On a similar theme, slightly unusual that Leathers played at all last night given he’s on loan at Maidenhead at the minute and they had a league match last night (which they won 2-1).
I think he’s been a sub for them in last couple of matches so wonder if all parties agreed he’d be better to get a full 90 mins in the B&B.
He played 6 full games and a six minute cameo as cover for Will De Havilland. Will was fit for four games of those 10 games.
I'd be happy to see him stay as part of a cost cutting exercise but Ainsworth's reluctance to start him when we had no recognised CB's is all I need to know.
It’s not get at @wwfcblue time, honestly, hand on heart, but you have referred to our opponents yesterday evening as Sandhurst (thought it was Bracknell Town) and I hope you head for Adams Park, not St James’ Park, on Saturday!! 🫢
I referred to the ground as Sandhurst's I believe. Bracknell no longer play at Larges Lane and now ground share at Sandhurst's ground at Bottom Meadow. It would be like describing Adams Park as Wasps ground back in the day and totally ignoring it's proper history.
Unfortunately, I am at an AGM on Saturday and will miss my second weekend running due to work commitments though I am looking forward to Fleetwood at home on Tuesday night.
I've seen Bracknell a couple of times this season and thought they were a decent outfit both times.
Their best player by far the last time was Joe Grant, who I notice scored both goals last night. Anyone who was there able to say how he played overall?
The development squad concept is a good one given cost constraints / pressures of a proper academy system. As a theory. And yes the Anis and Ferino examples are demonstrable successes. However, there is no substitute for proper competitive men’s football to bring players on. The lone system helps but last night demonstrates that these kids lack craft, guile, gamesmanship. The B team need to be in a league somewhere somehow to bring them on.
I thought they were excellent last night and played some good football. It was men against boys and the result was no surprise. Premiership clubs U21 sides rarely do well in the Tinpot because kids find it difficult against men. They had a small hardcore group of supporters, all wearing lots of merchandise and like most non league supporters were friendly and knowledgeable.
Bracknell and Sandhurst must have spent a good 300-400k to get the ground up to it's current quality, especially on the 10ft fence surrounding the whole ground and the Clubhouse.
I expect things won't work out well for one or both of Sandhurst or Bracknell.
But a B team league isn't mens football is it? Our options these days are a U23 league, which is basically no tackle football, or using the loan system. The weakness of the loan approach is it doesn't allow them to develop as a team, which leads to results like last night's. But it's better for individual development and assessment than half pace friendlies with Oxford City at the training ground.
Our reserves used to play in the Capital League and the South East Combination, does anything like that still exist?
Unfortunately there’s not really anything like the Capital League or Combination these days. And because we sit outside the EPPP system as we’ve no youth team we can’t take part in the youth leagues.
I do wonder if Wycombe could just try and set up some kind of league themselves, it wouldn’t take much running would it.
No need for any great set of competition rules, just field whoever you want from fringe first teamers to B teamers to youth players and trialists.
If they could get say six clubs to take part that’d be 10 home and away matches per season. That’s probably enough to start with
We could approach likes of QPR, Brentford, Maidenhead, Reading, Oxford, Barnet, Woking etc to see if there was any interest.
I would have thought last night’s match was more useful than the kinds of friendly matches the B team plays at the training ground behind closed doors.
It had a bit more meaning as the players were playing for something and that in turn attracted a crowd. It was probably only a couple of hundred people but it certainly felt like a proper match. At one stage Bracknell even took the ball into the corner to run the clock down!!
If we could somehow replicate that for say 10 matches a season, I think it would do these boys a lot of good. If we played the matches at Flackwell Heath or Marlow we’d get a bit of a crowd wouldn’t we? As wwfcblue said, it was a good night’s entertainment for £5.
Just a thought really, the development team is a good idea but that bit of how we then develop them on into first team players remains the conundrum.
Really good idea @Theatre_of_Chairs - it would be good for us to take the initiative. Playing for the 'X Cup' or 'X League' would certainly pique the interest more than rounds of friendlies, and guarantee minutes in legs where needed too.
Definitely something in that but I fear the problem with that suggestion is that the local clubs would want or need to bill the games as Vs WWFC in order to attract a crowd when in reality it'll be reserves, not sure how many times a season you can get away with that one.
Got to say a model of train full time with us in the week and then distribute to play competitive games at weekend for for example Flackwell Heath feels more productive than glorified friendlies in a fake “league”.
happy to let the expert Sam Grace decide what he needs
Perhaps the answer is to apply to enter a Wycombe Reserve team into a local non league division?
Plymouth Argyle do this, or certainly used to. Until very recently, their Reserves used to play in the South West Peninsula League (level 10) before they switched to entering a ‘development side’ into the newly formed Devon Football League (level 11).
Could we get a side playing in, say, the Combined Counties League (level 9)? Competitive football against mens sides. Don’t know if it would cause problems when it came to looking at triallists.
Controversial, could we do this without devaluing their league and without giving an open door for us to be playing Arsenal reserves etc in the league and also getting no loanees ever.
Yeah that thought crossed my mind too. I admit it isn’t dissimilar to PL sides entering B teams into the FLT, which I hated, so basically I’m a massive hypocrite.
Comments
He played 7 of the 10 matches he could have done during his time at Maidenhead so I don’t think that should be used against him.
Really he needs to go out on loan for the rest of this season but our lack of centre backs probably means that’s unlikely.
On a similar theme, slightly unusual that Leathers played at all last night given he’s on loan at Maidenhead at the minute and they had a league match last night (which they won 2-1).
I think he’s been a sub for them in last couple of matches so wonder if all parties agreed he’d be better to get a full 90 mins in the B&B.
He played 6 full games and a six minute cameo as cover for Will De Havilland. Will was fit for four games of those 10 games.
I'd be happy to see him stay as part of a cost cutting exercise but Ainsworth's reluctance to start him when we had no recognised CB's is all I need to know.
Bit contradictory, that last paragraph.
This season and next season could see very different budgets and squad sizes
It’s not get at @wwfcblue time, honestly, hand on heart, but you have referred to our opponents yesterday evening as Sandhurst (thought it was Bracknell Town) and I hope you head for Adams Park, not St James’ Park, on Saturday!! 🫢
Forgot to mention, @wwfcblue, that I very much appreciated all your comments on the match and individual players.
You're most welcome
I think the clearest judgment on Wakely was when we left him on the bench at Port Vale and played without a CB for most of the game.
Let’s hope he proves me wrong.
I referred to the ground as Sandhurst's I believe. Bracknell no longer play at Larges Lane and now ground share at Sandhurst's ground at Bottom Meadow. It would be like describing Adams Park as Wasps ground back in the day and totally ignoring it's proper history.
Unfortunately, I am at an AGM on Saturday and will miss my second weekend running due to work commitments though I am looking forward to Fleetwood at home on Tuesday night.
I’d agree with your earlier comment wwfcblue about the ground at Sandhurst being pretty good with decent, modern facilities.
Obviously a shame they aren’t playing in Bracknell and that they have to play about 6-7 miles away, but at least it’s a decent home from home.
Pretty good side too.
I've seen Bracknell a couple of times this season and thought they were a decent outfit both times.
Their best player by far the last time was Joe Grant, who I notice scored both goals last night. Anyone who was there able to say how he played overall?
"It would be like describing Adams Park as Wasps ground back in the day and totally ignoring its proper history"
A bit like the local council used to do then...
The development squad concept is a good one given cost constraints / pressures of a proper academy system. As a theory. And yes the Anis and Ferino examples are demonstrable successes. However, there is no substitute for proper competitive men’s football to bring players on. The lone system helps but last night demonstrates that these kids lack craft, guile, gamesmanship. The B team need to be in a league somewhere somehow to bring them on.
I thought they were excellent last night and played some good football. It was men against boys and the result was no surprise. Premiership clubs U21 sides rarely do well in the Tinpot because kids find it difficult against men. They had a small hardcore group of supporters, all wearing lots of merchandise and like most non league supporters were friendly and knowledgeable.
Bracknell and Sandhurst must have spent a good 300-400k to get the ground up to it's current quality, especially on the 10ft fence surrounding the whole ground and the Clubhouse.
I expect things won't work out well for one or both of Sandhurst or Bracknell.
And the BFP, second class citizens in our own town. We won't forget.
'Are they still Wycombe's Wanderers?' Sickening scenes.
But a B team league isn't mens football is it? Our options these days are a U23 league, which is basically no tackle football, or using the loan system. The weakness of the loan approach is it doesn't allow them to develop as a team, which leads to results like last night's. But it's better for individual development and assessment than half pace friendlies with Oxford City at the training ground.
Our reserves used to play in the Capital League and the South East Combination, does anything like that still exist?
Unfortunately there’s not really anything like the Capital League or Combination these days. And because we sit outside the EPPP system as we’ve no youth team we can’t take part in the youth leagues.
I do wonder if Wycombe could just try and set up some kind of league themselves, it wouldn’t take much running would it.
No need for any great set of competition rules, just field whoever you want from fringe first teamers to B teamers to youth players and trialists.
If they could get say six clubs to take part that’d be 10 home and away matches per season. That’s probably enough to start with
We could approach likes of QPR, Brentford, Maidenhead, Reading, Oxford, Barnet, Woking etc to see if there was any interest.
Is that any real difference to just arranging friendlies when judged worthwhile?
I would have thought last night’s match was more useful than the kinds of friendly matches the B team plays at the training ground behind closed doors.
It had a bit more meaning as the players were playing for something and that in turn attracted a crowd. It was probably only a couple of hundred people but it certainly felt like a proper match. At one stage Bracknell even took the ball into the corner to run the clock down!!
If we could somehow replicate that for say 10 matches a season, I think it would do these boys a lot of good. If we played the matches at Flackwell Heath or Marlow we’d get a bit of a crowd wouldn’t we? As wwfcblue said, it was a good night’s entertainment for £5.
Just a thought really, the development team is a good idea but that bit of how we then develop them on into first team players remains the conundrum.
Really good idea @Theatre_of_Chairs - it would be good for us to take the initiative. Playing for the 'X Cup' or 'X League' would certainly pique the interest more than rounds of friendlies, and guarantee minutes in legs where needed too.
Definitely something in that but I fear the problem with that suggestion is that the local clubs would want or need to bill the games as Vs WWFC in order to attract a crowd when in reality it'll be reserves, not sure how many times a season you can get away with that one.
Could get a takeaway chain to sponsor it
Got to say a model of train full time with us in the week and then distribute to play competitive games at weekend for for example Flackwell Heath feels more productive than glorified friendlies in a fake “league”.
happy to let the expert Sam Grace decide what he needs
Perhaps the answer is to apply to enter a Wycombe Reserve team into a local non league division?
Plymouth Argyle do this, or certainly used to. Until very recently, their Reserves used to play in the South West Peninsula League (level 10) before they switched to entering a ‘development side’ into the newly formed Devon Football League (level 11).
Could we get a side playing in, say, the Combined Counties League (level 9)? Competitive football against mens sides. Don’t know if it would cause problems when it came to looking at triallists.
Controversial, could we do this without devaluing their league and without giving an open door for us to be playing Arsenal reserves etc in the league and also getting no loanees ever.
You and your model trains.
Yeah that thought crossed my mind too. I admit it isn’t dissimilar to PL sides entering B teams into the FLT, which I hated, so basically I’m a massive hypocrite.
I totally forgot to mention but Bottom Meadow is adjacent to the railway line between Reading and Gatwick on the North Downs Line.
If you are in the East Stand as I was in the second half you have a great view of the trains on the bank about 50 metres behind the West Stand. 🚂