youth development programme because it has stopped producing players they can sell for a hefty profit. Club chairwoman Margaret Lang and chief executive Craig Campbell acted before the annual losses they have been sustaining in recent years forced them under. They will now take the hefty sixfigure sum they invested every season in the Forth Valley Youth Academy and use it to recruit young talent on the fringes of bigger clubs. English Championship club Brentford adopted the model 18 months ago and now run just two sides, a top team and a B squad, under head of football operations Robert Rowan. The Scot, who was tipped for the job as director of football at Rangers, hosted Lang and Campbell at Griffin Park earlier this year as they drew up a strategy to deal with the harsh financial realities. And Rowan said: “Margaret and Craig were willing to do something extraordinary for the club. They could have kept going, losing money and hoping they would somehow survive. Instead, they have accepted the reality of position and will target resources towards the first team. “It’s a very brave move and will be subject to criticism because everyone loves the romantic story of an eight-year-old kid coming all the way through the club system to play for the top team. “The reality is, the chances of that happening are very slim. Clubs cannot keep doing what they always did, just because it produced them a player five years ago.” Falkirk have produced and sold on players such as Scott Arfield, Stephen Kingsley, Jay Fulton, Botti Biabi, Ryan Blair and Conor McGrandles but have been less successful in recent seasons as they have struggled to win promotion to the Premiership. Previously, players were sold to fund operational losses but they have been a second-tier club for eight years and with cup runs not guaranteed have been forced to channel resources more precisely towards reaching the Premiership. The Bairns have already secured fullback Tommy Robson for the second half of the season from Sunderland, with another three signings from the English academy system in the pipeline. Rowan added: “It’s expensive to run an academy. There are significant resources tied up in staff, training and playing costs, as well as administration around social responsibilities. “We acted because we were one of 90 academies of various categories in the English game. Our owner Matthew Benham is rich but he’s not a billionaire. We were investing £2million a year but not producing a firstteam player of note. So we decided to have a model that involved cherry-picking kids who had been released by other clubs and running a B team for players aged 17-23.
“It’s more financially efficient, structured and manageable. Our manager knows every single player in our system and their development plans. We’re 18 months into a three-year programme and it’s working.
“Seven B-team players have made first-team debuts, two have become first-team members and our plan is to graduate another two in the summer.”
Brentford continue to support their thriving community programme and local kids in Falkirk can still engage with the club through its community teams and education schemes. Rowan added: “It’s basic maths. In Scotland, given its size, there won’t be a significant number of elite players coming through to justify every club running a programme. “Falkirk will still be engaged in youth development. They’ll still be signing players at the age of 17 and giving them a second chance at a time when there’s a big drop-off in kids playing after being released by their clubs. “I’m sure Falkirk will invest a little more in recruitment and scouting. If I was them I’d be watching Rangers and Celtic’s youth teams every week. “After all, Harry Cochrane at Hearts was let go by Rangers, Liverpool’s Andy Robertson was released by Celtic. “Scotland still produces good players but clubs must be better at giving the guys at 19 the chance to play first-team football and that’s down to owners and managers. “It’s a bold move by Falkirk. It needs a staff and a strategy but with Margaret and Craig behind it, I’d bet they’ll get it working to the benefit of their club.”
It’s a brave move.. everyone loves the romantic story of an eight-year-old kid coming through club system to play for the top team. But the chances of that happening are slim SAYS BRENTFORD CHIEF ROBERT ROWAN