"Performing below par" - Honest claim dropped about Burnley FC's academy | OneFootball

We asked our Burnley fan pundit whether he was satisfied with the quality of players coming the club's academy

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Burnley's academy has been branded "distinctly average" as a result of a lack of players breaking through to become first-team regulars at the club and at top clubs elsewhere.

The Clarets lost their Category One Academy status in the summer of 2022 after going from Category Three to Category One in three years under former academy boss Jon Pepper.

They are now a Category Two Academy, with their Under 21's side currently competing in the Professional Development League rather than Premier League 2, where the elite U21 sides ply their trade.

While it's normal for Championship sides to have a Category Two Academy, it does make it harder to sign top young talent, with players usually favouring a move to Category One sides, and Burnley have had a real lack of academy players breakthrough in recent seasons.

For a club who have been in the Premier League on a regular basis over the last decade or so, it might be expected that Burnley would have a stronger academy system, and it's perhaps something that owner Alan Pace should be looking to improve.

Burnley FC's academy comes in for criticism

We asked our Burnley fan pundit, Nathan Rogers, about whether he felt that the club's academy were producing enough quality youngsters, and it's fair to say he feels like they could improve.

"In terms of the youth system, it’s probably performing below par.

“I’m not sure of the ins and outs of it, but at one point we were a Category One academy, but then we got downgraded to Category Two. I’m not sure for the reasons behind that, and I’m not 100% sure whether it’s been put back to a one or whether it’s in the process of being put back to a one.

“We’ve not really had any talent break through into the first-team really, a couple of players sort of flirted with the idea of being in the first-team, and it’s no disrespect to them because some of the players we’ve had have gone on to have pretty decent careers in League One, Scottish football and at the bottom end of the Championship.

“The best way to describe it is just ticking along, and distinctly average.”

Burnley should plough money into improving their academy

Burnley owner Alan Pace is clearly an ambitious man who wants the best for the club, so perhaps improving the academy should be high on his list of priorities.

Regaining their Category One status would be a good place to start, and it would attract better youngsters to the club who could be developed and sold for more money in the future.

As it stands, according to Transfermarkt, there is just one ex-Burnley academy member who is currently on the books of a Premier League side and that's Wolves' Luke Cundle, who spent two years with the Clarets between 2012 and 2014, with the vast majority of his development coming at Wolves.

Meanwhile, Jay Rodriguez is the only current Burnley first-team player who came through the academy, and that should certainly raise a few red flags for the club's hierarchy.

Of course, spending money on signing players from elsewhere is a normal part of modern-day football, but Pace should perhaps prioritise strengthening the academy system for a sustainable method of bringing through players.

For a club of their stature, Burnley's academy really isn't bringing through the calibre of players it should be, and they should invest in improving it.