Arsene Wenger sees problems in 'B' team proposal
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Your support makes all the difference.Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger feels allowing Barclays Premier League clubs to have feeder teams playing in the lower leagues would not sit well with the English football culture.
Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas claims the only way to ensure a conveyor belt of young talent for the first team was to revolutionise the structure of the domestic game, allowing top-flight clubs to field a 'B' team in the npower Championship.
Wenger, who took over at Arsenal in 1996, believes such a radical shake-up would be hard to implement.
"It is an idea we have heard before many times and it suits the bigger clubs, but it does not necessarily fit with the culture of English football. Why? Because everybody is supporting a club," he said.
"The supporters of Barnet do not want their club to be stopped to be promoted because the reserve team of Arsenal is in front of them.
"It is very difficult to mix the interests of the smaller clubs with the interests of the big clubs who could have a second team and could be competitive in the smaller leagues."
Wenger continued: "Then the biggest problem that they want to sort out here is for players between 18 and 21, the integration into the first team.
"It would give you a better indication of how competitive a player can be at a certain level if you can put him somewhere.
"We give our players out on loan to the lower leagues and that is not bad as well because they learn how to cope with different environments and if they manage to convince people that they can play in there they come back."
Wenger feels the forthcoming overhaul of the Premier League's Academy system should aid player development.
"They will create an Under-21 league with all the best teams in England together, that I find quite interesting," he said.
PA
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