Perhaps the title should be should the reserve team be in a competition that offers regular games Paul Cook had an inconsistent position on a reserve team. Initially they were not in a competition for reasons of economy but he then proceeded to maintain a squad size that could support a reserve team. The compromise of arranging friendly reserve matches appeared not to provide fringe players with sufficient football. in the coming season it is likely several young players- Whatmough, Close, May etc will on the cusp of the first team and will require more regular game time than they got last season. Perhaps loans are more economical but I would have thought less satisfactory. Comment please
Hi pompeydownunder - Agree that a reserve team or a development team would be a good idea. Our new owners have already stated they are aiming to upgrade our academy to a higher level, which should help us to attract even more good youngsters in the future to the club. We sent around half a dozen young players out on loan last season, so that they were getting regular first team football, which should assist their careers and development for the future. I am certain that our new owners have the best of intentions in improving the structure of the club, but as you can imagine it will take time.
Short answer: Yes and I feel very strongly about this. Any professional club with any ambitions of playing at a reasonably high level should have things like a reserve team as a matter of course. Doing things on the cheap is not the way forward for any club with ambition. What kind of message does it send out? We're a team on the up, so why should we be skimping on things like a reserve side?
Here you are pompeydownunder - an article in the Portsmouth News connected to your thread:- Pompey reveal development squad plans Blues chief executive Mark Catlin has confirmed a fully-funded conduit between the Academy and first team is to be introduced as part of Michael Eisner’s vision to develop young talent. But Catlin warned next season is too early to have the set-up operational – and putting the structure in place will be a year in the making. Unlike previous efforts at Pompey, the plan is to have a full stand-alone squad with its own coaches and management. Kenny Jackett will oversee bringing in the players and utilise his contacts at clubs in the London area to do so. Catlin said: ‘What we want to do moving forward – and we don’t want to put a time-frame on it – is have a development squad where the clue’s in the name. ‘It has to be about the development of players for the long-term future of Portsmouth Football Club. ‘To do that properly it requires a dedicated manager, assistant manager, structure and funding. ‘It’s not something which will happen overnight – it will take a lot of planning. ‘I would argue it’s a year in the planning. ‘That’s in scouting the players you want to bring in, selecting a coach and the organisation. ‘There’s a lot of investment needed to make it a fully functioning, self-sustaining squad. ‘Next season is too soon but with regard to the season after, it won’t be. ‘If you look at Kenny’s history, he has a fantastic record of signing players, developing them and making them better. ‘He has outstanding contacts around London with the big clubs and their development squads who he’s worked with. ‘He’s highly regarded and it will be easy for him to attract those type of players to Portsmouth.’ Catlin stressed it’s imperative the development squad is about bringing talent through rather than storing players not featuring in the club’s first team. He said: ‘A lot of clubs have a development squad but it’s not. ‘It’s effectively an ill-thought way of accommodating players who aren’t in the first team. ‘What do you want from your squad? If it’s a reserve team it’s clear it’s for the first team and to keep people fit and ready underneath that. ‘In our case we believe it’s a platform for developing not only our own talent but talent discarded by Premier League or Championship clubs. ‘Plus there are players like Jamal Lowe who have slipped through the net and are playing non-league football. ‘We want to give them a platform, be part of the squad and progress into the first team. ‘If and when we do it, the one thing we can be sure of is it will be well structured, thought out and with a clear strategic plan of the make-up of the squad and what we want out of it.’ Read more at: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/football/pompey/pompey-reveal-development-squad-plans-1-8008743
That sounds very positive Woopert In practise the 'development squad' - 'reserve team' concepts must overlap a little. When you have 1st team squad players that have been largely bench warmers you must start to worry about their immediate match fitness when injuries occur. Occasional reserve team outings would help to remedy that. However, if we had the squad for the coming season, as previously mentioned, several of the 1st team bench regulars would be young players so there would be no conflict. A reserve team next season which 'morphs' into a development squad subsequently after appropriate recruitment could be considered.
I think this is just what we need so the youngsters get a real taste of being on the fringe or even in the first team squad - we need to start planning as if we were in the Championship even that is a couple of years away. This would start that process.
