With the recent departure of Rob Kiernan, offered a '...a new two-year deal, but on marginally reduced terms from his current contract....' ostensibly to play reserve team football (with a small chance of first team action), how much value to the Club is there in having a reserve team playing in a reserve league? How many of the folks on here regularly attend (or have even been to) a reserve team fixture? Discuss.....
You've got to realistically look at the reserves.....most are younger players or those who might feature in the first team from time to time.....I don't really think we're wasting money on players we can't afford to have.....our squad is already very thin.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought we just got rid of the reserve team? " Which is precisely the reason I am asking the questions.........
I think with the advent of a very effective academy, added to which, we are very short of a squad, let alone a reserve team for financial reasons, we can't have the luxury of a reserve team, nor do good academy players have to wait as long without it to get into the first team, purely because we need them. However, in an ideal world, we should have a reserve team. Game time, and not just in training, is important, even if the crowds are small.
It was stated that we would not have a reserve team playing in a league, instead there would be games arranged against "suitable opposition". The existing league was not working well, sometimes there would not be a game for six weeks or more. At the first drop of a hat games were postponed and then at the end of the season there would be several games too close together.
The Reserve team League in the South East has been in decline for the last 8-10 years. This decline started around the Vialli "year" when Ray Lewington was treated like dirt and told to prepare players outside the 20 man 1st team squad. These players would train seperately but alledgedly would need to be ready at the drop of a hat (remember the Neil Cox episode). Anyway the last 2 or 3 years have seen the 2nd team games treated with contempt in my view. L**** gave up 2 or 3 years ago and have been playing reserve team "friendlies" ever since - I'm not sure if they work, but the days of a very competitive Ovenden Papers Combination league are well and truly in the anals of history. In my view its a big shame, but the Premier League teams started the decline by playing 11 nobodies as their "reserve" team with 1st team players not in the "1st team picture" not playing for weeks or months at a time. Watford have followed this trend, but its not something the club can stop.
Surely the idea of a reserve team is to bridge the gap between the youth team and the first team, by building match fitness and giving the juniors experience. Obviously only 18 players will be in a match day squad, so no all the players on the books can play, the reserve team allows them to keep match fit and gives them a chance to show their potential and try to oust another player from the 1st team.
Yep thats my take on it as well!,but if theyre organised games to suit our needs rather than a league ,then that would do the same job!
But the whole point is the scheduled reserve team league has GONE, we can debate as much as we like but its gone. Lament its passing if you like but its friendlies from now on. No-one knows the rules of these games, how many subs etc and how competitive they really are. Time to move on.
Seeming the reserve team was being filled more and more Academy players, then this is understandable - too many games can be too much for the younger players whilst still developing physically. With a squad our size, and so many of them youngsters, shouldn't be too hard keeping most people match fit!
It's mainly for fitness, which the older players cannot get back if we removed the reserve team (they obviously cannot play in the U18s)
I guess that is theit thinking with arranging the odd 'friendly' rather than having the full reserve team fixtures. As and when we have a couple of first teamers out, then arrange a match to help with their fitness, but we will never have that many injured (touch wood) where we will need a whole reserve team. I think it is just too much strain on the Academy boys to be execpting to play reserve and academy fixtures... especially when the academy lads may have to be called upon for first team games as well.
Of course there is the finance angle as well , I assume we will save a few quid by not entering the reserve league!
