You don't need to have "your own" training facilities, just need to a) have decent facilities nearby and b) be willing to pay to use them
I often go on about Crewe Alexandra, the shining example of a lower league club investing in facilities, training and players to the point that the sale of their "stars" basically keeps them afloat, not just that but at a level higher than they probably should be.
They have an FA Level 2 academy, and put money into their youth set-up which is on a par with many Premier League and most Championship clubs. Every year or so they unearth a gem whom they go on to sell for millions.
They used to be a basket case of a club, applying for re-election numerous times, then they decided to invest in youth and since then have out-performed us for example for around 20 years now.
Like you say, if you're willing to speculate you can acheive the rewards.........but then again if dodging the dog-sh1t on Abington Park is cheaper maybe thats more appealing to some!
Starting an academy model now is suicide rather than speculation in the era of EPPP my friend!
To maintain a facility of the same standard as Crewe (category 2) you need to prove annual investment of £1.2million to £1.8million by current guidelines, that's in addition to however many millions it would take us to build a facility of the required standard from scratch!
The sale of young players for millions is simply coming to an end. To extend your example of Crewe take a look at Nick Powell. Transferred for £6,000,000 at the age of 18 after 55 league appearances. I can't crunch the numbers right now but if I recall correctly his years of development (having joined Crewe at age 5) were worth approx £70,000 and his 55 appearances were valued at nearly £600,000.
That's it, Utd could get him out of the club for under £700,000 now as opposed to £6,000,000 before EPPP.
They then have to pay further amounts based on what else he does in the game, but to use Powell as the example he's played 30 Championship games and 2 Premier League games since leaving Crewe. You're talking small change with those numbers, a further £150,000 I believe and the compensation stops fairly abruptly after 50-100 games.
Crewe are in a decent position because they made smart decisions in the past. But any small club starting on the same path today would be insane. The potential £ rewards just aren't there in youth development any longer.
This is the whole reason CW is talking about a 'development squad' rather than a youth team. The 18-20 year old players he stated he intends to sign for that group would be exempt from EPPP since he intended to target players who'd been released from other academies higher up the food chain.