20-09-2016, 11:07
Because of the idiot structure of football we can't do much about the Premier League and we aren't being asked.
Of course I'd like Sky Money to percolate down, but we have to take steps to make it happen. One of the major opportunities is the development of young players. The big clubs are completely crap at it. Despite Sky and Abrahamovic the last British player Chelsea developed, despite making the finals of every youth cup in living memory, was JOHN TERRY! Arsene Wenger regularly tries to bring through a young player at Arsenal but they all end up doing a Mark Randall! Its crap but it's also an OPPORTUNITY! It's a reason for young players to come to us.
Instead of the lower divisions providing a rest home for declining Premiership and Championship players it could be a breeding ground, but it would need an exciting structure not these goes-on-forever divisions that ordinary people forget who is winning and care even less. And we don't want to wear down young players with forty six games of being kicked by dross players (very, very few people have the heart of a Kevin Davies to come through these very physical divisions intact). The lower leagues could take over a lot of what an over-financed and under productive premier academy system fails to deliver and those premier youth squads would have also some positive direction if on Saturday they were going to play in competitive grown-up football .......
I want people to watch lower league games - decent crowds, not the ubiquitous struggle to reach 6,000!
What danger would there be of familiarity in a Conference structure? The top team in every Conference would be promoted. At least two would lose their places. So we would have to re-jig Conference members annually. And in a Conference Trophy teams from different Conferences would meet ....... but you would never get Carlisle travelling to Plymouth on a Tuesday night, because the matches would be weekend.
Whilst I strongly agree with most of what you say Saltergate and Matt we can only change the things we have the opportunity to change, but once they give an inch I'm for edging for a mile ...... that's why I say change and keep on doing it. The lower leagues need to look good, new, fresh and exciting: NOT OLD HAT. Saturday it's Chesterfield away at Bury and you tell ME there's a danger of familiarity! How often have we played each other? To compete for audiences you have to have a worthwhile product. Ours is Woolworths - brutal but true.
Of course I'd like Sky Money to percolate down, but we have to take steps to make it happen. One of the major opportunities is the development of young players. The big clubs are completely crap at it. Despite Sky and Abrahamovic the last British player Chelsea developed, despite making the finals of every youth cup in living memory, was JOHN TERRY! Arsene Wenger regularly tries to bring through a young player at Arsenal but they all end up doing a Mark Randall! Its crap but it's also an OPPORTUNITY! It's a reason for young players to come to us.
Instead of the lower divisions providing a rest home for declining Premiership and Championship players it could be a breeding ground, but it would need an exciting structure not these goes-on-forever divisions that ordinary people forget who is winning and care even less. And we don't want to wear down young players with forty six games of being kicked by dross players (very, very few people have the heart of a Kevin Davies to come through these very physical divisions intact). The lower leagues could take over a lot of what an over-financed and under productive premier academy system fails to deliver and those premier youth squads would have also some positive direction if on Saturday they were going to play in competitive grown-up football .......
I want people to watch lower league games - decent crowds, not the ubiquitous struggle to reach 6,000!
What danger would there be of familiarity in a Conference structure? The top team in every Conference would be promoted. At least two would lose their places. So we would have to re-jig Conference members annually. And in a Conference Trophy teams from different Conferences would meet ....... but you would never get Carlisle travelling to Plymouth on a Tuesday night, because the matches would be weekend.
Whilst I strongly agree with most of what you say Saltergate and Matt we can only change the things we have the opportunity to change, but once they give an inch I'm for edging for a mile ...... that's why I say change and keep on doing it. The lower leagues need to look good, new, fresh and exciting: NOT OLD HAT. Saturday it's Chesterfield away at Bury and you tell ME there's a danger of familiarity! How often have we played each other? To compete for audiences you have to have a worthwhile product. Ours is Woolworths - brutal but true.