Is it time for an under 23/21 team or a reserve team? | Vital Football

Is it time for an under 23/21 team or a reserve team?

Max Arnold

Max Arnold

Vital Reserves Team
Just pondering with the amount of young players coming through our ranks now, are we now getting to the stage of needing a under 23/21 team/reserve team in the Central Midland League? I am guessing most under 23/21 leagues allow a certain amount of overage players?
 
We have seen the attrition rate of the supposed top academies in the country at this age group, at the same time they have been desperate to get their players competitive football via the EFL Trophy and oft rumoured desire for B teams.

On that basis, I don't see much value in entering a representative Lincoln City side in a competition that is a lower standard than that which isn't really producing a high success rate of British young talent for the supposed elite academies; and that's before the extra costs of entering and sustaining a side in any such competition.

I would rather we concentrated on securing age and ability based quality loans in men's football as we currently do. It appears that the younger players gain more benefit from that, we possibly recoup a little bit of their wages and that goes to supporting the pay of the younger players we keep at the club for first team exposure.

I do feel we have reached the stage where we have sufficient numbers to start integrating several into match day squads for competitions like the League Cup and EFL Trophy, so in effect we could already have the solution in place organically.

As far as running a reserve team goes, we regularly arrange behind closed doors friendlies at all times of the year to get match fitness and experience into the youngsters and those senior players that need a run out.
 
we have want and need players aged 23 to be in the first team.

I cant see the benefit as we need all players to wash their own faces - if we bring in young players from lower leagues Ireland or prem/champ release lists they need to be in the first team playing well and then we can sell on for more then we paid.

i dont think its for us.
 
City have stated before that the cost of having a reserve team is disproportionate to the benefits. Considering that reserve/U23 football is notorious for the disconnect from the pro levels, I can't see it happening.
 
Used to love going to watch the reserves for £1 and scouting our up and coming young players (none of whom ever 'made it').
 
impsimps said:
Looks like 1968, Norman got a couple ! Didn't help on the next Saturday though, lost 5-0 !
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It WAS March 1968, but we lost the next game 1-2 at Wrexham. (That 0-5 defeat was a year later).

Maybe on the strength of his two goals in this reserve match Norman Corner was brought back into the first team at Wrexham, scored twice in the next home match and finished with 7 goals from the last ten games of the season.

All the starting eleven had first team experience, although Bobby Samuels only made a few appearances. Alan Pilgrim had quite a lengthy run in the first team in the middle of that season when Jim Grummett was played up front due to the then failings of Corner.

Not sure without checking who the substitute Taylor was (not Graham as he didn't sign until that summer) - presumably a young player or trialist.

Don't know why such a strong team was fielded - John Kennedy, George Peden and Lewis Thom were all first team regulars and Billy Cobb had been, although his place was now under threat from new signing Jim Smith.
 
libertine said:
Used to love going to watch the reserves for £1 and scouting our up and coming young players (none of whom ever 'made it').
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It depends what years you were watching, from the Notts County game in ’68 Hubbard, Lewis, Brooks, Pilgrim, Fletcher were all young players and did ok in the first team.
 
WorcesterImp said:
It depends what years you were watching, from the Notts County game in ’68 Hubbard, Lewis, Brooks, Pilgrim, Fletcher were all young players and did ok in the first team.
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Nah it was the likes of Leon Mettam, Ollie Ryan and Owain Warlow for me.
 
I am sure when I had a season ticket (90s) you could get in for free sometimes they used to play the bigger teams mid week - I can remember Sheffield United and Newcastle
 
Merthyr Imp said:
It WAS March 1968, but we lost the next game 1-2 at Wrexham. (That 0-5 defeat was a year later).

Maybe on the strength of his two goals in this reserve match Norman Corner was brought back into the first team at Wrexham, scored twice in the next home match and finished with 7 goals from the last ten games of the season.

All the starting eleven had first team experience, although Bobby Samuels only made a few appearances. Alan Pilgrim had quite a lengthy run in the first team in the middle of that season when Jim Grummett was played up front due to the then failings of Corner.

Not sure without checking who the substitute Taylor was (not Graham as he didn't sign until that summer) - presumably a young player or trialist.

Don't know why such a strong team was fielded - John Kennedy, George Peden and Lewis Thom were all first team regulars and Billy Cobb had been, although his place was now under threat from new signing Jim Smith.
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Billy Taylor?
 
57harry said:
I think its more likely to be Graham Taylor. Billy arrived in 1969.
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I remember getting Bill Taylor’s autograph before an Imps game - started watching the Imps in1969 so make you right. Graham Taylor was already there I think. Bill was a decent inside forward. Might be wrong, but I seem to remember that, although he was Scottish he ended up being one of the coaches for the England team 🤔
 
Just to clarify:

The date of that reserve match was 27 March 1968.

Graham Taylor joined the Imps from Grimsby in July 1968.

Billy Taylor joined from Nottingham Forest in May 1969.

So the Taylor was neither of them.

The Nannestads' book shows a J. A. Taylor as scoring two goals for the reserves during the 1967/68 season so presumably it was him. I don't have any other reference to him. He never appeared in the first team.
 
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