Post by leicesterlass on Apr 27, 2006 16:27:38 GMT -1
Reserve League Spell Comes To An End
Leicester City, along with a number of other Championship clubs, will not be included in the FA Premier Reserve League next season after it was announced on Wednesday that only teams with Premiership status would be eligible to compete in the competition.
The Foxes continued to ply their trade in the league following their relegation from the top-flight at the end of the 2003-04 campaign.
But the restructure now means that Leicester, along with other clubs such as Ipswich Town, Southampton, Wolves, Leeds United and Coventry City will be forced to look elsewhere for reserve team fixtures, as Club Secretary Andrew Neville confirmed.
He said: "The Premier League were concerned about the overplay of younger players [City's reserve team now consists of primarily under 18 players] and were keen to reduce the number of games played by each team, and therefore they have re-assessed the boundaries for qualification.
"We put a number of solutions forward, including introducing a Midlands section of the FA Premier Reserve League, or playing some teams twice and some just once in the Southern section in which we currently compete, but the Premier League decided against them.
"We are now looking at where we will play our reserve team football next season. There was the opportunity for us to enter the Pontins League, but that does not really satisfy our needs. We don't want, for example, for some players to be in the first team squad on a Tuesday and then have to travel to somewhere like Sunderland the following day. That happened to us this season when we played Portsmouth reserves the day after a first team fixture. We want to have the ability to control the number of matches we play, and where and when we play them - not to have this dictated to us.
"It is likely that we won't enter a league at all. Derby County withdrew this year and that has allowed them to organise competitive games at their training ground.
"The advantage of playing friendlies at the training ground is that it would allow us to play trialists, reduce travelling and help with player rehabilitation. We feel that it would be more appropriate to Championship clubs like ourselves who are likely to smaller squads in comparison to our Premiership counterparts. We can play when we want and we can play local teams.
"There are a number of local sides, including Derby County, Nottingham Forest and Coventry City, who are in the same boat as us.
"Effectively, it is highly likely that we will be organising our own reserve team matches as of next season."
Leicester City, along with a number of other Championship clubs, will not be included in the FA Premier Reserve League next season after it was announced on Wednesday that only teams with Premiership status would be eligible to compete in the competition.
The Foxes continued to ply their trade in the league following their relegation from the top-flight at the end of the 2003-04 campaign.
But the restructure now means that Leicester, along with other clubs such as Ipswich Town, Southampton, Wolves, Leeds United and Coventry City will be forced to look elsewhere for reserve team fixtures, as Club Secretary Andrew Neville confirmed.
He said: "The Premier League were concerned about the overplay of younger players [City's reserve team now consists of primarily under 18 players] and were keen to reduce the number of games played by each team, and therefore they have re-assessed the boundaries for qualification.
"We put a number of solutions forward, including introducing a Midlands section of the FA Premier Reserve League, or playing some teams twice and some just once in the Southern section in which we currently compete, but the Premier League decided against them.
"We are now looking at where we will play our reserve team football next season. There was the opportunity for us to enter the Pontins League, but that does not really satisfy our needs. We don't want, for example, for some players to be in the first team squad on a Tuesday and then have to travel to somewhere like Sunderland the following day. That happened to us this season when we played Portsmouth reserves the day after a first team fixture. We want to have the ability to control the number of matches we play, and where and when we play them - not to have this dictated to us.
"It is likely that we won't enter a league at all. Derby County withdrew this year and that has allowed them to organise competitive games at their training ground.
"The advantage of playing friendlies at the training ground is that it would allow us to play trialists, reduce travelling and help with player rehabilitation. We feel that it would be more appropriate to Championship clubs like ourselves who are likely to smaller squads in comparison to our Premiership counterparts. We can play when we want and we can play local teams.
"There are a number of local sides, including Derby County, Nottingham Forest and Coventry City, who are in the same boat as us.
"Effectively, it is highly likely that we will be organising our own reserve team matches as of next season."