Our youth set up was transformed back in 2009 when Rafa Benitez enlisted the services of Rodolfo Borrell and Pep Segura from Barcelona's La Masia academy set-up. http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/rodolfo-from-rubi-to-kirkby Is it now time to make further changes to our youth set up? We are on the verge of some very talented youngsters breaking into the first team but what is the future and how do we continue to develop these youngsters? AVB was quoted, In Spain they have a ‘feeder club’ playing in the lower divisions. Could this work in the Premier League? At the moment we would loan out players to other teams to try and give them some playing time and experience but with us changing to a very structured playing style could this be counter-productive. It's hard to see the downside for the club as it works in Spain and players at Barcelona are often promoted to the first team. Taking Barca as an example the B & C team play the same way and in the same formation so the transition to first team football is helped. Loaning a player to a team that plays in a different way in the current system may make it for difficult for a player to adapt. As long as the feeder club system was impemented in such a way as it does not damage the current teams in the lower divisions then this could be a great way to develop youngsters and would surely help youth development at International level. I'm not so sure on Feeder clubs as all it would take is a change in manager and the loanee is playing long ball football, having a partnership with a club is fine but loaning a player out could be problematic. Your thoughts?
The Problem in having Liverpool B and C clubs in this country is mainly that our lower leagues are a lot stronger than other nations. Our Championship sides are a lot stronger than the Liga Adelante sides, meaning our B and C clubs will drop down to league 1, or league 2 where if you want to win you need strong players who can hoof the ball up field. Effectively training our B and C sides to outhoof those teams. We haven't got as widespread quality of passing football in England, and unfortunately we're in a Catch 22, in that we can't increase the quality of passing football in England without training hoofball out of youth. But we can't train hoofball out of the youth without playing them against sides that play hoofball. It's all very complicated, and I really don't trust our FA with the responsibility of sorting it out.
That is probably the most difficult part of any proposal. Maybe we could enter Liverpool B into the Spanish Second league.
I like the idea of 'B' sides like Barca, Villareal and Madrid have in Spain, all playing in Liga Adelante. Of course, for the dignity of the competitions, we should have to start in, say, the Blue Square Premier, and work out way up, Ranger's style. It would do a lot for the English national side and youth development and could slowly change the style of football in England. Players would take invaluable experience from 46 games per season against teams who want to win themselves. We could play our style and see who can adapt best to the first team - Barca bring through so many young players this way, it's a seamless move from academy, to B team, to A team. Of course, the teams should not be able to progress past the Championship, and a safeguard against relegation is needed (both teams cannot be in the same league). The teams cannot play FA/Carling Cup but could play in the lower league cup (Paint trophy) so long as the parent club is not involved. It's much better than loaning players to teams in the same division and distorting the competition.
It's no coincidence that a majority of the Spanish team is made up of players from Barca and Real Madrid who both have their B team in the lower leagues. It is something that the FA should consider. Loaning young players out to smaller club can be beneficial but it means they have to adapt to a new system and can disrupt their development. Playing competitive football in the same structure (i.e. in the B team in a lower league) enables players to stay true to the style and philosophy that they have learnt over the past years but still play at a higher level. Unfortunately, only a few teams will be able to afford to run this and only a limited number of teams can be allowed to enter before the lower leagues becomes massively diluted and devalued.
It's a non-starter. It's pretty insulting to fans of other teams. The lower leagues in England get a remarkable amount of attention in comparison to the equivalents abroad, and to have reserve teams from big clubs playing instead of genuine clubs with their own history would not be appreciated by the 80+ teams which wouldn't be able to really field a 'B' team. I think the success of Barcelona in developing their young players (does Madrid really have much of a track record at all?) is at a much earlier stage than when they are sent out for Barca B.
Feeder Clubs/B Teams et al work well in other countries, but culturally it simply would not sit well in England. The Football League has FAR MORE paying Fans than the Premier League. I don't know for sure, but I would bet a hefty wedge on this being unique in World Football.
You did indeed. I didn't explain particularly well, but my point was that there is no way to implement it without other teams (and more specifically their fans) feeling insulted. There is a good argument that it would benefit Liverpool, the other big teams and even England but in my opinion it is a total non-starter due to the other teams in the football league (and even some outside it).
You may well be right, The Championship is huge compared to Seria B and the Spanish 2nd tier. Like Surly says it's probably a non-starter, so what is the answer? Next Gen was a good start but this needs to be built on. Could Next Gen be expanded so that there are more games? Like a European Super League but for youth.
Better than semi competitive reserve fixtures and exhibition matches against lower league sides. Give it a few years and United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs could have B teams in League 1, 2 easy enough.
AVB mentioned 'regionally' in that quote. The next gen champions league is a big step in youth football, but some thing closer to home, with out the strain of travelling around Europe could be good. How about regional under 19 or under 20 leagues or tournaments. For example, we could be grouped with the youth teams of Everton, United, City, Blackpool, Bolton, Blackburn, maybe Leeds. Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, QPR, Fulham, Christal Palace etc would make another group. It would be competitiveness football against players the same age as you, developing, gaining experience, with out the pressure of loads of travelling and moving away for a loan spell or feeder club. If this is successful they could add a national FA club like competition with the best teams from each region, providing extra reward for doing well. This contest could then lead to next gen qualification.
I think it would be a step backwards but with a view to more forward steps so maybe, timing it right would be important. There are 24 teams in this seasons Next Gen but I cant find if that is an increase in teams or not.
