Rangers 'B' team to take part in Lowland League next season

[26th of foot 6,084]

I would be interested in the pricing of these games.

 

Rangers sending a team down to Gala would be a decent draw in the Borders. Would Fairydean stay reasonable and charge the same price of entry as the home game before, say against Vale of Leithen? I remember the Reserve League West, kick-off timings varied, venues varied, pricing varied, ....... etc. I note the Lowland League is for one season only and I suspect Club Treasurers will be greedy?

 

Finally, how many of the Lowland clubs play on plastic?

[MacK1950 2,378]

Sending them out as a team will have more benefit than loaning them out willy-nilly.

We can still send others, who are too old for the colts set up,out on loan.

Regards senior players who are injured being used in their recovery is a no-no,only exception seems to be using an under21 goalkeeper.

[alexscottislegend 2,330]

Well, I think it's a great idea. Would like to see the club officially brand them as the Swifts though. It's surely better than random loans out.

[Tannochsidebear 2,420]

This level is so far below us that it cannot possibly be advantageous to our young players development. Having seen the quality for ourselves at a level just above this when we were demoted to the 4th tier, I cant see this doing much for our youth development. 

But if our coaches and managers think this will be better than playing similarly aged players from the other top clubs, or loaning out to a higher level, then i accept they know an awful lot more about what will be involved than I do so I back their judgement. It will certainly be interesting to see how things develop over the coming seasons.

 

I cant say I would be remotely interested in going to any of the games though.

[Bill 13,717]

Surely the advantage is being able to coach and field a team rather than send individuals to be coached by God knows who. It may well be the case that the decision to do this is a direct result of loan players returning in a worse state than when they left. If that's the case then the level of opposition is a lot less important than is being made out.

[Tannochsidebear 2,420]

6 hours ago, Bill said:

Surely the advantage is being able to coach and field a team rather than send individuals to be coached by God knows who. It may well be the case that the decision to do this is a direct result of loan players returning in a worse state than when they left. If that's the case then the level of opposition is a lot less important than is being made out.

Good point, it may well be closer to the truth than we will admit.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

it's a pyramid system. i know it is only a years trial but one day we could be in the championship. 

 

a league allan mcgregor cut his teeth in and he has gone on to be our greatest ever keeper. 

[JohnMc 2,766]

10 hours ago, Rousseau said:

We've also seen teams like Brentford abandon their Academy for a 'B' team, because they see it as better for the development of players. Rangers have adopted this too, but kept the Academy. 

 

Would you say we have been developing a better brand of player recently, with this 'B' team model? I feel like there are a few players that look good. (Of course, that doesn't mean they're going to make it at Rangers.) 

 

When you think about it, what does a player out on loan actually gain? Let's say they go to a League One side. Yes, they would toughen up against seasoned professionals, but the football would be atrocious - and, I would argue, detrimental to their progress. They wouldn't be learning any technical skills, or ways of playing that would benefit them when it came to playing for Rangers.

 

We loan scores of players out every year, and they don't make it. That way we're just relying on that magical player that comes along once in a blue moon. That's not sustainable.  

 

Using a 'B' team that plays in such a way that develops their skills and abilities, and that has natural link into the first team, is surely the better course? These players can be developed to play roles in the first team. They'll also be playing against hardened players, which will toughen them up anyway. 

 

Even if they don't make it to Rangers, we would, in theory, be developing technically well-rounded players, who then could be a desirable asset for someone else. We've seen many a club scout youngsters from La Masia: even if they can't make it at Barcelona, they are good players; like Dani Olmo, Adama Traore, Hector Bellerin... Mikel Arteta?

I don't agree with you that playing in the lower leagues as a young player is detrimental. A look at the current Scotland squad suggests the opposite in fact. What holds back player development is not playing matches. Yes, players can pick up bad habits, but frankly they can do that at Rangers too. Surely playing in the Championship is better for a player's development than playing in the Lowland League. The intensity and level of football is higher in the Championship than in the Lowland League.

 

I'm interested in the idea that by remaining at Rangers and being trained at Auchenhowie the player will develop better than if they're at Arbroath on loan. If that's the case then why haven't Rangers produced countless first team players in the last decade? If keeping control of their training and development is what matters then surely we've had that all along? If Kai Kennedy fails to make it into the Rangers first team is that the fault of Raith Rovers?  

 

Scottish football is at a low ebb, riven by self interest and short-termism and hampered by a lack of finance. I'm happy to see if playing our youngsters in the Lowland League will help but I'm sceptical.  

[Bill 13,717]

1 hour ago, the gunslinger said:

a league allan mcgregor cut his teeth in and he has gone on to be our greatest ever keeper. 

That's a very bold statement and might be better filed under "Opinions". 

[the gunslinger 3,366]

1 minute ago, Bill said:

That's a very bold statement and might be better filed under "Opinions". 

others may differ but I can't force them to be right.