Tim Sherwood calls for lower league teams to become feeder clubs for Premier League

[Jason H]

So, with all the money sloshing about in the PL about seven years then before (to start with) League Two starts to become the "new Football Combination" with increasing numbers of the matches played at empty training grounds (a bit like the Chucksumcash already is). Then, how long, before this all filters upwards until even the Championship starts to get clogged by B Team Wannabes?

Plus, what happens to all of the REAL clubs squeezed out by this daft suggestion....following the Torquay/Darlington/Stockport/Hereford models into a slide down the pyramid and (probable) ultimate insolvency???...unless, of course, this is what the media oligarchs at Sky etc ultimately want, of course.

The key is that Chelsea would answer "What the eff is a Combined Counties League?" and sack it off before you can say "Leg broken in six places by a resentful postman".

 

[Grecian2K]

The key is that Chelsea would answer "What the eff is a Combined Counties League?" and sack it off before you can say "Leg broken in six places by a resentful postman".

Not necessarily Jason. They (and the rest of their ilk) would probably just "sponsor" a succession of suitably adequate squads to ease them up the pyramid until they could unleash their "real" back-up stars at a level befitting their elevated self-importance.

(Although, even I might pay good money to see their real superstar, over-remunerated bench-warmers get lumps kicked out of them on Barton Fields on a wet, muddy winter afternoon - as long as City weren't at home, of course)

PS: The "daft suggestion" comment wasn't aimed at your good self, sir. Just at Sherwood's original comments.

 

[ExeterCityLad]

There are too many problems with it to list.

What happens when Tottenham A pulls out Tottenham B in the FA Cup draw? How do you maintain the integrity of the competition - not just so that it is fair, but just as importantly so that it is seen to be fair? How do you manage clubs drafting players out of their U-23/U-21/U-19 side into the first team - without fundamentally damaging the integrity of the reserve side and whatever division they are playing in? Or even worse, first team players dropped to the B team for that crunch game that decides on promotion, or the FA Trophy final, or whatever else it might be...

The whole concept is offensive.

What happens abroad when this happens? Can Barcelona B play Barcelona A in the cup?

Surely we would attempt to follow in the footsteps of the leagues it's already "working" in?

 

[LOG]

What happens abroad when this happens? Can Barcelona B play Barcelona A in the cup?

Surely we would attempt to follow in the footsteps of the leagues it's already "working" in?

I might be wrong but my understanding, for Spain at least, was that A and B sides can play each other in cups but they can't be in the same league division.

 

[Terryhall]

What happens abroad when this happens? Can Barcelona B play Barcelona A in the cup?

Surely we would attempt to follow in the footsteps of the leagues it's already "working" in?

I can only speak from my experience in Switzerland, where I played for FC Hard in the Swiss regional 5th division (it sounds very grand, but the standard is about the Sunday league in the UK). We had FC Red Star 4 in our division (the 4th side from FC Red Star, whose first team plays in the 5th tier of Swiss football.) I'm not aware of them (or Red Star 2 or 3) ever pulling themselves out of the hat in a cup competition, but it was very noticeable that in the first half of the season before the winter break, Red Star 4 were crap and we hammered them. In the second half of the season after the winter break, when promotion was on the line, suddenly they had a half dozen excellent players who were miles better than they had before, and the scorelines more or less reversed. This definitely had a skewing effect on the final league table.

There's a rule in place to stop Red Star 3 and 4 (for example) being in the same division - so if Red Star 3 were in the 4th regional league, and Red Star 4 won the 5th regional league, then they would be blocked from promotion (anecdotally we were told that there was similar parachuting of players to the 3rd team so that they would also secure promotion and "make way" for Red Star 4 to go up - I never actually checked to see if that was true or not.)

This is amateur Swiss football, imagine it with professional Premier League clubs making the decisions.

 

[Spoonz Red E]

There's a rule in place to stop Red Star 3 and 4 (for example) being in the same division - so if Red Star 3 were in the 4th regional league, and Red Star 4 won the 5th regional league, then they would be blocked from promotion (anecdotally we were told that there was similar parachuting of players to the 3rd team so that they would also secure promotion and "make way" for Red Star 4 to go up - I never actually checked to see if that was true or not.)

Rules, schmules. I understand that the top club owners are pushing for a change to the rule that prevents Arse FC wearing the same kit as Elbow United when they play each other. B-)

 

[citizen]

Yep, my take too. OK, Chelsea, you want to enter your B team? Please fill in a Combined Counties League application form. We'll stick you in Div 1, just the six promotions needed to get to the EFL.

Fortunately Chelsea would not be allowed to do this.
Look at the South West Peninsular Premier Division you will find Plymouth Argyle Reserves .
They can not get promoted from this League due to FA Rulings thats as high as they are allowed. UTC

 

[Grecian2K]

Fortunately Chelsea would not be allowed to do this.
Look at the South West Peninsular Premier Division you will find Plymouth Argyle Reserves .
They can not get promoted from this League due to FA Rulings thats as high as they are allowed. UTC

Give it a few years and HOPEFULLY that will apply to their first team as well. Then what?

 

[gbjpc]

If the issue is the big clubs wanting to keep hoarding youngsters but have them playing 'mens' football then why can't they just have a proper reserve team playing the same fixtures as the 1st team. Of course they wouldn't want to play their 'real' players in that but then that's their choice. Any form of b teams whatever level they start is going to kill the lower leagues.

Of course they can also use the loan system so I don't see why there is such an issue.

 

[Terryhall]

The way to improve chances for "English youngsters" (putting aside for one moment the fact that most PL academies are hoovering up talent from across the world, not just England) would be to limit the PL season squad size to say 18 rather than the current 25 - but to allow U23, U21, U18 etc to be drafted into the matchday squad as needed for injuries, suspensions, etc. This has the dual effect of (a) ensuring that young players have a pathway to the first team and competitive football and (b) disincentivise clubs from hoarding players in their youth teams on the slim chance that they "might make it" as they need to know that the players in their youth teams can really compete when they need to.

Other probable impacts would be a better quality of player lower down the pyramid, as the players who are no longer filling up the PL reserves move to either a smaller PL club or to the Champo, from Champo to L1, etc. Those players who decide that the money on offer in the Champo doesn't meet their expectations still have the option of moving abroad to play - which also has the effect of exposing young players to continental styles of play which can only be good for the national side when we come up against e.g. Iceland or Croatia in the knockout stages of a tournament.

B teams in L1/L2 does not achieve any of this.