| Nothing in reserve for Premier clubs |
| Thursday 18 February 2010 |
 ABERYSTWYTH chief Tony Bates has warned that Welsh Premier clubs face a real headache to bridge the gap between their academies and first teams. The Seasiders have revealed that they plan to disband the highly-successful reserve team at Park Avenue at the end of the season, when it will be excluded from competing in the Spar Mid Wales League. Welsh Premier clubs will no longer be permitted to compete at the third tier of the Welsh pyramid, where the second teams at Newtown and Caersws also ply their trade. The New Saints have already withdrawn their second-string from the competition and clubs across Wales face the same problem at the end of the current campaign. In the absence of a reserve league at national or regional level, the young Seasiders would only be able to enter the Mid Wales League’s new second division, or the Cambrian Tyres Aberystwyth District League. The club is concerned that the standard would not be high enough in these leagues to further the development of its talented up-and-coming young players, or to play senior players on the fringe of the first team. "It’s a total nonsense that reserve teams will no longer be allowed to play in the Spar Mid Wales League," managing director Bates told the Cambrian News. "It means there is no longer a suitable league for them to play in. "It had been argued that they were getting in the way of other clubs wishing to get promoted, but if Aberystwyth Reserves were to win the league, then surely the highest non-Welsh Premier club should go up. "A lot of money has been invested into academies and there is an excellent one at Aber, but with the greatest respect to the district leagues, it’s not a high enough standard for the best young players to develop at. "In the past we had an arrangement with Penrhyncoch, whereby players sign second team forms and were eligible to play for both clubs, but the one-player one-club ruling has meant that is no longer possible. "The only solution now would be to loan players out to clubs like Penrhyncoch, Bow Street and Penparcau and call upon them when they are needed, although this could only be done after 28 days’ notice is served." Bates admitted that a national reserve league would be expensive in terms of travelling costs, but with extra funding, he believes that north and south reserve leagues could be formed with non-Welsh Premier clubs. Photo: Aberystwyth Reserves will be disbanded [Cambrian News]. |