From The Pavilion

While the idea of merging academies was something I spoke with Butlee at length and with Ash I am starting to think that we should have two academies but their purpose be different.

So we should have:

1) Training Facilities - Sole focus would be training for both seniors and youths and decreasing the slow down penalty
2) Academy - This would focus on the quality of youth that you pull and increase the likelihood of a player having two relevant talents in accordance to their skills. Or they could have a higher chance of a training talent. I would also suggest that during the youth pull stage we are given 5 possible players to choose from and we are given a little information on each player. This would add a bit more engagement and control for managers.

Ultimately, it is a two academy idea but the names are difference and the purpose is different for both. This would give managers more of a choice/provide a bit more challenge to their thinking about the direction they want to go.

Additionally, I think the squad numbers are too big before a training penalty occurs. I also propose that the squad numbers are reduced from 25 (iirc) to 20. Too many clubs find it too easy to keep players and the transfer market needs a steady flow of players to ensure pricing consistency.

I can currently afford my oversized squad counts but if we bring this in, at least wait until I'm out of the cup and can trim my squads by about 8 each...

Cynic wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 21, 2026 9:08 am

I can currently afford my oversized squad counts but if we bring this in, at least wait until I'm out of the cup and can trim my squads by about 8 each...

Keeping up with what the squad limits has been confusing for me. Season 49 an announcement changed limits from 22 & 23 to 25 per squad and season 51 would be the start of hard caps of 25 on squad sizes (read announcement for details). Now there is an announcement declaring a hard cap of 30 to be implemented within the next week or 2. Will it happen? (makes you wonder just how many announced improvements haven't been implemented).

HC of 30 to start reducing to 25 to give people time to reduce their squads if they are over

I like this suggestion a lot - just wrote a similar thought in the other thread just referred to academy as scouting.

Also like the idea of picking between a few recruit options.

boscorp wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 21, 2026 10:33 pm

Keeping up with what the squad limits has been confusing for me. Season 49 an announcement changed limits from 22 & 23 to 25 per squad and season 51 would be the start of hard caps of 25 on squad sizes (read announcement for details). Now there is an announcement declaring a hard cap of 30 to be implemented within the next week or 2. Will it happen? (makes you wonder just how many announced improvements haven't been implemented).

Squad limits were perfectly fine before and I don't really think we needed to change anything in that regard.

we have never changed something for change sake

Probably part of a larger issue (that running a club with negative finances is possible) but the fact that clubs can have literally 100s of players currently demonstrates that a change is very much required. Also the change is from a soft cap to a hard cap, so make sense for that ceiling to be slightly more forgiving.

GM-crowfan65 wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 22, 2026 1:03 pm

we have never changed something for change sake

Poor wording on my part. Sorry.

Being HG means the squad sizes are perfect for me.

Plus, I like the single academy, having two academies means that those choosing to buy and train would have a great advantage!

After all, if you are HG then you'd need to invest in BOTH academies, but if you only buy and train, then you'd only need one academy.

I’d like to see a ‘loan’ system implemented for youths. Maybe 3-5 per team at any given time, with a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 14 weeks duration.

The benefits would be many.

Higher academy sides could take on potential Nat players and they would gain more training
Higher division sides could take on potential Nat players and they would gain more experience
Quality younger players not making first 11 in better sides could be loaned out for playing experience
Newer teams can access quality youth players without academy luck
It will bring an additional level of management to the game.

But mostly, it would give a talking point, collusion, team aspect to the game that might help revive the Nat scene.

Obviously, there would have to be charges. I’d suggest a transfer fee of the players weekly wage - paid by both teams, and the wages of the player are covered by the host side.