Falkirk pull plug on youth academy Page 69

FALKIRK are to close their famed youth academy in a dramatic shake-up of the club aimed at getting the Bairns back into the Premiership.

The Westfield outfit have been languishing in the Championship since being relegated from the top flight in 2009-10.

A disastrous start to the current league season has left them second bottom of the second tier and in danger of dropping into League One.

That perilous predicament has prompted the club’s hierarchy to carry out a strategic review.

Falkirk’s youth academy has earned major plaudits over the last ten years.

But the Bairns have come to the realisation that their business model of producing their own players and selling them on to offset losses is unsustainable.

And despite some near misses through the play-offs in the last two seasons when Peter Houston was in charge, the strategy has also proved repeatedly unsuccessful in getting Falkirk back to the top flight.

With that in mind, chair Margaret Lang and chief executive Craig Campbell are shifting the focus towards gaining promotion and ensuring the club’s sustainability.

The Bairns are the sole funders of the Forth Valley Youth Academy regional set-up, which they run with Stenhousemuir and East Stirlingshire.

But from December 31 they will halt their six-figure commitment and all efforts will instead be focused on building Paul Hartley’s first-team squad into promotion contenders.

There will be a focus on recruiting players from England and Scotland who are on the fringes at bigger clubs but are deemed ready to play football in the Ladbrokes Championship.

The way ahead for Falkirk is based on the model successfully adopted by Brentford.

The English Championship side scrapped their academy last year and set their sights on recruiting players released by Premier League academies as well as procuring talent from ‘undervalued markets’.

A Bairns delegation recently visited Griffin Park to study Brentford’s methods with an eye to incorporating them at Westfield.

Falkirk’s first move under their change of approach sees left-back Tommy Robson arrive from Sunderland.

The 22-year-old has signed on a six-month contract and will be available from January.

‘Tommy has been on our radar for some time,’ said Hartley. ‘He comes with a high pedigree having sampled Premier League football.’

The Bairns hope Robson will be joined by 20-year-old Black Cats striker Andrew Nelson.

Further players from English top-flight clubs are expected to join the Bairns during the January transfer window.

Falkirk will also be looking to appoint a new permanent head of recruitment to target players who can make an immediate impact in the first team.

News that the academy is to be axed will come as a surprise given Falkirk have a long history of producing players, including current Bairns star Craig Sibbald.

Heading the list of high-profile graduates is Scott Arfield, who cost Huddersfield £500,000 in 2010 but is now riding high in the English top flight with Burnley.

Defender Murray Wallace was also sold to Huddersfield for £750,000 in 2012, while Norwich City paid £1million for Conor McGrandles in 2014.

English Premier League side Swansea City also snapped up Falkirk stars Jay Fulton, Botti Biabi, Ryan Blair and Stephen Kingsley.

Falkirk’s academy was praised during the SFA’s Project Brave process. But the bottom line is that even those sales of homeproduced players — and further cash accrued in add-on clauses — have not stopped the club making losses most seasons.

Sportsmail understands a formal statement on the academy is expected from Falkirk today.

The club is also believed to be reviewing their involvement in the Under-20s development league and will announce their findings at the end of the season.