Davies Clarifies Future For Reserves

During the close season, rumour and speculation was rife about the reserves being disbanded completely by manager Billy Davies and the sacking of reserve team coach John Pemberton served merely to compound those rumours.

In today’s’ NEP, Davies explains the new aims and objectives for reserve team football at the club.

Davies believes that the Pontins league failed to provide them with adequate opposition. The fact that the reserves went an entire season unbeaten under Pemberton might give some weight to that, but it could equally be argued that it was Pemberton doing a sterling job. Either way, Pemberton has gone and a new set up is now in place.

Following a behind closed doors friendly with Aston Villa yesterday, Davies said. ‘The reserve leagues do not play at the level we require, you do not get teams of the calibre of Aston Villa in the reserve leagues. We have already agreed with Villa that we will play them three or four times this season. We want to play as many games as we can against top sides. We want the standard of opposition to be as high as possible. The progression our young players need was not provided.

Billy Davies was heavily criticised during his time with the Sheep for apparently doing away with the reserve set up there, but the new plans that NFFC have in place, seem to provide an adequate solution for pulling out of the Pontins League, at least on paper it does. From what Davies says, they might be playing fewer games, but the standard they will be playing against will be far superior than what they would face in the Pontins League. It would appear that the future for the reserves and the young talent at the club, is well catered for. It may well be that the young talent we have, has a better chance of breaking through, than they would have had under the previous regime.