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

So, Manchester City fans around the world jumped with joy after the news of their recent takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group. Exciting news indeed.

However, beneath the stacks of money, Brazilian superstars, and dreams of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo in the blue jersey, lies the possibility of a tragedy.

The possible tragedy is one which would be a disaster to Manchester City as a club. It would also be a disaster to the England national side and more importantly, a downward turn for English football in general.

If Manchester City's new owners are intent on putting together a "dream team", then the tragedy I speak of will be the destruction of one of the best academies in the country. An academy which has produced more than 20 first-team footballers in recent years, one that is the envy of some of England's more elite clubs.

Of course I can understand the exhilaration felt by City fans after the club was bought and enriched with the wealth of the new owners. The effect can already be seen with the better-late-than never acquisition of world-class superstar Robinho.

However you have to wonder how this will effect the careers of the promising youngsters who hope to find themselves in the Manchester City starting eleven in the next few years.

These young and hungry players have become a tradition at City and although they are not the trophy hauling team like rivals Manchester United, they can boast about one thing which the Red Devil faithful cannot—homegrown English talent in an abundance.

You need only look at their wonderful talent in the team, and when you realise the players (both now and in recent years) that actually rose through the ranks to the first team, it really hits home how good it is. Bradley and Shaun Wright Phillips are both very successful, Shaun more so—he has become an established international who looks set for great things.

Stephen Ireland has cemented his place in the Manchester City midfield, and is one of the best midfielders in the EPL. A tad egotistical you might say, but you cant deny his talents.

Names that really stand out are Nedum Onuoha, Daniel Sturridge, Michael Johnson, and of course Micah Richards. These four players are some of the most coveted in England. Micah Richards looks like a world class defender in the making, and already has the quality to warrant a place in the Manchester United or Chelsea starting eleven, never mind City's.

Daniel Sturridge is slowly bursting onto the scene, and has already been linked with city rivals Manchester United and London giants Chelsea. The powerful and pacey striker has all the attributes to become a great.

Michael Johnson is one of the most exciting talents in the world right now and the industrious and creative midfielder was close to a summer move to either Arsenal or Everton. There are already whispers of him becoming an automatic starter for England in the future, and he has even been touted as captain material.

Other successful promotions from youth to stardom include Ishmael Miller, Willo Flood, Lee Croft, Dixon and Kevin Etuhu, and Shalugm Logan.

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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