When EPPP was announced it was obvious that many clubs would not see an Academy as being viable, and I too think many more clubs will start to consider closing theirs. I can't see why most clubs would want the expense of running an Academy, knowing that if they do ever get a really special player they could lose that player for a fraction of what they could have achieved if a fee is negotiated and can do nothing about it.
A far better strategy, especially for clubs near the major Premier League clubs would be to allow them to hoard all the best very young players and then sign them when they are released and just run a 'development' squad for 16 / 17 / 18 year olds to see if they can attract very good players who have had to be released. This would be a far cheaper option, require less training facilities and coaches and the prospect of picking up extremely good players who might have good re-sale value for nothing.
