The M.E.N. article inthe wake of the six players released
Salford-born defender Paul Tierney is the only one of the sextet to have enjoyed first team experience, a Carling Cup defeat at West Brom last year, although Ramon Calliste was part of the Welsh Under-21s squad for the double-header with Austria.
Ben Collett, David Poole, Steven Hogg and Lee Lawrence have also been shown the door, with Ferguson admitting that there were not enough opportunities available at United to justify keeping them.
"The academy structure is a shambles now," said Ferguson. "We enjoyed having two academy teams because it gave us more opportunity to play the lads we had, and a greater chance to assess them.
"But it has been cut back to one because clubs were losing money on them. And, while we took on two reserve teams this season, you can't continue like that forever.
"We need a more competitive, aggressive development of players, so next year we will have to change our policy and farm more players out on loan to give them more competitive football."