Idea for youth development

Alright folks, just an idea I've been mulling over. I always sign a bucket load of promising youngsters each season, but rarely have the opportunity to give them first team experience or get them out on loan. What I've been thinking of doing is scheduling a load of first team friendlies during the season and playing only these youngsters in those games.

Question is of course, how beneficial will this be? Will it be pretty worthless, i.e, not much better than having them playing in the reserves / u18 leagues, or will it act as "first team experience" for them, especially if the games are against good quality teams?

Any thoughts or alternative ideas welcome

Im not entirely such, but it maybe useful upto a point. Something like when there PA gets to a certain point it stops having an affect but from playing my youngster in friendlies it doesnt seem to make them improve much. Loaning them out to a feeder club is the best solution if you cant play them. I have found this to be very effective.

I guess it would count as 1st team experience but you might struggle to arrange a friendly mid-season with a team close enough to home and playing a team in a foreign country, midweek for example, would have your players slightly jaded from travelling because when you arrange a friendly, your whole squad would travel as you don't have the option to leave players at home.

I'm unsure if it would be beneficial playing them in these type of friendlies as they are uncompetitive and if you plan on fielding a team full of up and coming youngsters then it would just be like playing a friendly with your U-18's squad.

I see what you're getting at though.

i send 10+ players a season out on loan, sometimes they come back really good

Also, sending a player to an unactivated league means he doesnt improve his CA so the same may apply when a playing someone in a friendly.

Cheers all, it does seem more trouble than it's worth. I can probably get most of my youngsters on loan to my affiliates, but how can you tell if that will be beneficial? If my assistant says a player would be good/leading star for league 1 sides etc, should I send him to a team in the Championship instead to challenge him more? I get a lot of loanees returning scolding me after they've learned nothing, the ungrateful little sods!

You got to send them to a team which pretty much guarentee 1st team football. I have sent a few players to Genk from Man Utd and most dont say anything even after playing 30 games and improved enough to become a squad player. Oddly enough the only player said he enjoyed was one that only played 7 game and didnt improve much. But just too warn you, I sent a player to Crystal Palace once and in half a season he played around 20 game and then came back scolding me. As you said ungrateful sod. He now a 1st team regular at Newcastlse and you dont see him thanking me now (or scolding for that matter ).

Competitive football is what they need. Loaning is the best option if you can get a club at a decent level interested.

If you are a top flight team, it will always be better to loan them to League One or an equal or higher standard than keep them yourself. Any lower, and it depends on your training.

Also, sending a player to an unactivated league means he doesnt improve his CA so the same may apply when a playing someone in a friendly.

Not true by the way.

Also, sending a player to an unactivated league means he doesnt improve his CA so the same may apply when a playing someone in a friendly.

Playing for a club in a non-active league has minimal benefit (it does have some benefit, but not as much as staying with you). Playing a friendly does have an effect, even against non-active teams.

Crank the feeder clubs if you can, I normally have 20+ youngsters out on loan 2 normally return each season that can go in my first team 3-5 can stay with me and work into the first team. Doing this each year means you dont need to spend much money on big players as you always have new players coming through.

Not true by the way.

That what I was told, I just presumed it to be true. My mistake then if I am wrong.

None of my players want to go to any of my feeder clubs and those that do accept aren't played as much as I'd like. I tried offering them on normal loan but either no one comes in for them or they are chosen to act as cover for the first team. I tend to keep a small squad (20 versatile players - 22 max) so I might use them every now and then. Maybe 20 mins of football every month. If I've got a lot of injuries they do play a bigger part but it's almost never so bad that they'd get more than a full game in (other than early stages of the Carling Cup).

What would you suggest I do?

I have an idea for a complete overhaul of the youth system.

Only have regens appear at 18 that are "average" and appear either uncontracted or at below average clubs without a youth academy.

As for the "bigger" clubs with a youth academy, have your Youth Team manager periodically suggest players to you that he believes could make the grade and, if you agree, add them to your reserve squad. You won't see the stats of the player until he's promoted and, depending on the reputation and quality of your side, the youth player would reflect that quality.

That way, the lower sides would have a pool of "decent" youth players destined to swim around the lower leagues, whilst the big guns would get the "Rooney's" of the world on an unpredictable basis without having to mass free transfer the useless youth players that are promoted at the moment.

I have an idea for a complete overhaul of the youth system.

Only have regens appear at 18 that are "average" and appear either uncontracted or at below average clubs without a youth academy.

As for the "bigger" clubs with a youth academy, have your Youth Team manager periodically suggest players to you that he believes could make the grade and, if you agree, add them to your reserve squad. You won't see the stats of the player until he's promoted and, depending on the reputation and quality of your side, the youth player would reflect that quality.

That way, the lower sides would have a pool of "decent" youth players destined to swim around the lower leagues, whilst the big guns would get the "Rooney's" of the world on an unpredictable basis without having to mass free transfer the useless youth players that are promoted at the moment.

Yeah but thats not very realistic as most of the world class players came through youth works at 'unknown' clubs. I just think the level of youth at a world class club should be increased , but then again looking at top teams of today in EPL, they prob dont have many future world class players. 1 or 2 that could become great, 3-5 that could become a good player then the rest that will just leave to lower div clubs.

I have an idea for a complete overhaul of the youth system.

Only have regens appear at 18 that are "average" and appear either uncontracted or at below average clubs without a youth academy.

As for the "bigger" clubs with a youth academy, have your Youth Team manager periodically suggest players to you that he believes could make the grade and, if you agree, add them to your reserve squad. You won't see the stats of the player until he's promoted and, depending on the reputation and quality of your side, the youth player would reflect that quality.

That way, the lower sides would have a pool of "decent" youth players destined to swim around the lower leagues, whilst the big guns would get the "Rooney's" of the world on an unpredictable basis without having to mass free transfer the useless youth players that are promoted at the moment.

Can you actually get your Youth Team manager to suggest players? If so, how? :confused:

No, that's an idea he had. The assistant manager tell you who the best of the batch is every year when they spawn.

Right I get you. In my opinion, I never trust the assisstants when they tell me about the new youth products. Nearly always inconsistent with the coach reports.