A dichotomy currently exists at Leicester City Football Club. The clear and present negative threat of relegation on the one hand. Which opposes a thriving and positively exciting Foxes youth set-up. While the contemporary opposing factors are a fairly curious crossover, the latter provides relief for the suffering of the east Midlands side's fan base. Thanks to typically insightful outlet The Athletic (you may also find their fascinating work under the New York Times heading), we now have a thorough examination of the LCFC Academy.
In doing so, we answer the following question: why Seagrave ironically thrives with talent at the moment as the first team capitulates? We have the King Power supporters to thank for the investigation too. The always convivial host Rob Tanner's work is entitled: 'Inside Leicester City’s academy: Producing talent, tough decisions and offering a future'.
Why the Leicester City Academy ironically thrives with talent
As I say, The Athletic's Rob Tanner has been on a mission of late. He actually asked City fans to give him a subject they really want to hear about. And, at present anyway, up-and-coming prospects are pretty much the only element providing optimism.
First of all, Tanner described the encouraging way the very organised classroom hall walls are adorned with match-worn shirts of LCFC heroes past and present. This includes the international jerseys of a few special stars as well.
Tanner notes an impressive list of historical and modern academy graduates: Peter Shilton, Gary Lineker, Richard Stearman, Joe Mattock, Max Gradel, Liam Moore, Andy King, Jeff Schlupp, Ben Chilwell, Harvey Barnes, Hamza Choudhury, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and, finally, Luke Thomas. Jeremy Monga, Jake Evans and the next generation may be even better!
But why does such promise exist regarding Leicester's next few crops of grads? It ironically appears that City's mishandling of Profit and Sustainability parameters meant a positive knock-on effect for the Seagrave training complex:
"The academy’s work has grown in importance during the club’s struggles with profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and relegation from the Premier League two years ago. It will continue to play a big role in how the club strives to navigate a more difficult period after nearly a decade of prosperity."Rob Tanner