Peterborough Chairman

Quoted Text

Now, there’s a lot I don’t like about American sport (not least the franchising aspect) however they have created a far more equal competitive environment over there than we have in world football.

One aspect which helps here is the draft system, whereby each team takes it in turns to select from the cream of rookie talent that year. Crucially, the least successful team from last year gets the first pick of each round whilst the winner picks last, resulting in much more balance over time.

This isn’t perfect, because it rewards failure and punished success which doesn’t seem right, so how about this?

Loan draft system

- Each Premier League side designates 4 top young players to be made available to League One clubs, and 4 to League Two, with all costs covered.

- 6 out of those 8 players must be eligible for a home nation team.

- The club in each division with the lowest wages to revenue % the previous season gets the first pick of each round, while the biggest overspender picks last.

- Loan players cannot be recalled, but may be replaced by another player from that club if a long-term injury occurs

So, big clubs get to blood their youngsters, frugal lower league clubs are rewarded with the best young players at no cost, whilst it also dissuades others from spending far more than they can generate (a la Scunny) which is a long-term recipe for disaster.

Could that work?

Quoted from Poojah

I actually suggested something very similar to this on here  a couple of months ago:

https://forum.thefishy.co.uk/Blah.pl?m-1536139866//id-1268404#num16



For me it makes a lot more sense than the current ‘solution’.

Quoted from Tommy

I don't see the Prem clubs being in favour of this as they'd have no say in where their young kids go. I'd imagine they'd prefer to send a player of theirs to a club they know will look after them and whose playing philosophy might relevant to them.

It also wouldn't help Clubs that really do look after young players on loan and really help develop them. I mean if we do it with Embleton and others too, we start to get a reputation in football circles and the bigger clubs become happy for their potential stars to come here for a few months/a year. We would've earned that. A draft system just gives everyone that same level of privilege.

I'd much rather not have anything like an American draft system. Just cap the squad sizes better at the top level so they can't hoard so many players. That's the reason they don't all play, because they've taken so many players on (because they can afford to) in the hope that one turns out to be the next Messi.

Quoted from Tommy

I'd much rather not have anything like an American draft system. Just cap the squad sizes better at the top level so they can't hoard so many players. That's the reason they don't all play, because they've taken so many players on (because they can afford to) in the hope that one turns out to be the next Messi.

Quoted from immariner

Beat me to it with this bit. Someone used the phrase yesterday (which I rather like) 'sledgehammer to crack a walnut', which I think fits here. Just as with the U21 sides in the Checkatrade, I wouldn't be for anything that marks the PL clubs as "special". In a meritocratic system, they are simply the clubs that happen to be at the top table at any given time (and not always for long). NFL, NBA, MLB teams are "special" by their nature as franchises and having the same teams every year. The players are also drafted from an external competition, college football, and not drafted between clubs. So in such a draft system, lower league clubs would be deferring to PL clubs' academies as the best places to nurture talent and there would be little need for anyone outside the championship to have a youth system at all.

In short, the PL teams need to be curbed and not rewarded for stockpiling young talent.