Earlier this week the Roker Report announced on Twitter that Academy Director Paul Reid was going to be appearing on their podcast along with executive director Charlie Methven. Roker Report asked fans for a list of questions that they wanted the pair to answer.
A majority of the fans directed their attention to Reid. It was clear from responses that the supporters were discontent with recent academy results. One fan wanted to know about specific youth players while another wants to know how much time Reid actually spends at the Academy of Light.
1) When do you foresee the u23 or u18 next winning a game of football
— Parkersafc (@Parkersafc) November 4, 2019
How can Paul reid justify the plight of the academy and U23 squads?
— W1ll_C_95 (@Mr_Will_C) November 4, 2019
With the promise Bali Mumba has shown, why is he turning out for the under 18s? He clearly has the ability to make the first team if not a loan to help his development. Also who decides that he should start playing as a right back?
— John Ridley (@Ridderz86) November 4, 2019
I would like to know how many days a week Paul Reid spends at the AOL? I understand this is only Tuesday-Thursday why? Would he be willing to explain why since he arrived we have lost a lot of good coaches at the academy to either rivals or other academy’s such as improtech etc
— Andy (@Andy1983_S) November 4, 2019
Others questioned if financial backing was the answer, and if so, why. The Sunderland management just issued a statement stating that they were investing new funding into the academy (Roker Report). One fan wants to know specifically what is being done at the grassroots level to help the team improve going forward.
What has caused the current decline over the last 18
Months both in the academy and academy teams results . And do they feel this is a result of financial neglect . If not what is the reason ?— Martin Blakelock (@pipes6) November 4, 2019
Specifically for Paul – the club has spoke of investing in our scouting systems for first-team/academy, but what are we doing at a grassroots level to improve the chances of North East based players been given the right training/education to become first-team Sunderland players?
— Matthew Crichton (@MattyCrichton) November 4, 2019
What do we think?
It is evident by fan reactions that they are unhappy with the recent academy performances. Reid will have a lot to answer for in the podcast this week. Fans still have time to send in their responses to the tweet, so make sure to follow the tweet above and share your thoughts.