Posters of an older vintage will remember pre-Academy days of Everton A & B teams playing in the Lancashire Leagues and the Reserves in the old Central League. None of this football was age restricted & increasingly I’ve been debating to myself whether PL2 is actually fit for purpose, or whether a return to Central League format might be a better development route for our youngsters.
In recent times I noticed how our U23 team struggled playing against foreign youngsters who compete weekly in open-age football. The old Central League was where your fringe 1st teamers and those coming back from injury played games with a real competitive edge. They were joined by promising youngsters playing alongside and against seasoned professionals. A great learning ground.
Critics suggested the older pro’s were blocking the path for youngsters coming through & PL2 was born, but now there are voices suggesting this format is uncompetitive with youngsters playing in a comfort zone & not being stretched.
With no age restricted fixtures to complete at U23, a re-structuring would maybe allow clubs to better manage the number of young professionals they keep. The most promising rewarded with contracts, allowing them to be tested in a competitive open-age league.
My suggestion is maintaining the Academy system but re-introducing an open-age element to replace existing PL2 format.
In recent times I noticed how our U23 team struggled playing against foreign youngsters who compete weekly in open-age football. The old Central League was where your fringe 1st teamers and those coming back from injury played games with a real competitive edge. They were joined by promising youngsters playing alongside and against seasoned professionals. A great learning ground.
Critics suggested the older pro’s were blocking the path for youngsters coming through & PL2 was born, but now there are voices suggesting this format is uncompetitive with youngsters playing in a comfort zone & not being stretched.
With no age restricted fixtures to complete at U23, a re-structuring would maybe allow clubs to better manage the number of young professionals they keep. The most promising rewarded with contracts, allowing them to be tested in a competitive open-age league.
My suggestion is maintaining the Academy system but re-introducing an open-age element to replace existing PL2 format.