I agree, this is what really pisses me off about the way our academy is perceived. I have had this debate with a rag I know on a number of occasions as he claims the academy is a white elephant.
The fact is if we were a mid table premier league team with a tight budget then these kids would be getting their chance, the trouble is the quality of player in front of them is a much higher standard. If we get one first team player coming through from the academy every 5 years we will have done well. In the meantime the money we have generated by selling on young prospects all goes to make the club self financing.
I'm sorry but even for a team with the Standards of City that's actually a bad standard to go by. You should at least try to attain 1 first team player every year. If you aren't trying to push for that then what's the point of even having an academy. It just becomes a pointless revenue generator pitching false dreams to young players and then you won't have any young players that would want to go there.