Reserve league

S

Strang Steel

Well-known member
Is there a reserve league that we could play in to give players who don't make the first team a game every week ? With a full squad of 25 there must be quite a few players that don't play competitive football for weeks and i don't mean behind closed door games I mean a competitive league that will keep them match fit ready to step in to first team action when required that way we can introduce players from the under 18s to the reserve league so it would not be as big a jump for them to first team football.
 
1969/70 season couple of Central Lg gates were over 8,000 when Tony Green came back from a year out from injury. The standard overall 60’s/ 70’s was good and sometimes you would get to see internationals playing from clubs like Man U, Citeh, Everton Liverpool. Reserve games against the Nobbers always had that edge to them for obvious reasons. Of course one always kept an eye out on the scoreboard when the press box phone in the West rang and the scoreboard attendant would then put the latest Pool away score up and the crowd would cheer loudly if Pool went ahead.
 
I went to two reserve games in my lifetime. The first was my first time at Bloomfield against Liverpool, must have been about 1973-74. I've no idea bit I'd guess Liverpool had a fair side out, do remember a good size crowd though.

The other was sometime in the 90 s, think it was York. I've no idea why I went and I'd no clue as to the protocol. I was leaning on the the West Paddock wall looking into the seats and wondering if any managers were up there. There was a smattering of applause and I turned round thinking York were coming out, but they had already run out and I'd not noticed. The applause was for us.
 
Insider said:
The Central League still exists and we entered a team in 2019/20 but didn't last season for whatever reason.
Worth a punt next season, IMO.
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All down to finance, the cost of running a reserve league is not easy, in addition Covid certainly made sure it would not have been possible
 
Late 60's early 70's we had a team full of very good young players
I used to go when I couldn't get to away games
I always remember the club phone ringing then the wait to see had we scored in the away match, and at half time watching the scores being put up on the boards
 
They started playing them during the day midweek which was the death knell, then they got moved to the training ground I think. Used to go quite a bit when they were on midweek nights. Originally they were played on the Saturdays when the first team were away.
 
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Central league was where my dad first let me go to BR on my own back in the late 60s. I don't understand why we are not members these days, certainly helps get players match fit sooner when coming back from injury etc
 
Strang Steel said:
Is there a reserve league that we could play in to give players who don't make the first team a game every week ? With a full squad of 25 there must be quite a few players that don't play competitive football for weeks and i don't mean behind closed door games I mean a competitive league that will keep them match fit ready to step in to first team action when required that way we can introduce players from the under 18s to the reserve league so it would not be as big a jump for them to first team football.
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Question to be asked at structured dialogue meeting?
 
Central League,brings back happy memories of being a ball boy,as stated the big clubs would field some real strong sides against us. I remember us playing Man.Utd during the early 80's and Bryan Robson was sat in block A of the West stand along with his fur coat cladded wife. I dont think he got to see any of the match as seemingly hundreds of Blackpool school kids qued up for his autograph.
 
I watched our reserve side loose 2-1 against wolves at molyniex ,(on the same day we played wolves at Bloomfield road (to stop confusion I am from Wolverhampton for those that don't know)and we beat wolves 7-2 I think !,best result for me in my lifetime ,even better than the Fred Pickering wonder day😃.
 
At the reserve games you were updated on your team in the away fixture.
When the telephone rang you knew a goal had been scored, then the steward went over to the scoreboard to end the agony of which team had scored.
I think final score on TV started at 4-30 pm.
 
This has just reminded me. There was a time when Blackpool reserves played at Highbury, Fleetwood. I popped along to a few games down there. Probably mid 2000s.

Certainly a few years after they had been reformed in 1997 as Fleetwood Wanderers, then almost straight after became Fleetwood Freeport, when they were placed in the North West Counties League.
 
Used to love going to reserve night matches in the late seventies and early eighties, got to see some top players coming back from injury with the likes of Man U & Liverpool etc & the managers usually came to watch, remember meeting Bob Paisley, it was great for getting autographs when you were young
Those days are gone unfortunately with all the specialist help players have now coming back from injury, I can’t imagine klopp sending salah out to get game time against some clogger from a lower division
 
I liked the Central League cause you could enjoy the “luxury” seating in the South for less than a quid, but not the cushions you could hire if you didn’t want splinters in yer bum - how the other half lived eh!
 
Remember going to a reserves game at Bloomfield Road the day after (or maybe 2 days after) 9/11 - was always quiet for ressies games but this was eerily quiet - quite peaceful in a 'life goes on' strange sort of way.
 
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