The general consensus from reading the message boards seems to be that it's simply not cost effective to develop a youth academy.

Out of interest, are there any managers who do think it's a worthwhile investment, and if so, why?

That sounds like a pretty persuasive argument to me. Cheers!

TrevorJames wrote: For the record, does upgrading your youth academy in any way increase your chances of finding a more talented player, or is it simply a case of boosting your chances of getting a player with higher initial stats?

Upgrading gives you more youths to choose from and lets you see more stats (spd, str, agi, sta if I remember right; I don't remember which order they appear in). So, in a way, there is a better chance for higher skills as you can choose the player with the higher skills of those you can see. However, the upgrades don't ensure the players will have higher skills. Nothing about the youth academy increases the chances for higher talent players.