Rafa Benitez has again criticised the English method of developing young talent, claiming the reserve league system must undergo serious change.

The Liverpool boss believes young players require competitive matches to flourish, and wants the English FA to allow top clubs to be allowed to field reserve teams in the lower divisions.

"It is clear that the reserve system doesn't work," he said. "The reserve league is nothing.

"You can see youngsters playing just 18 games a season. That is nothing - certainly not enough for the development of these players.

"It is something that we can improve in this country, or if we do not change, we will find other solutions: sending youngsters out on loan, like I have done recently.

"I do not want to see reserve teams with four or five senior men playing without passion. These games are for young players."

He also does not feel it is of particular benefit to the players to be part of the first-team squad unless they can play first-team football.

"Between 18 and 21 years old in this country, the players do not know what to do. If they are good enough at 18, they are with the first team but on the bench all the time."

While learning his trade, Benitez worked as manager of Real Madrid's reserve team, Castilla, in the Spanish Segunda Division.

"I had players who were 18-19 years old playing in the Spanish second division championship.

"They were playing against men. They were winning and we finished sixth and fourth. The question is: what improves the quality of the players?

"You cannot play in a reserve league with players who are 34 years old and coming back from injury. They don't work hard.

"I would like to see reserve teams of the big clubs like ourselves playing in the Football League. Why not if they have enough quality?

"The key is that the young players may have quality, but not the experience for the first team. They are only on the bench. That will bridge the gap between the youngsters and the first team.

"If you do not give young players the chance to play competitive football and to learn things, things become impossible."

He added: "I am not too sure about them playing in League Two, either. They need really to be playing against good players, then they will learn more."

A host of lower league clubs have launched a stinging rebuff to Rafa Benitez's plans to allow reserve teams to enter the Football League.

Benitez and Premiership counterpart Jose Mourinho feel England should adopt the Spanish approach at lower levels, which allows 'B' sides from the country's big clubs to compete in league.

Benitez feels the current reserve format does not offer enough competitive football to his young players.

However, his ideas have been met with dismay in some quarters.

"It would never happen here, not in a million years," said Peterborough director football Barry Fry.

"The Football League is a thriving, 72-club competitive competition which is one of the best supported in the world - 16 million people watch it every season.

"No-one would want to watch the reserve teams of any club - I don't care if they're Real Madrid, Juventus or Fray Bentos!

"If Rafa Benitez wants his young players to get competitive games then all he has to do is loan them out to clubs like us."

Gillingham chairman Paul Scally added: "I can understand the rationale in loaning them out to Football League clubs, which is available to them now, but I don't envisage the situation of a nursery club system.

"That's not going to happen in our lifetime. It's insulting to suggest that a bunch of Liverpool kids could hack it as their own club in the Football League.

"The Football League has got far greater qualities than that.

"We've taken a lot of players on loan from the Premiership in the past and they haven't been up to it to be frank because they haven't had the grounding of coming through the youth system of a Football League club.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, if Premiership clubs want to blood their stars of the future, they should loan them out to the right clubs where they can cut their teeth."

Swindon chief Willie Carson was equally scathing of Benitez's plans.

"Why on Earth did this man say this? The system has worked just fine for years," he said.

"The top clubs loan their reserve players out to get top experience, so we take them on; they get better and we get better.

"Clubs like Manchester United are forever sending their youngsters out and it helps us and it helps them. It helps football. Rafael Benitez is being selfish. Simple.

"He wants his players to get better but no one else to get better with it.

"This system would help his lot for sure, but what about us lot that get pushed out? Someone has to make way for these teams.

"He should put something back into the game. His club has lots of money, why don't they see it better distributed? No, they want more, and we suffer for it."

Former Liverpool striker Michael Robinson, who is now a presenter on Spanish television as well as a part-owner in lower league club Cadiz in the country, is against the idea.

In Spain, the B teams cannot be promoted and certain rules govern which players a side can use as a player named in the first-team squad of a major club cannot then play for the reserve team.

"I think it's an awful idea, and another one of the great evidences where the rich get rich and poor get poorer," he said.

"The fact that you can't go up and play in the same league as the first team creates all sorts of problems for the other teams.

"How can you play in a competition under fair circumstances where no matter how well Real Madrid do, they cannot go up? So that affects their way of thinking.

"Here in Spain you get circumstances whereby if big clubs want to take players from their second team or third teams, that means that particular team, when it plays in their respective leagues, become an easier opponent for the team they are playing."

Peterborough director of football Barry Fry said Rafael Benitez's proposal "would never happen in a million years".

"The Football League is a thriving, 72-club competitive competition which is one of the best supported in the world - 16 million people watch it every season.

"No-one would want to watch the reserve teams of any club - I don't care if they're Real Madrid, Juventus or Fray Bentos!

"If Rafa Benitez wants his young players to get competitive games then all he has to do is loan them out to clubs like us."

Gillingham chairman Paul Scally believes the current loan system is more than adequate - because young players from Premiership clubs often struggle in the Football League.

"I can understand the rationale in loaning them out to Football League clubs, which is available to them now, but I don't envisage the situation of a nursery club system," he said.

"That's not going to happen in our lifetime.

"It's insulting to suggest that a bunch of Liverpool kids could hack it as their own club in the Football League.

"The Football League has got far greater qualities than that."

Mansfield manager Billy Dearden said English football would be scarred by the idea.

"It's a silly idea - out of order really. We are getting knocked about by people who are not from our football world."

Fry added: "Clubs like Peterborough are part of the community, as are clubs like Rochdale, Bury, Barnet, all these other clubs, and their supporters are only interested in supporting them," he said.

"They're not remotely interested in the Liverpools, Arsenals, Manchester Uniteds and Chelseas.

"They support their local clubs and you will never be able to take that out of the towns and the cities in this country."

by Dan Warren - BBC Sport 20 March 2007

In some ways Rafael Benitez is unlucky.

His suggestion of having reserve teams competing in the Football League would almost always win "crackpot idea of the month" award.

Unfortunately for Rafa, the Football League itself pipped him to it when, last week, it mulled over the notion of having penalty shoot-outs to decide drawn games.

But don't let that distract from what is, frankly, a ridiculous concept.

Liverpool boss Benitez and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho before him have both suggested this on the basis that it happens on the continent.

Both managers are astute, intelligent men. But they've totally missed the point with this one.

The beauty of the 92 clubs in the Premiership and Football League is that every single one has its own identity, its own fanbase, its own soul.

Alright, the likes of, say, Mansfield, Bury or Rochdale may not have bulging trophy cabinets. They may lack a history littered with great cup finals and they may not have tons of former internationals on their list of ex-players.

But don't the big clubs have enough going for them? Do they want to squeeze the smaller clubs even further by starting to take extra places in the Football League?

If Benitez or Mourinho want their youngsters to get more experience in a competitive league why not - as Gillingham chairman Paul Scally says - loan players to smaller clubs?

Who in their right mind wants a league filled with reserve teams who will bring no support to grounds? Will that improve football for the lower league fans? I think perhaps not.

This concept may be in place in Spain and Germany, but does that mean it should therefore be in place over here? Of course not. Benitez's suggestion smacks of self-interest and shows a disappointing disregard for the history of football over here.

Can anyone out there put a decent case for this idea?

If this happens .... Arsenal reserves , Chelsea reserves and ManUtd reserves can take top3 easily ...

well,this system is debateable
there are pros and cons
but i wondering why english talented player is so freaking expensive,wenger did mention before and i agree on it

example:
walcott for 17m,is he really rated at this price?well...i don't think so

Milan Mandaric has backed Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez's call for Premiership clubs to be allowed to field reserve sides in the Football League.

The Reds chief feels the progress of younger players is being stifled by the lack of competitive football open to them.

Benitez's proposal has met with some stiff opposition from clubs further down the leagues, but he has an ally in Leicester chief Mandaric.

"We owe it to supporters all over the country to give them the best quality product," he told Sky Sports News.

"If we can demonstrate that we can give a good product - even better than we have - I think it could work."

Far be it for me to take credit for the work of others. It was actually alien2003 which opened the thread.

Yeah but it was u who brought it up 1st in another thread.
Anyway kudos to alien2003 as well for opening this thread

They wanna do this to boost tickets sales?..As far as i know,the FA really dun care much about improving,so i really doubt it when they suggest this..