Premier League 'B' league

dan78 · February 14, 2014

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has confirmed that there are plans for a 'B' league to come into existence.

The new league would replace the current Under-21 league format, and would be for Under-23 players with four over age players allowed.

The league would involve the same teams that are in the Under-21 league - which is those who are classed as category one in the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP).

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11676/9165327

Bruce Wayne · February 14, 2014

So if it's just the under 21's with a new name, what's the point of it? I thought the whole benefit of B teams in other leagues was that they got to play good, competitive football against senior players?

Kiwi · February 14, 2014

basically just revamping the U21s by changing the rules slightly and calling it something else. Not going to have a huge impact i wouldnt have thought.

neil999 · February 14, 2014

its the same thing! good lord, its liek the europa keague changes, they do something to do show they are trying when in reality nothing has changed

Ashtonian · February 14, 2014

Haven't they just revamped the under 21's?

they may as well just allow clubs to compete with 2 teams ala Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain.

Imagine how much more coverage the lower league football would get if Chelsea, Arsenal and City B were competing every year? It would lead to less players leaving the country and possibly have much better younger players available for the national pool because form hte age of 17 they would be playing profesional football rather than in the reserves or loaned about 5 times a season.

There .... problem solved.

Christiffa25 · February 14, 2014

Yep waste of time. I want to see b teams that can play in the football league like in Spain. A under 21's rebranded under 23's is absolutely no improvement!

Baines' left foot · February 14, 2014

So they've just raised the age limits?

It'll allow the likes of Tottenham and Chelsea to play their plethora of midfielders each week. I can't really see how raising the age limit by 2 years is going to really help that much though.

BoysInBlue · February 14, 2014

I don't want to see B teams in the Football League, that's not what football in this country should be about.

It would be a further erosion of the idea that there is just one of every club.

We don't want the rich clubs stockpiling players and running 2 competitive teams.

They do it in Spain because no one cares about their lower leagues - 2 Man & his dog go to lower league games there.

No other European country has such well supported lower leagues as we do.

tommye · February 14, 2014

chris ashton17 said:
Haven't they just revamped the under 21's?

they may as well just allow clubs to compete with 2 teams ala Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain.

Imagine how much more coverage the lower league football would get if Chelsea, Arsenal and City B were competing every year? It would lead to less players leaving the country and possibly have much better younger players available for the national pool because form hte age of 17 they would be playing profesional football rather than in the reserves or loaned about 5 times a season.

There .... problem solved.

how very dare you apply logic and reasoning to football.

ffs

davek · February 14, 2014

Back to the future this. The old Central League format (but on a national basis rather than the North West teams). That had PL club reserves and lower league reserves competing with each other until that was scrapped in 2007.

ToffeeDan · February 14, 2014

Somewhere for Chelsea to play all their reserves in a proper league?

Baines' left foot · February 14, 2014

BoysInBlue said:
I don't want to see B teams in the Football League, that's not what football in this country should be about.

It would be a further erosion of the idea that there is just one of every club.

We don't want the rich clubs stockpiling players and running 2 competitive teams.

They do it in Spain because no one cares about their lower leagues - 2 Man & his dog go to lower league games there.

No other European country has such well supported lower leagues as we do.

Some good points here.

I can't imagine the lower league clubs would be too happy about the idea.

Kiwi · February 14, 2014

Baines' left foot said:
Some good points here.

I can't imagine the lower league clubs would be too happy about the idea.

Neither would I tbh. takes away from the wonderful support throughout the football league. If anything it would be detrimental to English football as a collective. Good young players have less opportunities to come through if their local team isnt in the Football League. They become dependent on the bigger clubs picking them up. This would also be the death of loiwer league footie, as clubs that lost out to Youth teams would loose the tv money that they need to survive and so would die out. This long term would also help to secure the PL league status of teams, as there are less different clubs that can come up and enter into the PL if youth teams were competing in the championship or league 1 etc.

tonyhorne · February 14, 2014

We trained hard . . . but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralisation.

Petronius Arbiter, 210 B.C. (although it may not actually have been him who said it, apparently)

SteKelly · February 14, 2014

Bruce Wayne said:
So if it's just the under 21's with a new name, what's the point of it? I thought the whole benefit of B teams in other leagues was that they got to play good, competitive football against senior players?

always said they should do this.
People come back with the 'we have the best lower leagues in the world'. Who gives a flying ***. We aren't winning World Cups and Euros. Germany and Spain are laughing at us