'B' Teams

[Cormack74]

Tbh. the last thing I really want to see is more games of the same teams just with a B after it. Who will watch those games? Barcelona B, the club with probably the biggest local supporting in Europe can get 3500 on average in the stadium. That's for a game in the second highest competition in Spain. Don't know how many our reserves have today?

It will be incredibly **** from a spectator viewpoint and for the rest of the teams facing them. Sure they might be good teams, but nobody will watch it really. Much rather see packed championship stadiums. And it will be better for both travelling fans and for the minor clubs getting sold out away sections.

It will do nothing good except for 5-6 clubs in getting their reserves tested better. But perhaps it would be better to make incentives for clubs to use the players and have smaller squads instead, leaving the players to go strengthen smaller teams instead and make it more competitive?

I like the idea and actually think it would benefit the lowest league teams to have fixtures against some of the top young talent both in terms of their own player development as well as the boost it could give to attendances.

[Exiled_red]

Tbh. the last thing I really want to see is more games of the same teams just with a B after it. Who will watch those games? Barcelona B, the club with probably the biggest local supporting in Europe can get 3500 on average in the stadium. That's for a game in the second highest competition in Spain. Don't know how many our reserves have today?

It will be incredibly **** from a spectator viewpoint and for the rest of the teams facing them. Sure they might be good teams, but nobody will watch it really. Much rather see packed championship stadiums. And it will be better for both travelling fans and for the minor clubs getting sold out away sections.

It will do nothing good except for 5-6 clubs in getting their reserves tested better. But perhaps it would be better to make incentives for clubs to use the players and have smaller squads instead, leaving the players to go strengthen smaller teams instead and make it more competitive?

I agree with this, while from a big club's point of view it makes a lot of sense, you get your players experience and they play together in competitive games. But from a general football point of view it just encourages teams to build bigger and bigger squads snapping up all the young promising players and taking them away from other PL, Championship and lower league clubs, I think there is a problem with this at the moment, adding B teams would just make it worse.

[DannyMan2006]

Great idea. Means top young players can get the game time they need without having to adjust to poorer levels of coaching and random styles of football. I would however implement a strict home grown quota though so it benefits the national league and team. As a Liverpool fan that doesn't bother me, but thinking from a neutral aspect, the reason behind a B league is to prevent quality English youngsters getting swallowed up by a system that doesn't allow them to develop. If teams are full of foreign players, that still applies.

[DannyMan2006]

I agree with this, while from a big club's point of view it makes a lot of sense, you get your players experience and they play together in competitive games. But from a general football point of view it just encourages teams to build bigger and bigger squads snapping up all the young promising players and taking them away from other PL, Championship and lower league clubs, I think there is a problem with this at the moment, adding B teams would just make it worse.

You are right, the best young players get snapped up. No doubt this would increase with B teams. But the players who don't make it would always filter back to the levels of clubs below the elite. And having had a better standard of coaching than they would have had, arguably they would be better players, and would make the standard of said clubs better in the long run.

[Roboklopp]

Good points Danny.

[npinn001]

What happens when a B team gets drawn against their parent club in a cup?

[Roboklopp]

Don't get put in cups. Or if they do, it's just with other B teams.

[Roboklopp]

I do like your penguin avi btw.

[Gibbo]

I see you need 20 home grown players to qualify, reckon our current youth team has that in it?

[Exiled_red]

You are right, the best young players get snapped up. No doubt this would increase with B teams. But the players who don't make it would always filter back to the levels of clubs below the elite. And having had a better standard of coaching than they would have had, arguably they would be better players, and would make the standard of said clubs better in the long run.

I just don't see it being that good for the game, I imagine that someone like this kid Will Hughes who we have been linked with for a year or two, I imagine that under a B team system were we have a team in the Championship we would probably have taken a punt on him a couple of years ago and he would have spent the last couple of years playing in our B team, if he makes it he moves on to the first team if not he either stays a few more years in the hope that he develops or moves on to another club as you say. That all looks fine for us, but if you look at it from Derby's point of view they have lost a promising young player a couple of years earlier than they would have, and not only have they done that our willingness to gamble earlier means that they have got a much lower fee (as he's not as far along in his development).

Similarly if we had a B team we might have tried to hold onto Shelvey a little while longer in the hope that playing more regularly would improve him as a player (as it seems to have done this season), again it's good for us, but Swansea would be missing out on a player that could improve them.

Now you may not agree with these examples but for me they aren't that unreasonable suggestions. I just think that such a system would take decent players out of circulation for the lower league, championship and even lower-mid table PL clubs for a while, yes if they don't make it they will go back to other clubs eventually, but the main beneficiaries are the top clubs, and the main losers are the ones below.

[Resu]

We have this system in Norway. Basically there needs to be at least one division between the A and B teams. So the highest our B team would get is League One (or whatever it is called). If a club gets relegated to the championships the B team can not be in League One but will be relegated to League Two. There is, however, not automatic promotions for the B team is the A team gets promoted.
The biggest problem over here is the sometimes big difference in strength of the B teams being fielded. One club playing for promotion/relegation midget face a weak B team, while the next week another team also playing for promotion/relegation might face a very strong B team from the same club. So the big clubs have a big influence on the rest of the league, since the teams the pick varies a lot.

[red g]

its tsupposed to benefit the english game and to give youngsters the chance but i would argue that the best almost always come through, most of the top sides have a good few english youth and those that dont well, can you imagine th Man City B team?

it would also inflate the transfer value of players, Instead of having scouted for instance a young Liverpool player they will be on show ( probably sky) and hence increase the value of the player as more clubs would be in for the player.

[Roboklopp]

Still think a separate league is the way to go here so no bearing on lower league teams.

[ChesterDave]

I don't understand the need to create a special league for it. Is that not the reserve league anyway?

[topscorer]

The idea if B teams just makes the biggest teams stronger and the smaller teams weaker. Its a bad idea.

We have the strongest and deepest pyramid system in the world and we should be trying to build on that strength not copy an idea from weaker leagues (in terms of depth and quantity) that maybe need that system.

Restricting non EU players in the lower divisions is a good idea, requiring more home grown talent in squads is a good idea.

But instead of making smaller clubs even weaker by allowing the strong clubs to field B teams I think they should allow stronger partnerships between bigger and smaller clubs so that clubs can develop younger players in a club where they have a bit more control on training techniques and tactics.

I also think young players should be encouraged to go abroad to develop to smaller leagues like Belgium, Holland, Norway etc. I think they will learn a lot more doing that than playing for a B team against conference teams.

Besides all that what happens in 10 years time? 10 years ago Leeds would be one of the clubs getting a B team and Man City probably not. If this had started 10 years ago would Leeds still have a B team and City wouldn't be able to start one? Or would be have 20 or 30 B teams by now all over the Pyramid and some a complete mess with no money?