Reserves to arrange own fixtures

[Ferris]

Should be interesting and more beneficial than playing against dross every other week.

http://www.readingfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~2035650,00.html

Reserves to arrange own fixtures
Posted on: Tue 27 Apr 2010

Reading's reserves will not compete in the totesport.com Combination League next season, and instead we will arrange our own regular reserve team fixtures against teams from the Premier League, Football League and overseas.

The club have taken this decision to give our players the best possible opportunity for sustained development, and to ensure the highest possible standard of opposition for our reserve team.

We have enjoyed sustained success in the Combination League over the past number of years, and we would like to thank the League for their continued help and assistance.

Along with a number of other prominent clubs, we are now in a position to arrange our own games on a regular basis. Other clubs are currently taking this same step as us and we believe this will be mutually beneficial for young players all across the divisions.

Our reserve team is hugely important to us and we have taken this step in order to allow the second string to thrive against other top quality sides.

Director Of Football Nick Hammond said, "First of all we would like to thank the Football Combination for their help over the past seasons. The League is run superbly and has served us very well.

"As a club and a management team we have now decided that our players are best served with our own fixture list against sides in a similar position. We will now be able to arrange fixtures against Premier League sides, other Football League teams and perhaps when squads come in from overseas as well.

"With this decision we are giving our players the opportunity to come up against some of the best young talent in the country. This step is for the good of Reading Football Club and I am looking forward to next season."

[Messiah]

Makes sense. Better reserve team opposition will keep fringe first teamers sharper, and help develop the players we have.

[Royal Lady]

Won't it cost us money to play sides from overseas?

[Barry the bird boggler]

Well this can only be a good thing if we can get regular games (not that the Combination was exactly regular sometimes). And anything's an improvement on playing sides like Aldershot and Forest Green reserves.

[TFF]

Won't it cost us money to play sides from overseas?

Not if they're coming to us.

[Sarah Star]

Be interesting to see who our reserves do get to play against.

[The Surgeon of Crowthorne]

But a lot of the prem's reserve sides aren't much cop either (witness our winning that league in our first year up) so I'm not sure this will see a significant increase in the quality of opposition the stiffs will face.

[Barry the bird boggler]

But a lot of the prem's reserve sides aren't much cop either (witness our winning that league in our first year up) so I'm not sure this will see a significant increase in the quality of opposition the stiffs will face.

Better games against suppposed highly talented youngsters and experienced pros on their way back from injury than the equivalent from the likes of the lower leagues.

Plus I guess it will help us out when we need games due to our players recovering from injury, viewing triallists and keeping tabs on possible siginings.

[Magnus]

Backwards step. Pretty sure we did this in the past, 90s?

I doubt clubs will be queuing up to play us when we decide we fancy 90 minutes of football against some opposition.

[floyd__streete]

Backwards step. Pretty sure we did this in the past, 90s?

93/94. The backwards step affected us so badly that we promptly won Division 2 . That said, I do agree with you in principal, I think that there is value(albeit limited) in a competitive reserve competition. I also think that the club she consider re-entering the county cup; there are plenty of benefits to bringing RFC to towns such as Thatcham and Maidenhead and potentially tapping into a potential fanbase.

[size 12]

Doesn't the Premiership have its own reserve league? If so, how willing will these teams be to arranging friendly fixtures against Reading reserves?

On the face of it, I think this is a backward step, as although the Combination games weren't regular, I can't see the frequency or the quality of opposition increasing

[Hoop Blah]

Backwards step. Pretty sure we did this in the past, 90s?

I doubt clubs will be queuing up to play us when we decide we fancy 90 minutes of football against some opposition.

By the sound of the press release there are other clubs who are out to do the same thing. How true that is I don't know but I get the feeling that some of the professional clubs are probably just a bit tired of the lack of competition that playing in this regional league gives them.

We've played plenty of behind closed doors games over the last few years and I imagine that this will just be an extension of that. It could also be that the Premiership teams will be happier to send down more experienced sides (as opposed to the glorified youth teams we used to see in the Premiership Reserve League) on this one off basis whilst leaving their youthful reserve teams to play in the league.

As long as they can get enough fixtures (which I'm sure they've looked into thoroughly) and it's against a better quality of oppoisition then this sounds ok to me.

[Barry the bird boggler]

The issue before was that we scrapped the reserve team altogether, this time we still operate one but the games will not be quite so pointless in terms of the standard of the opposition.

Also the tone of the press release implies other clubs are doing it and the club don't seem to have any worries about getting sufficient games.

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

It's the fact the Combination are so demanding and run by a bunch fuddy duddys.

They can't dictate to clubs the size of Reading or Bristol City or Cardiff when and where you are gonna play.

No one wants to go to Tiverton on a cold Tuesday night. They won't let you play at your training ground, but won't let you kick off at 2pm unless you play at your stadium.

They only have themselves to blame for ruining their own competition.

[Terminal Boardom]

Considering the number of friendlies the club arranges for the stiffs throughout the season then this comes as no surprise.

[Ian Royal]

Backwards step. Pretty sure we did this in the past, 90s?

I doubt clubs will be queuing up to play us when we decide we fancy 90 minutes of football against some opposition.

Wasn't the backwards step that we just scrapped the reserve team altogether? Under Bullivant or Burns we definitely did something like that...

Now we seem to be actively seeking out decent quality opposition for them. I can't see us having done it if we won't be able to arrange many games. Or if it would significantly harm the development of players.

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

Pretty sure Burns scrapt it to get rid of Pardew.

I know we can't say it, but.......

[Magnus]

Backwards step. Pretty sure we did this in the past, 90s?

93/94. The backwards step affected us so badly that we promptly won Division 2 .

I rest my case.

[Magnus]

Backwards step. Pretty sure we did this in the past, 90s?

I doubt clubs will be queuing up to play us when we decide we fancy 90 minutes of football against some opposition.

Wasn't the backwards step that we just scrapped the reserve team altogether? Under Bullivant or Burns we definitely did something like that...

That might be what I'm thinking about TBF. It'll do anyway as floyd has otherwise destroyed any credibility I may have had left here.

[Plymouth_Royal]

Won't it cost us money to play sides from overseas?

"..and perhaps when squads come in from overseas as well."

I guess when overseas teams maybe here on tour or for whatever other reason they may fancy a competitive freindly. Hence where the suggestion comes in.