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FA B-team proposal is 'insulting and ignorant'

Listen to the full interview above via the podcast player  It's long been in a tradition in...



FA B-team proposal is 'ins...
Soccer

FA B-team proposal is 'insulting and ignorant'

Listen to the full interview above via the podcast player 

It's long been in a tradition in Spanish and German football but now the English league is considering the inclusion of Premier League reserve sides or B-teams within the Football League.

Seen as a means of aiding the England national team in the long-term, the FA's latest proposal would see 10 Premier League B-teams and 10 Conference sides placed in a newly created League 3 with reserve sides being able to be promoted as high as League One.

But The Telegraph's Luke Edwards is against the FA plan on B-teams.

The Leyton Orient supporter told us: "I just think it's insulting and ignorant. We're trying to adopt a way of lower league of football that's worked in Spain and Germany, but has never worked here and you're talking about 100 years of tradition," said Edwards, adding that Premier League reserve sides would have an advantage even over League 1 sides like Orient.

Edwards explained how the problem in English football is deeper than the lack of opportunities for Premier League reserve or academy players further down the pyramid, pointing out that coaching is the problem and not the loan system.

But he also had some interesting things to say about the wages young English players are earning compared to their counterparts on the continent, using former Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye as an example.

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