Villa will compete in a revised three-group Barclays Premier Reserve League competition in 2010-11.The new format sees Kevin MacDonald's team - winners of the Reserve League South for the past three years - compete in the Southern Group along with Arsenal, Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United and Wolves.The northern clubs will be split into two groups - Northern Group A and Northern Group B.Each team plays home and away against the other teams in their group and once each against all of the other teams.It means teams in the Southern Group will play a total of 20 matches, while those in the Northern Groups will play 19 games each.At the end of the season, the top team in Northern Group A and Northern Group B will face each other in a one-off tie, with the winners advancing to the national play-off final against the Southern Group winners.Southern Group: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers.Northern Group A: Bolton Wanderers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Wigan Athletic.Northern Group B: Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Everton, Liverpool, Sunderland.
Why no spurs team?
Seems like a slight advantage being in the Southern League. Finish top and you don't have an extra play-off game.
That's.... not many games. And given that reserve games are just glorified youth team games, why not just abandon it? A once-great alternative to going away (and a cheap way of seeing some stars) further eroded :(
From Pravda:QuoteVilla will compete in a revised three-group Barclays Premier Reserve League competition in 2010-11.The new format sees Kevin MacDonald's team - winners of the Reserve League South for the past three years - compete in the Southern Group along with Arsenal, Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United and Wolves.The northern clubs will be split into two groups - Northern Group A and Northern Group B.Each team plays home and away against the other teams in their group and once each against all of the other teams.It means teams in the Southern Group will play a total of 20 matches, while those in the Northern Groups will play 19 games each.At the end of the season, the top team in Northern Group A and Northern Group B will face each other in a one-off tie, with the winners advancing to the national play-off final against the Southern Group winners.Southern Group: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers.Northern Group A: Bolton Wanderers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Wigan Athletic.Northern Group B: Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Everton, Liverpool, Sunderland.
Forgive my ignorance (or just being plain thick) how do we play 20 games when there are only 5 teams in our group?
Quote from: "ADVILLAFAN"Seems like a slight advantage being in the Southern League. Finish top and you don't have an extra play-off game.But in total won't they all play the same amount of games?
Arsenal have made the bold decision to pull out of the FA Premier Reserve League. The surprise move comes despite leaked details of a much needed revamp, which is set to come into play for the new season.The Gunners join Fulham, Stoke City, Birmingham City and Tottenham Hotspur in deciding to pull out of Reserves League, and will instead opt to arrange their own second string fixtures in the form of friendlies. The decision will see a complete overhaul of youth development at Arsenal, with those previously in the Reserve team now stepping up into the first-team as part of the 25 man squad rule. The Under 18′s will continue as normal, while a large number of players will be leaving on loan.The clubs prowess in the Reserves has been well documented, and it was thought that Arsenal would be one of the key participants in the new re-shuffled league. However, this move is a sign of the quality in the Academy, with players now poised for a quicker route from Under 18′s football into the first-team. The best players will be moved up to work with Arsène Wenger, while those just needing a little extra will leave on loan.Neil Banfield’s role should also adjust slightly. He is expected to focus more heavily on helping making the transition into the first-team a smooth one, while still taking the friendly games.Further details of how the new ‘Arsenal XI’ will play their games this season should be announced shortly.