Search results

'Should', possibly. 'Can in reality', no. The U23 match at deserted training ground, or a nearly empty big stadium, in front of a few mums and mates, featuring a mixture of academy prospects, senior pros getting minutes in their legs after injury, and a few youth teamers making up the numbers...

That was my point above. The games MATTER. You cannot replicate that in a reserve team environment.

Those games will have lower, less vocal crowds than the Conference games, so the crowd aspect fairly irrelevant. It really is the 'Competitive' aspect that is the crucial part, in my opinion. However much the academy staff try to 'create a competitive environment', you simply can't replicate it...