By Matt Slater  BBC Sport 

Crewe's production line of talent could come under threat because of a cash crisis outside football's top flight. 

Crewe chairman John Bowler told BBC Sport that many clubs outside the Premiership were struggling financially and youth set-ups may be sacrificed. 

"We are finding it harder and harder to carry on such an extensive youth development scheme," said Bowler, whose club have produced a string of stars. 

"We are doing it but that could come under challenge." 

Bowler, who has been chairman of the Cheshire side for almost 20 years, said rising costs and falling revenues were having a real impact in the Football League. 

And whilst stressing Crewe's commitment to youth development, he warned that academies and centres of excellence (smaller, cheaper academies) would be the first things many clubs cut back on. 

The Premier League has never been richer thanks to huge media rights contracts, which total £2.7B over the next three years, but little of that is filtering down to the Football League. 

The entire youth development structure in English football is currently under review. 

The review, which is being chaired by rugby league youth development expert Richard Lewis, has been underway since last summer and involves all three interested parties: the Football Association, the Football League and the Premier League.

Among the main sticking points is the amount of financial support the FA and Premier League will provide to the Football League clubs' academies and centres of excellence. 

The current financial arrangement - a central pot of £10m that is distributed to the 68 Football League clubs that have academies or centres of excellence - is in its last year and the government and the Professional Footballers Association have already withdrawn their support. 

Bowler is concerned about the rigor and pace of this review. 

"Everybody has to get together and identify what this infrastructure should be and what are the collective ambitions of this country," he said.

"Do they want a strong Football League supporting the industry they are operating in? Do they want a strong national side? And do we want to be a developer of young players? 

"If we do, the Football League and Premiership have to explore ways we can work together so we (in the Football League) can earn their financial support. 

"I don't think these discussions go on with the kind of urgency or sense of importance they ought to have. The FA is completely wrapped up in the Burns report (a series of reforms that will re-organize the governing body)." 

Crewe's youth set-up has produced players like Dean Ashton, Rob Jones and Danny Murphy. The club has also nurtured young players like Neil Lennon, David Platt and Robbie Savage, whose careers had stalled elsewhere. 

But an operation such as Crewe's can cost as much as £1m a year - the average cost of a Premiership academy is almost £2m a year - which is a huge expense for a small League One club, particularly when the maximum grant for Football League clubs is £138,000.

If you wish to read the whole article click here >>>