Shepherd denies Reds Academy to close

Last updated : 19 January 2005 By Mad Tyke
Reds chairman Gordon Shepherd has stressed the club has no plans to close the costly Academy despite rumours to that effect and reported hints at last week's Supporters club meeting

He told the Barnsley Star: "We have absolutely no plans to close the academy."

"We are looking at every section of our business because it has been in financial trouble, we have to look at the academy to see if we can make it better," he said.

"We have to look at every aspect. At the catering facilities, the car park and the programme to see if they all stack up. That does not mean that we are going to stop selling pie and peas or there'll be no car parking or programmes."

Shepherd insisted that everything was under review and the board were still weeks away from making key decisions.

Although the academy is losing cash and the club's stated aim is to break even as soon as possible, Shepherd recalled: "The last big transfer for any former academy player was Jermaine Jenas from Nottingham Forest who went for £5m and he was a player brought through by our manager Paul Hart."