http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27289819 A new competition for Premier League and Championship clubs to field B teams will be considered by the Football Association on Wednesday. It has been proposed that the teams could play in a league sandwiched between League Two and the Conference. Another option is to merge League Two and the Conference with the B teams to form two regional leagues. The proposals are part of FA chairman Greg Dyke's commission on the future of the national team. It is understood that the Premier League and Football League clubs are broadly in favour of the B team concept, which would be predominantly made up of homegrown players, but have reservations about how it might fit into the pyramid and the knock-on effects to other leagues and competitions. One question is whether current League Two clubs would be relegated into the Conference or the new B team league if they went down. The other difficult issue is how far could B teams be promoted? Despite those worries, one source told the BBC that following more than 300 interviews with clubs and other stakeholders in the game, led by research consultant Peter Beverley, there was a universal acceptance that a major overhaul was needed to ensure big clubs' reserve teams and younger English talent were being given more regular, competitive football. Commission members point to the fact that clubs in Spain, France and Germany all play B teams in competitive leagues - thought to be a big factor in those countries developing talent. Dyke is believed to be keen to open the debate about the state of the national game ahead of the World Cup finals in Brazil which kick off on 12 June. There is a determination to get on the front foot ahead of the tournament to pre-empt the inevitable debate which will follow if Roy Hodgson's England team put in a disappointing performance in Brazil. Ironically the emergence of players like Raheem Sterling at Liverpool and Adam Lallana at Southampton have taken some of the heat out of that debate in recent months. And some senior figures inside the FA are urging Dyke to hold fire until after the competition and until all the finer details of the commission's proposals are ironed out. The Dyke commission was set up last autumn to try and address ongoing concerns about the strength of the English national team and the lack of top-class English talent forcing its way through into Premier League first teams. The commission, which includes former England manager Glenn Hoddle, former Leeds boss Howard Wilkinson and ex-Crewe manager Dario Gradi, is aiming to deal with two major questions - the pathway for players aged between 17 and 21 and grassroots facilities. While it is thought the commission has done extensive work on the first question, the issue of grassroots football is not yet complete. Other proposals expected to go before the FA board on Wednesday include a shake-up of the loan system and changes to the homegrown player quotas operated by Premier League and Football League clubs. But it is the B team proposal that promises to be the most controversial.
Can't help but believe this is a terrible idea. For sure the opportunities for young, talented home-grown players need to be increased - at every level in the game - but I can't see that adding B-teams to the current structure is the answer. Thoughts? Is this just another masterpiece of idiocy by the FA, or is there some sense behind it?
Doesn't this happen already, in some shape or form, in Spain ? I'm pretty sure Barcelona B play in Liga Segunda.
This idea could turn into a big mess. But I am up for change. I'm just not sure this is the right one. The first change that should be made is for a certain amount of British players should play in all teams and maybe a certain amount of younger home grown players should be used every season. If they are forced to use the talent, they will make it a much higher priority to develop it. It's simple, really. But it hasn't been put in place because of pressure from those who want things to remain as they are.
must look up the a league rules but I think you need a certain amount of home grown players in each squad
Some other countries do have some kind of system, but they vary across Europe, and there are some fundamental questions that need asking: 1. What happens when promotion/relegation brings an A and B team into the same division? And a game between them determines promotion to the Premier League for the A side? Can you really be certain that the result wouldn't be rigged? 2. What if a player hits such great form for the B team, or the A team has injuries in a particular position, and the parent club wants to move a player from B- to A-team? Doesn't that make a mockery of the B Team? And what if the player has already appeared in cup competitions? Will they be cup-tied even though it's effectively the same club? 3. What about if (to avoid the scenario in point 1 above) the B team must play in a league below the A team? And the A team gets relegated - will the B team also suffer relegation irrespective of their league position? And will the B team be prevented from getting promotion if it means they would be in the same league as the A team? 4. What will happen to the other smaller clubs? They won't have a chance of signing any young player - why play for Dagenham when you can play for Chelsea B? Loads of smaller clubs will disappear. 5. If they do survive, B teams would hinder their chances of promotion and success, because they will have far more resources than their opponents. I can't see a good way for any of these points to be covered that doesn't spell disaster.
I hate it, the bog clubs will just hoover up even more talent and stick them with the B team. Look at the scum they paid a fortune for Lukaku and Courtois and then havent been at the club in years. What about cup competitions? Whos going to support a team who cant get promoted even if they win the title? We could see the 8th, 10th and 16th place teams in the champ get promoted! Its such a no brainer not to do it that it wouldnt surprise me if the FA allow it.
Another question: At the moment, players in the first team who are out injured for any period often get games with the development squad to get them back into the swing of things, match fitness, etc. Would the development squad still exist or would this be the B team? Would a "first team" player be allowed to join the B team for three or four weeks to get back into shape after a period of injury?
And if the B team needed to win a game to get promoted, would a few A team ringers be drafted in? After all - some injuries are not easy to verify. Would hate to see versions of the RFU / Harlequins "bloodgate" enter football
Warning bells are ringing loud. The scum were complaining about not being able to run a B team some time back and had their eyes squarely on taking over a 'small' club such as QPR or Brentford to allow them to do that just below the top tier. Watford are effectively a B team for their Italian masters already. Ignore what goes on in Spain and elsewhere - ours is the oldest and most successful football league in the world and we should not give up our traditions just so the real big spenders can take over more of the game. Also, would youngsters from other home nations be barred? I very much doubt it and this underlines this has little or nothing to do with the England youth set up.
With the Conference effectively a fifth division and with the majority being made up of ex-football league clubs how will those clubs like Bristol Rovers, Grimsby etc feel about having to make two promotions to get back in the Football League? The whole thing seems to have come out of the BBC book of management.
It would be a stand-alone league IMO, the Football League would never agree to something that would be akin to turkeys voting for Christmas. In Spain the 'B' teams are not allowed promotion to the top division or taking part in the play-offs. If the 1st team is relegated then so are the 'B' team as they are not allowed in the same division. I once played for a team in a league that often had two or even three teams from the same club in one division, they always scheduled the teams from the same club as the first fixture of the season and second or third fixtures if more than two teams, this avoided 'gimmes' later in the season. One year I played for our 3rd team and we finished top with our 2nd team as runners-up but the 2nd team were promoted and used half our players in the higher division! I can't see any scenario that would allow the current status of Championship, League One & Two or Conference teams to be devalued, more likely it would run alongside the current set-up and maybe have a competition like the Johnstone's Paint Trophy open to all below Championship level as well as the 'B' teams...
I agree it would kill the FL, theyd have to have a 2 tier PL but then there would be no promotion or relegation and no one would watch the lower division. I don't think I'm going overboard in saying that it could kill football in this country.
Terrible idea, just terrible. It would ruin the league system. As Flyer has said we cannot have the 8th place team getting promoted because those above are not allowed to. Perhaps just a financial incentive for the teams in the lower leagues to take youngsters on loan would be a better idea.
FA Chairman's England Commission releases report. By FA Staff 08 May 2014 The introduction of B teams, overhauling the work permit system and boosting the number of homegrown players in squads are among the proposals set out by FA Chairman Greg Dyke’s England Commission report. In unveiling his FA Chairman’s England Commission Report, aimed at improving the Men’s Senior England team, Dyke set a target of increasing the current number of 66 English players playing regularly in the Premier League to 90 by 2022. In order to achieve this, the Commission focused on the entire pathway for players to ensure they can develop to the best of their potential. Along with introducing B teams and work permit reform, the Commission recommends creating new strategic loan partnering between clubs. Important concerns for The FA around coaching and grassroots facilities are being addressed and will be reported on in more detail over the coming months, with the acknowledgement that much more work needs to be done. Dyke said: "This decline is a problem in countries right across Europe but is a significantly bigger problem in England than anywhere else and if the trend continues we fear for the future of the English team. If this cannot be reversed, a future England manager will have fewer and fewer top level English players from which to choose. Read more at http://www.thefa.com/news/thefa/2014/may/fa-commission-report#3Q639ZVf8a4A0E2J.99
The fa and FL shot down the b teams idea, it was on the BBC a few days ago. They need to change the work permits to the Italian way. You can bring in one non EU player a season and he doesn't have to meet any criteria so it can be an 18 yo if needed. It also limits the numbers of foreign players and removes the long winded appeals process.
Fa planning for b teams http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27327502 They are also stopping non EU players for teams outside the PL plus only 2 non EU players in the pl It will be a league 3 with u21 sides, surely clubs won't want their youngster playing at that level and teams won't want it knowing half of the league will drop down a division over time.
