Yeah as I mentioned the FA will no doubt not implement it properly and **** it up, but if they took a look at how it works in Spain and Germany then they could make a hybrid of the 2 which would work very well imo. Half of those Chelsea players would be too old to play in B teams in Spain unless they were designated players. The way I would do it is - 3 named over 21 players in a B team squad Any player that is registered for the B team who plays in the first team cannot play for the B team again that season Players not named in the B team squad can't drop down to the B team if they have appeared for the first team 5 or more times in any competition that season B teams would start as low as a newly formed team (like AFC Wimbledon) and then work their way through the pyramid until they found their level And work from there. It has been proven that B teams work much better at developing younger players than just the loan system/reserve leagues, and one of the FA's main goals is to improve the national team and I think this is the best way to achieve it.
Didn't England manage to win the World Cup once long ago in the midst of time?? If I remember correctly most teams of that era and largely up to the advent of the PL had players who came from all four corners of the British Isles and the Irish Republic!! Using this analogy,to allow PL clubs to field "B" teams in Cup competitions and in the lower leagues is just a red herring to the concept of improving the national team!!
The FA may be acting for the good of the England team, but that is not why most people watch football. They watch their local side (at all levels) and want them to do well...they aren't interested in sacrificing their team for the good of the country. Most England players are in the EPL...let them make sacrifices, not ruin the competition for lower league sides.
Actually, I would boycott the match (or any match against a Premier League B team) and not dignify it with the slightest bit of interest or mention on social media or to friends.
So the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal and co can then buy players to dominate the lower league clubs....what would be next allowing the premier teams to field a "B" team in the lower leagues. In other words allowing clubs to basically have two clubs rather than the one they have now? Nah the whole idea stinks.........
All the clubs maintain they're dead against the idea of B teams within the league system. So this is all about the additional revenue from gate receipts. Despite PompeyLapras noble stance, I can guarantee that Manchester United B would draw a bigger crowd to Fratton Park than Swindon. A dance with the devil might last you forever
Why would they bother to do that? As i said before, one of the FA's main jobs is to improve the national team and B teams would definitely help in that respect. Personally I couldn't care less about the national team but the FA would be stupid to not try and implement B teams into the football pyramid. I still have yet to hear a convincing argument against why it would be such a terrible idea.
Tradition Every town, nearly every village has a football team in this country with passionate supporters who really care about their club A 'B' Team is the antithesis of that passion which is the very soul of a football club. For supporters who go and watch a B team how many of them will give a genuine ****? Defeats will be met with a shrug and victories with warm applause. If you think the atmospheres are void in the premier league then a B team will be a hell of a lot worse. I'm contemplating going to watch the u21s tomorrow evening, but I will go to watch more as an amateur scout than a supporter. I'll shout the odd word of encouragement and clap a good bit of play and stand up if we score, but if I was to celebrate a goal in the same manner as I did Mane's dink last night then i'd expect other members of the crowd to edge a few more seats away from me. If you want to improve the England team, then you stop premier league clubs from hoarding talent and let those players naturally filter down the leagues with proper football clubs.
You only have to see the small turn outs for u21 matches to see there would be little enthusiasm until the final. And I don't think it is at all certain that the B team would win against a highly motivated League 1 or 2 team. And finally, they aren't talking about all PL clubs having a B team...how would they select the 'lucky' side allowed to play in the JPT.
Interesting topic. For me, as an outsider to UK culture I think it has some merit. The thing is, the economics make it so it gets harder for the lower league teams to survive. And-- no matter how much they alter it no one cares about U21 and U18 leagues. So for the national team-- you have all these players bought up by the big clubs who end up stagnating. I think it's very helpful for teams like Real to be able to bring their youth up through the lower leagues via B clubs. It seems like there is room for compromise. Let the Premier League teams enter a JPT, but only with a U18 squad and 80% English players or something. The leagues are still untouched. The lower league sides could use the money and possibly interest they gain from increased exposure. But it also seems like there is the human aspect where I do see how it really changes the whole essence (can't think of better word) of the lower leagues. What would really be best for everyone is to share revenue from PL to lower sides, get red of the stupid PPP thing and allow them to hang on to players or get massive money for developing them, and promote the other leagues. It's the obvious solution. But it will never happen. Do you resign yourself to lower leagues as nothing more than pawns of PL clubs and at least make them USEFUL pawns? Or do you fight until the end even if it is a losing battle to resist that repugnant idea? Saints could potentially gain from a B side more than anyone.
I'm old enough to remember the 'Reserve League' and it was great. When our reserve team won the Cup there was pretty much a full house at The Dell as I recall. it was the way to get youngsters playing time and easing them into competitive, first team football. This B league idea is different and I don't like it. The idea of a proper reserve team playing in the JP Trophy is actually quite a good one though. Win Win I'd say. It would be great for the lower league sides to get the opportunity to beat Man Utd for example (even if it just their reserves) and for the Premier League teams it will tell them a lot about how good their kids really are. It should bring it a bit of money for the lower clubs as well. As long as that was it and it didn't lead onto any B Leagues, then I like the idea.
Won't bother quoting the whole thing as it is quite long, but will respond to all your points. This is going to be quite a long post. Tradition? Have a look at how many clubs there are in France, it is about 18,000, each with their own histories and traditions, yet B teams are implemented there. The passionate fans thing is valid to an extent, but again you are assuming that some of the B teams will make it up to a level where crowds of 15k+ are the norm. I would be shocked if any B team made it past League 2 and it really wouldnt surprise me if none made the football league. This obviously comes down to the FA and where they decide to start the B teams, but as I said earlier they should start where any newly formed team starts, where did AFC Wimbledon or FC United start for instance? Another point on tradition. Lets say we decided to make not606 FC and started at the bottom league like any newly formed team should, we get promoted taking the place of a more "traditional" team. Is this going against everyones values on tradition? In terms of attendances the average attendance last season in the Conference South was 298. I do not think it is beyond the realms of posibility that some clubs B teams would be able to surpass this, and raise the attendances of other clubs. Especially earlier on when the travelling distances are relatively small. For all the talk of "passionate fans" this only really matters to clubs in terms of getting paying spectators and generating atmosphere. Both are done with a bigger attendance. You may find that you find yourself half heartedly supporting a Saints u21 team, but if they were in a more competitive league and Saints "A" were away from home there maybe a decent sized crowd who would happily go and watch the B team at home. Your final point about the England team I agree with. But the FA in their infinite wisdom have decided to remove the restrictions on where u16 players can go in terms of academies. The route they have decided to go is that it is better for the more talented players to be playing at a club with the best facilities/coaches etc and not be limited by where they live in that regard. THis means that these players will get little to no exposure to first team football, which a B team would help massively with, as the only system in place is the loan system which is massively flawed and far too many talented palyers slip through the net.
They haven't agreed to the teams entering the competition, they've simply agreed to listen to the proposal.
Just imagine if we'd missed our trip to Wembley by losing to Chelsea B in the semis. It's just wrong taking away a great event for a lower league side. Most PL sides would just shove the cup to the back of their cabinet...better that a League 1/2 side won it.
People seem to think that the big boys will just pile money into their B team or that they will be filled with (comparitively) star studded players. This is not what a B team is for. Do you really think Chelsea would want their best youth playing in a B team that is playing in say the Conference South? No, they would loan them out to clubs more befitting of that players level. The B team is to help the players who can't get loan moves and fall through the net, despite being talented they just didn't get the opportunity to show it. For every one player who is a success from an academy and benefits from a loan move or two, there are probably 10 more who don't and either fall out of football completely or possibly don't reach the heights they could have with more competitive football from a young age. This will only get worse as the big clubs can now hoover up all the young talent from anywhere in the country, meaning that even playing in the u16/u18/u21 age group is ridiculously competitve.
