Kidd, Welsh, Cassell & rumours of discontent behind the scenes of the Academy

It probably goes without saying that the Academy has, over the recent past, served City very well indeed. Almost thirty players have gone on to play at senior level, the under 18's reached three FA Youth Cup semi-finals in four seasons, winning the tournament in 2008, and Jim Cassell and his team of coaches have gone on to be widely respected throughout the game, not just within England but abroad.

It's certainly been somewhat disappointing then firstly to learn a couple of months back that Cassell's role at the club was changing, but also to hear tales of tension behind the scenes. Let's deal with what we know first, rather than what we've heard off a pal of a pal or on internet forums. Jim's job at the club has changed, he's no longer head honcho at the club's Academy. It did strike me as as something of a funny move given our success in that field, if it ain't broke, etc, etc, but we have to look at possible reasons for the switch.

In previous seasons the young players coming through the Platt Lane ranks have proved vital, especially since the purse-strings had to start being tightened towards the end of Kevin Keegan's expensive reign as manager, throughout Stuart Pearce's barren two years in charge, and even until the end of Sven's year, although by that stage we had a backer in the shape of Thaksin Shinawatra. The likes of Joey Barton, Micah Richards, and later Michael Johnson and Stephen Ireland really came through at the right time and saved us a small fortune, possibly even, in the case of Barton, our place in the division.

During those times, however, particularly those prior to Thaksin, we had little choice but to rely on youth team players on occasion. As much as i, and i'm sure every fan, would love to see that trend continue, the primary aim is for Manchester City to have the strongest first team, or squad, as possible, in order for us to push on and challenge for honours. Quite simply, the increase in funds available mean we don't need to spend three or four years investing in a player, we can identify who we need for every position and bring them in. With that in mind, Jim's role was always going to decrease at the club, or even change.

You have to try and put yourself in Jim's shoes. In a short space of time the importance of his job has changed massively. From having a realistic expectation of getting two, even three players into the first team per season, he and his staff would be looking at perhaps the odd one making the breakthrough, if that. We can all have a moan about it now, but we weren't against the signings of, say, Tevez, Toure or Barry, and i don't think we can have it both ways. A winding-down of Academy affairs, or at least a rethink of them, sad as it is, is just a natural part of the evolution from mid-table club to one with ambitions to challenge higher up the division.

What it's important the club now does, as much as i hate the management speak, is to 'build the brand', at home and abroad. We have to not let this sort of talk being a little sickly disguise the facts that we are a business, there are markets out there we need to be making further inroads into, and that for us to genuinely be a force we need to spread the word of the club as far afield as possible, aswell as the small matter of regularly winning games, of course. Sending some of our best coaches abroad to replicate the Adademy's successes, if that's what they've really been sent to do, does on the face of it make sense; it pushes the name in foreign territories and allows us to expand our scouting network.

The worrying part of the whole scenario, are the rumours that Jim and his coaches are simply being pushed aside, the manager wanting to bring in his own people but the club not wanting to risk offending the fans, or courting yet more media attention by being seen to be meddling with a part of the club which has both a great tradition and a real affinity with the support. We can only say that at this point those rumours are just that, and certainly don't tally up with Jim's version of events. Only in July Cassell said he was 'thrilled' by his new position, labelling the project 'ground-breaking' and pointing out that he was 'keen to leave a legacy'. I don't think he's the kind of man to get pushed about, if there was any truth in the fact that the club wanted him replaced i think he'd have walked. He certainly wouldn't be short of offers.

Returning to the facts for a bit instead of hearsay, we now know that former striker and United assistant Brian Kidd will be a senior figure at the Academy (as i revealed was on the cards nearly a month ago - see here), alongside Andy Welsh. Kidd only formally joined today but results since Welsh's appointment haven't been great, with two defeats in our opening three games, admittedly against Newcastle and Crystal Palace who both have strong academies in their own right. Hardly an emergency but deflating when put into context of the unbeaten league season of last year. Word is other coaches have joined from Leeds and Blackburn

The newcomers will ultimately be judged by the results, as you might expect. If we get back on track there's no problem, if we continue to wobble people will put together all sorts of tales of behind the scenes upheaval. The arrivals are hardly mugs, mind. Leeds have had one of the best academy setups in British football for the best part of a decade, and Kidd has experience of coaching at the very highest level. I'm sure that they'll make a good fist of it, though with such big changes an initial 'bedding in' period should perhaps be expected. The players will need to get used to the way the new coaches work and vice versa.

Something i would bear in mind are the repeated words of both Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Garry Cook. Both have said, time and time again, that the Academy will continue to be an important part of the club. I don't think either, Khaldoon especially, would tell us one thing knowing full well that all is not going swimmingly. Whilst our objectives and targets have changed and will continue to do so, both at senior level and otherwise, those in charge know that the fans identify with the academy and academy players and any changes will be made with the interests of the club at heart. We do have to accept, though, that the owners will have some sort of football vision outside of Manchester City, and there will be things they'll want back, especially regards building the game and their name in relation to it in their own country, and that's only fair, it's a small price to pay.

Time will tell whether the decision to move Cassell into a new role proves worthwhile. It will also tell us if Kidd, Welsh and co are worthy of replacing him. What's certain is that Jim, along with Paul Power and Alex Gibson, has done a smashing job. I tend not to get involved in discussions about 'The 27' who've come through, several of them made only fleeting appearances, some are now struggling to make a living outside of the Premier League & Championship, but there's absolutely no doubt whatsoever that at least three or four have been or will be great players at the club. Shaun Wright-Phillips, Stevie Ireland, Nedum Onuoha, perhaps Vladimir Weiss, and if he can get fit, Michael Johnson. Then there's Joey Barton, and Micah Richards.

Cassell has left his mark on the football club and helped it to an unimaginable degree throughout a tricky period, there's no doubt about that, and whatever happens in the future his work in the role as Academy chief should and i'm sure will never be forgotten. Until i'm told otherwise, though, i've no reason to not believe the official club line. I welcome Brian Kidd to the club, wish Andy and his team all the best aswell as Jim in his new role overseas. The powers-that-be have yet to give me cause for concern in any area since the takeover, so i'm more than prepared to back their judgement on this.