Manager Mick McCarthy says the U21 league which was introduced at the start of the season is a “backwards step" and believes young players would learn more playing in a traditional reserves league.

As a club currently with a category two academy, Town entered the U21 Professional Development League 2 South in the wake of the EPPP reforms of youth football in the summer of 2012.

To McCarthy's annoyance, the rules of the league, which he describes as "absolutely pants", dictate that clubs are permitted to play three overage outfield players and a goalkeeper with the rest of the squad consisting of young players.

The Town boss remembers his time as a youngster coming through at Barnsley and recalls learning vital lessons when up against experienced players in reserves football.

“I guarantee I learnt more playing against the players in the reserve league, senior pros,” he said. “Kevin Randall, I remember playing against him at Mansfield. A big powerful sod, he knocked me about, I had to fight my corner.

“I got too close to him in the box and he got hold of me, he felt me and he rolled me and scored. I can’t remember anybody else ever doing it to me because when I came off I [wanted to know what I should have done].

“You’re taught to get tight, but not in the box, I could have had a little feel at him. I learnt. That stuck with me forever and ever. I don’t think you get that if you’re just playing against other U21s.

“Alan Lee the other night was different class for 20 minutes and those lads playing against him, anybody who has played against him in the U21s, they don’t get that playing against a 20-year-old kid — backing into them, knocking them around, holding it, sticking it.

“I think that’s a great education for them. And I know they’re all wanting to improve. I’m not saying that the reserve league was always great but the U21s isn’t any better, in fact I think it’s worse. I think it’s a backwards step, me personally.”

Town’s U21s, coached by Mark Kennedy, currently sit bottom of their division having won only one game this season, but McCarthy says that’s down to the Blues not having a settled group of players at that level.

“We haven’t got an U21 squad, we haven’t got a real U21 squad which plays every week,” he said. “We play against lots of teams who have got maybe 10 or 15 that train together, work together, play together. We haven’t.”

Having recently released first-year pros David October, Mark Timlin, Jordan Adekunle, Jonny Leddy and Tom Winter — “a collective decision with all the other coaches” — McCarthy says Town will continue to find it a struggle to compete at U21 level.

“Unless we get a real influx of kids coming through from the academy, which is what we’re trying to do, trying to get category one, then that U21 league is always going to be difficult,” he added.

Turning his attention to last Monday’s 2-1 U21s defeat at home to a Jonny Williams-inspired Crystal Palace, he said: “I thought the other night that it was one of the best games I’ve seen in the U21s because it was competitive.

"It was end to end, both teams had a right go at it and what really pleased me was that the first team players that played they contributed, they didn’t just turn up and wear the shirt, they turned up and ran around in it. It was a good game.

“I thought Paul Taylor responded well, I thought he played well. He worked hard and he contributed to the game.

“To be fair to him, he wanted to play in the one before but because he’d played in the one prior to that I wanted somebody else to play. This is the bonkers rules - I could have done with playing Carlos and Ando as well.”

Last Monday’s squad included several young trialists. On the right of midfield was 18-year-old Chelsea winger Ambrose Gnahore, who scored Town's goal, while Darren McQueen, a striker from Tottenham, also 18, was a sub, along with Stoke left-back Sam Westley, the 20-year-old son of former Town youth coach Terry Westley, and 19-year-old Spurs winger Roman Michael-Percil.

McCarthy says that the Blues will look to young players exiting Premier League clubs to add to the development squad: “If we can’t do it from in house, if we could [get them from elsewhere, we’d like to].

“Let’s say we’ve only got three U21s, we could really do with a team around them that’s going to help them.

“That’s in terms of training, playing in games, not having a situation where you keep having to chopping and changing and using different players. So there’s some continuity, they get to know each other and understand each other and the way each other plays. Like any other team.

“At the moment that’s being denied them because we just don’t have an U21 squad, it’s so mix and match with the academy kids. To be fair, when they get to 21, if they’re 21 and they’re good enough, they’re in the first team dressing room.”

While the lack of game-time for his senior fringe players has been McCarthy’s biggest frustration, he has also other issues with the U21 set-up.

“You can only play three overage players in the U21s and [there aren’t] many games. And by the way, some of them are down at Swansea.

“They’re on pitches at training grounds, I thought the rules were that you had to play them at your home ground, so we play [most of] ours at Portman Road.

“We play them there because it’s good for the kids to play there anyway and certainly if first team players are playing.

“But some of the pitches our lads have gone and played on have not been acceptable at some places.”

Town’s U21s are in action against QPR in a rearranged game which is being played at Playford Road this afternoon (KO 1.30pm).

Photo: Action Images

warkonthewildside added 06:20 - Mar 4 Morning!
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Cloddyseedbed added 08:43 - Mar 4 Absolutely agree that competitive reserve leagues should return. Not sure that Kennedy is the man for manager though from what I've seen. Players need to play in competitive football football against older pro's to learn the game.
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Robbie12345 added 08:47 - Mar 4 Isn't there a U23 league in planning?
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hancockingoal added 09:34 - Mar 4 I believe that the traditional reserve leagues, Combination for the south and Central for the north were disbanded for financial reasons? This has proved to be false economy. These leagues were competitive and allowed sqaud players, players returning from injury and up and coming young players competitive game time. The likes of Beattie, Butcher, Walk, Brazil, Osman (I could go on and on!) learned their trade and gained valuable experience playing for the reserves on a regular basis, when the time came for them to step up to the first team, they were ready. Young players can only develop by playing competitive games, how may youngsters have been released because their development was and they never had the opportunity to develop and grow into professional footballers? Unfortunately the premier leauge has been a major contributor to this demise. It is all about money and success, short term gain which has resulted in long term pain for the majority of clubs and their young hopefuls!

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yorksblue added 10:35 - Mar 4 Totally agree with last comment. Another example of greed before quality taking over our game, unfortunately. Bringing back those reserve leagues would, in most cases, raise the quality of existing stock, and knock on the head the need for these ridiculous emergency loans.
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Bluetone added 10:41 - Mar 4 In my younger days the Town had a first team, a reserve team playing in the Combination League and an "A" team playing in the Eastern Counties League to my mind that was a good structure to bring on and develop players. Surely to go back to a similar structure and do away with the player load system would be beneficial. Perhaps it would stop the Prem from hoarding all the promising youngsters and farming them out to other clubs on a loan basis. Thus releasing promising youngsters to lower league clubs as their own potential assets.

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theobald1985 added 12:04 - Mar 4 could we not explore putting a reserve team in the non league at some level?
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