COMMENT: The FA has gone too big too soon with their proposal for Premier League U21 teams to enter the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.
On the face of it, it looks a great idea: Premier League U21 teams facing League One and Two clubs in a competition similar to the Champions League, with a group phase ahead of a knockout round.
It's certainly a better idea than the arrogant attempt to enter Premier League 'B' teams into the Football League, tearing at the foundations of English football and the traditions which are the envy of the world.
But why couldn't they kick it off with baby steps? Stick with the current knockout system of the JPT, so making it more attractive - and lucrative - to those clubs whose budgets are already stretched?
Yes, more competitive games against senior teams will accelerate the development of the Premier League's young players. But how many clubs in the bottom two divisions have the squads to commit first-choice teams to a group phase of an extra six games - in midweek - while fighting promotion and relegation, along with the FA Cup and Capital One Cup?
You can see the prospect of going to Old Trafford to face Manchester United U21s or Stamford Bridge to meet Chelsea being attractive to anyone connected to League One and Two clubs. But how long will it be before such trips lose their luster as part of a regular midweek competition?
The FA Youth Cup is heralded as the best domestic junior competition in football. Academy coaches are united in their support of the tournament and the benefits to young players competing in such high-profile, high pressure knockout ties.
Will the young players of Manchester City and Liverpool be best served facing weakened lower division teams on a cold midweek evening?
In contrast, if it were to be a pure knockout competition, you can see the build up, the pressure, the all or nothing nature of such games, benefiting the Premier League's best youngsters. The turnstiles would spin, the local media would get on board and the JPT, already a successful competition, would not risk going the same way as the Europa League.
Almost 20,000 fans saw this season's semifinals and over 35,000 made it to Wembley to see Peterborough United lift the trophy last season.
The JPT is a great tournament, it has over 30 years of history and there's no reason why including U21 teams from the Premier League cannot enhance it. But only if it is done properly and with the best interests of all in mind.
