Man City and the ADUG Takeover: Goodbye to the Best Academy in England?

Correct me if I'm wrong but not too many clubs in England can boast such results with the promotion of youth through the ranks through the club. Manchester United's only recent success seems to be Fraizer Campbell, who unsurprisingly was used as a bargaining chip to land Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov.

Which kind of shows how much he is valued at Old Trafford.

Liverpool's only youngster of late who has seen some first team action is Damien Plessis, who although he looks very exciting, has a tough job breaking into the quality filled Liverpool midfield.

Manchester City hope to be the new Chelsea, and last time I checked Chelsea haven't promoted a youth player in a while. So I hope for one they don't follow their blueprint. I believe the effect would be disastrous and it would be a huge downward turn if this conveyor belt of young stars was to be suddenly obliterated.

With the Arab owners looking to become the "biggest team in the world" and with Kaka, Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo in their crosshairs, can we really expect them to nurture the promising talents anymore?

I don't think so. Although Mark Hughes today moved to quell these worries, I somehow don't believe that the impatient owners will stick to the tradition. 

"The youth policy still has a role to play, what we have now are the means to enhance that operation," said Hughes. Somehow I don't think so. It looks as if the owners want immediate results and that calls for large sums of money to be thrown at mercenaries such as Robinho.

The first signs of this tragedy could be seen today with another youngster—Ched Evans— being linked with a move down a division to Welsh giants Cardiff. Who else will follow him out the door as Man City recruit established stars?

Of course, this not only affects Manchester City and the those in the academy, it also affects the England national team. If this academy was to stop producing players then which team will nurture aspiring English teenagers to higher levels?

Certainly not Arsenal.

I don't think any English team can boast an academy like Manchester City'. Middlesbrough come close, but how long before they too are taken over? Will the same happen at the Riverside also? Or maybe West Ham can revive their great tradition of producing stars, but with the havoc that is erupting over at Upton Park can we scratch them off too?

Only time will tell what will happen with this situation, and I for one hope that Manchester City and co. don't forget their great tradition and continue to keep the conveyor belt rolling.

If the owners want to fill the team with world stars such as Fabio Cannavaro, and let the likes of Micah Richards dwell on the bench, then I'm sure Manchester United or Chelsea won't mind snatching one or two of these homegrown gems from under the noses of City.

And so the trend would continue.

So I hope Manchester City fans, among their new found hope and exhilaration, realise that despite superstars such as Robinho and Jo at the club, there are also quite a few already at the club who are just waiting for their chance to shine.

So what's your opinion on the situation? Is it better for Manchester City to just focus on building the dominating team the owners dream of or would there be further rewards to be reaped from developing the youth academy?

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