Saints to restructure academy

Apart from the clubs with decades of being in the football league losing their place.

 

Why is that different to a promoted team from the conference taking a spot from a club with decades in the football league?

 

Because they'll have earned it, as opposed to being thrown straight in to League 2, as an example.

 

Why would a B team be thrown straight into league 2? That’s idiotic

 

I'm awaiting Lapras' response to Magic's controversial suggestions.....

 

I think it devalues the lower leagues, so I don’t agree with it. The only reason for this to happen is if the epl threw money at it. Not for me.

 

What are you talking about then, Conference level? It would only be a matter of time before the top club's B teams enter the football league.

 

The same level that FC United or any other start up team would enter.

I would be very surprised if many made the football league, you would still have the loan system so the better players wouldn’t be playing for the B teams they would be loaned to teams at a level more suited to their ability.

 

Can't see them being happy to see their young potentially expensive future starlets going up against a load of part-time postman cloggers.

 

Because they're an actual football club. Pretty simple really.

 

PL clubs wouldn't want it if it was non league imo.

 

Well then it would be a no go then. I don’t know where FC United as an example started? I think Wimbledon started a few leagues higher than the very bottom tier (step 15 or something)

 

Can't imagine Arsenal being happy with their young talent on ten bags a week being kicked all over the pitch by Barry who's spends the rest of the match blowing the remnants of the previous nights cocaine out of his nose.

 

Learning curve innit

 

And they would be motivated to kick lumps out of them when they are being shown up all match.

 

This. One of the reasons for pushing the PL2 structure was to allow those skinny 18 year old attacking starlets to play a PL style of football against other talented youngsters, because learning how to play in mud against apprentice carpenters does not prepare them terribly well to play against Virgil Van Dijk. Setting aside the fairness argument, I just don't see the utility.

 

Appealing for established Premier League clubs. Very unappealing for lower league clubs.

Clubs are going to be struggling for money as it is and when fans are allowed back in it's imperative they can fill their stadiums. Your average football league fan is not going to be that fussed to part with money to go and watch their side take on Southampton B.





Plus remember the most memorable days we had in League 1. No way would we remember it so fondly if Jonathan Forte had scored 2 in 2 minutes against Everton B, or if Jose Fonte ripped his shirt off running to the fans having just scored the injury time winner away at Newcastle B

 

The “Southampton B” thing seems more like a name illustrative of what it aims to be. A team which mirrors the first team in every possible way. Crocker was in charge of unifying approaches through youth coaching and tactics up to the senior England team. “The golden thread”. He even ran sessions to guide youth recruitment at clubs. This is exactly that plan.

He also was part of the EPP rules coming in, which were... controversial and led to a few football league clubs opting to close their academy sides as they felt there was no value in it for them unless they could be a category 1.

 

So it would be a completely pointless exercise then?

 

“Nobody has been able to convince me that we shouldn’t carry out my pointless plan that nobody wants and achieves nothing.”

It would bring in that early 90s football aesthetic of lads trying to play pretty stuff on crap pitches before getting reduced to a pile of dust by a postman who looks like Carlton Palmer.