After reading something in another thread about our youngsters playing for Ferriby to get more games, I thought about why teams in England don't (or aren't allowed, i'm not sure) use a B team system like the do in the Spanish leagues. The rules for the Spanish leagues regarding B teams is that the B team play in the same football pyramid as the first team but are not allowed to play in the same league e.g. Barca play in the Primera division and Barca B in the Segunda but the B team can't be promoted. An example in this country would be Man U in prem, Man U B in championship. I know there is the reserve leagues but surely a B team would benefit your reserve players and youth system by playing at a better level, more competitive and help growth without impacting the 1st team. Also in a case were you can't loan out a player (i.e. nobody wants them) just loan them to your B team to get them games. Most of the Barca players that came through the youth academy played in the B team at some point Xavi, Messi, Puyol, iniesta etc. What are other peoples views on this? I personally think it would be a good idea although there are potential areas were it could have problems, but it seems to work in Spain and could be why they produce better players.
Last time I checked we didn't have a single United player in the squad Only City players, which feels good!
One of the reasons atleast here, is because of the huge tradition of having so many football clubs, imagine the outrage if doncaster rovers got replaced in the championship by chelsea b team
I agree with this. I think the reserves of alot of the premiership sides would beat the majority in football league. Also now the big teams wouldnt want their reserve sides climbing up the footballing pryamid to get there as they will get lumps kicked out of them even if they started as high as league 2. Can you imagine a young Wilshere with skill and pace coming up against some hairy arsed hasbeen in league two. They will just try to kick them off the park
Precisely. Our lower leagues should be protected. We've got over a hundred pro clubs and you find some 4th division games attract 10,000+ people. Having big clubs reserves in there would be utterly hideous. I love football but something like that would see me finished with it.
We have a great tradition in this country of having very strong teams in the lower divisions. Most pro clubs in England can attract thousands of fans, even in League 2. You don't get that anywhere else in the world - let's not change it now
I'm not sure about this, surely every PL club would want to do this If they did then there would only be a couple of teams in the Championship who would get promoted every season (if the PL 'B' teams can't get promoted), if you was to limit it a few PL teams who/how would you pick? If a PL team got relegated and the 'B' team had a good season, would they be relegated regardless of the position they finished in? If there were only allowed six PL teams to do this (for example) and they all finished in the top six, how would promotion work if they're not allowed to get promoted? Sorry about all of the questions, there are loads more, but I'm fed up of typing now lol
Segunda table from last season, barca b finished 3rd in a play off spot http://soccernet.espn.go.com/tables/_/league/esp.2/season/2010/spanish-segunda-division?cc=5739 7th place Valladoid took part in the playoffs But the english football league is by far the best for passion, tradition. An english 4th tier game getting 20k sometimes. Many championship teams having higher attendances than serie A
I don't think you could limit it, I can only go on the Spanish setup but I think most teams have a B team. Yes The three teams below them would be promoted. I can see what people are saying regards to preserving our leagues and lower league teams not wanting to be replaced by a B team. The loan system works to a certain extent but there are still other youngsters who don't get the chance to be loaned due to clubs wanting to keep them as a third goalkeeper or back up's and can't progress like they should due to not playing competitive football as much as they should. I think if there was a way to preserve the leagues (possibly just more reserve games.) then it could but won't be used. I just think we need to develop players better in this country which the F.A. go on about enough but do nothing.
IT WAS I SIR. In the reserves fixtures thread. It was a thought of mine as there are not many fixtures for the reserves. With Ferriby being in a good league which is just 2 under the football league 2, it would help all parties. If they could say get Ferriby to the Conference North at the very least ? Hull City would pay the wages of those sent there anyway. Ferriby have lost sponsors are having to down size there squad for this season. Surely as they are local its worth looking into ?
I always wondered about the B team system in Spain. It doesn't say B teams can't get promoted; they do all the time in the lower leagues. They just can't be in the same league as their parent club and could only play them in the cup (I think Castilla drew Real Madrid one year, but this rule has been changed to stop B teams playing in the CDR). But what I always wanted to know was, if, for whatever reason, Barcelona or Real Madrid were to be relegated and their B teams finished in the promotion zone, then surely by the rules, Barcelona B and Castilla would be promoted in their place (which I imagine would be humiliating). It is different over there though, Barcelona B have their own ground, which doubles as the home ground of Andorra sometimes, as do Castilla. They take reserve football quite seriously apparently!
