Eggsyblueskin
Player Valuation: £40m
Personally I am coming to the conclusion that it is a deeply unsatisfactory method of producing or developing players capable of transitioning to first team football.
I have long believed that the system prior to the U23 leagues when clubs considered the Reserve team as the testing ground for any young players considered to be close to the first team, to be far superior. Reserve team football was not without its own criticism but it allowed young players the chance to experience and prove their worth among grizzled pro's and recovering and out of favour stars. It gave a far better indication of a players progression than the arbitrarily restricted and artificial U23 league which only bears a passing resemblance to the strictures and rigours of first 11 football.
It is noticeable that clubs frequently recruit young players from other clubs who have already broken into their own first team.and have that experience rather than from their from their own . Players in lower leagues break into their first team earlier and when they progress to the higher leagues often display more determination and have a better attitude than their more privileged peers.
In truth a footballers career is relatively short and is generally adjudged to last from around 20 to 30. In that context , if your not considered good enough at 21 say, you probably won't be good enough at 24. Yet our U23 teams contain players earning good money playing in an ultimately meaningless competition who are never going to be good enough ,it's a complete waste of money and resources.
What are the alternatives though.? Well,in this country we have sought to involve them in lower league cup competitions, to the chagrin it has to be said of the other competitors. It is an imperfect solution and as well as the resentment it also exposes how poorly the so called elite U23s perform in open age football.
In Spain the larger clubs enter reserve teams in the lower leagues. It's a system that seems to work but it is resented by the smaller clubs and clearly can't be replicated by all so is inherently unfair. It would never be allowed here.
Another system that seems to be gaining ground is for clubs to purchase an interest in lesser clubs in foreign leagues and allow their promising youngsters to gain experience whilst maintaining control over their development and future. But this route is only open to the wealthiest clubs and is again palpably unfair to others.
We obviously have the loan system but this is imperfect and unsatisfactory as players leave may be exposed to less than ideal coaching and can even fail to find sufficient game time. Possibly even worse , if successful, they become unsettled and move on.
Personally I would abolish the U23 system altogether and replace it with an open age reserve league.
I have long believed that the system prior to the U23 leagues when clubs considered the Reserve team as the testing ground for any young players considered to be close to the first team, to be far superior. Reserve team football was not without its own criticism but it allowed young players the chance to experience and prove their worth among grizzled pro's and recovering and out of favour stars. It gave a far better indication of a players progression than the arbitrarily restricted and artificial U23 league which only bears a passing resemblance to the strictures and rigours of first 11 football.
It is noticeable that clubs frequently recruit young players from other clubs who have already broken into their own first team.and have that experience rather than from their from their own . Players in lower leagues break into their first team earlier and when they progress to the higher leagues often display more determination and have a better attitude than their more privileged peers.
In truth a footballers career is relatively short and is generally adjudged to last from around 20 to 30. In that context , if your not considered good enough at 21 say, you probably won't be good enough at 24. Yet our U23 teams contain players earning good money playing in an ultimately meaningless competition who are never going to be good enough ,it's a complete waste of money and resources.
What are the alternatives though.? Well,in this country we have sought to involve them in lower league cup competitions, to the chagrin it has to be said of the other competitors. It is an imperfect solution and as well as the resentment it also exposes how poorly the so called elite U23s perform in open age football.
In Spain the larger clubs enter reserve teams in the lower leagues. It's a system that seems to work but it is resented by the smaller clubs and clearly can't be replicated by all so is inherently unfair. It would never be allowed here.
Another system that seems to be gaining ground is for clubs to purchase an interest in lesser clubs in foreign leagues and allow their promising youngsters to gain experience whilst maintaining control over their development and future. But this route is only open to the wealthiest clubs and is again palpably unfair to others.
We obviously have the loan system but this is imperfect and unsatisfactory as players leave may be exposed to less than ideal coaching and can even fail to find sufficient game time. Possibly even worse , if successful, they become unsettled and move on.
Personally I would abolish the U23 system altogether and replace it with an open age reserve league.