Given the way finances are in today’s life, football has again to start to take a look at itself more to find ways of staying afloat. Fans cannot be expected to keep digging deep week after week. Player’s wages in the top flight are at figures which are obscene and to ask fans to help subsidise these week in week out is equally obscene.

One way which is not an overnight solution is producing players themselves, now although this takes time and effort as well as a lot of patience it does have its benefits. At Watford we have The Harefield Academy; a place which does not take youngsters on an evening but takes them through the educational system but with top class football training and coaching combined.

This is a system which is no doubt is common in Europe but here it is in its early stages. At Watford the club has always prized itself on trying to produce its own young players rather than go out and buy a ready-made player.

This of course has the added benefit of when the player moves on, hopefully to bigger and better things, the club will receive a sizable fee which not only can be reinvested in to the Academy but to allow the club to keep its costs down.

This hopefully makes its way done to the club being sensible with ticket prices which will allow more fans to attend games, enjoy watching their club and above all watching players of the future do their bit for the club.

At present we have a number of youngsters who have come through the Academy who are either breaking into the first team or getting valuable experience at league one or two clubs, even in the conference which has a number of one time high profile clubs.

On an issue related to my club, Andy Yiadom, a player who came through the youth system at Watford only to be released. He moved into non-league carried on his education in the game and now has earned another shot at the league with Barnet.

He has got immense talent and hopefully he can now continue and maybe move even higher up the league ladder. He could not have been on high Premier League wages but loves the game and has got his overdue rewards with a chance to show his league ability again.

So if the bigger picture is looked at with regard Academy, then given Andy Yiadom’s determination to work hard then the benefits not just for the player but other clubs are immense.

This is one part of Watford FC I am proud of.

Posted by Watford fan Neil Stevenson

Follow Neil on Twitter at @Neil_WFC