Keeping Players on Reserves vs. Loaning to affiliated clubs????????

I play with Plymouth in the EPL. I loaned out a bunch of players to my affiliated clubs but i've been 2nd guessing that. Would they have developed better playing in the Reserve league? The leagues they've been loaned to are an Irish and Belgian league. I wanna make sure I'm giving my younger players the best opportunity to thrive and develop.

I play with Plymouth in the EPL. I loaned out a bunch of players to my affiliated clubs but i've been 2nd guessing that. Would they have developed better playing in the Reserve league? The leagues they've been loaned to are an Irish and Belgian league. I wanna make sure I'm giving my younger players the best opportunity to thrive and develop.

Really depends on the quality of the player and the competition he is playing in. If you send a top flight player to a lower league team then you will most likely get very minimal improvement from him and he may even become a little disgruntled that he has to play in the lower league and therefore request a transfer but if the player is a youngster with very limited ability then im sure they would improve going to an affliate team and will appreciate the first team chance.

So getting first team experience for a youngster is better even if it's in a small league. I just figured maybe starting for a reserve team in the Premier League would still be considered good competition

So getting first team experience for a youngster is better even if it's in a small league. I just figured maybe starting for a reserve team in the Premier League would still be considered good competition

Im not saying that being in the reserve team will be bad for the player but getting first team experience elsewhere will give them confidence and help them perform better. I get the feeling that reserve players get disgruntled more often because they are not getting the first team chances thats why any chances they get to play in a first team are appreciated.

First team football is the better option in almost every case.

Only if the player is far better than the league he is loaned to (like if he averages 7.75 or better) would it be better for him to stay at your club and play in the reserves.

Have you loan listed him and offered him to clubs (ie. non-affiliates). This is usually the best way to get him playing the best standard of league football. Your affilitates probably won't be as good as the clubs that will make loan offers for him this way.

yeah I tried but there was no interest.