Albion chairman Dick Knight has today branded Rafael Benitez’s proposal for reserve teams to play in the Football League as “insulting”

The Liverpool manager is worried that the current reserve team structure is not effective and that his young players would benefit from competitive action in the Football League.

Well Rafa, if only there was a system where big clubs like Liverpool could send out their players, or loan them out if you like, to smaller clubs like ourselves for them to gain first team experience at a competitive level. Oh wait a minute….

Benitez isn’t the first Premiership manager to publicly speak about this idea with Chelsea’s “chosen one” Jose Mourinho also looking for a change in the system.

Speaking about the idea Albion’s chairman Dick Knight responded: “Rafa is insulting the history and the stature of the Football League.“It’s up to the Premier League clubs and the Academy bosses to sort out a reserve league which is competitive. The current Academy system is very haphazard.

“I’ve got great admiration for Rafa but this idea just shows the increasing gulf between the top clubs and the lower division clubs like mine who have been around for 106 years and shouldn’t have to be insulted like this.

“The fact Rafa has the gall to suggest this is the same reason clubs like his are allowed to permission move from a 45,000-seater stadium to one that holds 65,000 straight away and a club like ours doesn’t have a home and has been waiting 11 years to be allowed one.

“Besides, we’ve been to Anfield and beaten the Liverpool first team on a number of occasions over the last 20 years, so why the hell should we be insulted by having to play their reserves?”

Here here Dick! What ever next…. Penalty shoot outs to finish off drawn matches? It will never catch on.

Added on Wednesday, March 21st, 2007 at 10:34 pm under Features by Wilka.