Love him or loath him, Karl Robinson spoke freely after his departure about Sparrows Lane and the Academy and the actual set up where the talent of the future is nurtured.
He said: “Sparrows Lane is a great place to work, especially having the first team and youth teams under one roof. It has been such a positive learning experience, working with Steve Avory and his fantastic team to bring through so many young talented players. To be able to hand out first team debuts to eight academy graduates is something that has given me immense pleasure and I look forward to watching them continue to develop over the coming years.”
Valley Gold Promoter Paul Nottage praised the former Charlton manager: “I am sure that not many clubs elsewhere would have given eight players first team debuts in the 16 months that Karl was here. This was only possible because of the commitment from Valley Gold members to support the Academy to continue to produce the stars of the future.”
