AFC Telford against 'B Team' plans
AFC Telford United today voiced their opposition to introducing B teams into the lower divisions – less than a month after manager Liam Watson backed the plan.
Plans to enter Premier League and Championship clubs into a feeder 'League Three' were put to the Football Association by chairman Greg Dyke earlier this month.
The new division would effectively be what's now the Skrill Conference Premier, where the Bucks have been promoted to after winning the Conference North title.
And a meeting of the Telford United Supporters Trust Board, which owns the club, made clear their stance despite claims to the contrary that it's a "fantastic idea."
A statement said: "Telford United Supporters Trust Ltd is fundamentally and deeply opposed to the proposal in the FA chairman's commission.
"This is the creation of a separate league for Feeder Clubs or 'B' Teams, sometimes referred to as League Three. This proposal is deeply flawed.
"It fails to address the root causes of the problem of a massively lopsided financial structure and it's consequences for English football caused by the Premier League.
"Not only will the proposals fail to address the real problems, they will undermine the football pyramid based on merit at the point where league and non-league football meet.
"These proposals are not only deeply flawed they are elitist, destructive and should be resisted and rejected."
Watson was one of the first to support plans for second sides to enter the Football League and Conference pyramids.
One option is for the teams to play in a league sandwiched between League Two and the Conference Premier.
Another is to merge the reserve outfits with League Two and the Conference to form two regional divisions.
Watson said: "It's a fantastic idea, it should have happened about 10 years ago. . All of the 18-year-old lads at Premier League clubs should be playing in the Conference, they don't choose to do that and look at the amount who fall away."
