1. It works for Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona

These clubs certainly have B teams, but the importance of these sides to their success is greatly exaggerated. Those three clubs are successful because they are three of the richest club sides in the world, not because they have B teams.

Of the Real Madrid side which started the Champions League final last season, only Dani Carvajal played any substantial number of matches in their B team, and even then he was shipped out to Leverkusen to develop before being brought back a couple of years later. Isco played regularly in Valencia’s B team, but had to take the step down to Malaga before he hit the big time at Real.

2. Lower league clubs will benefit from the big travelling supports

The crowds from this season’s Challenge Cup suggest that Old Firm fans have no interest in watching their youth teams playing against part-time sides. Celtic’s visits to Cowdenbeath and Livingston attracted 449 and 1214 fans respectively. Their home match against Annan Athletic at Cappielow was even more sparsely attended, with only 216 turning up. Rangers hosted Stirling Uni and Stenhousemuir at Forthbank (!) and pulled in crowds of 493 and 324. All of these attendances came on days where the first teams didn’t have a fixture – the crowds would likely be even smaller if the first team had a Premiership game on at the same time.

3. Young players are not currently getting a chance at the top level

There has never been a better time to be a talented young player in the Scottish top flight. Most clubs are carrying fairly small squads, and youngsters are likely to get plenty of opportunities. Additionally, many clubs rely on player sales to keep themselves in the black, which means they are highly incentivised to develop their own talent. This weekend, 17 Scottish players aged 21 or under appeared in the Premiership, and there are many others who have been first team regulars since they were that age. If a player doesn’t make it, then it’s most likely down to not being good enough, rather than a lack of opportunity.

Even at Rangers and Celtic, there have been plenty of chances for younger guys in recent years. Kieran Tierney, James Forrest and Callum McGregor have all pushed their way into the first team at Parkhead. Over at Ibrox, Barrie McKay and Danny Wilson both graduated from their youth system at an early age, while many others such as Kyle Hutton and Robbie Crawford had significant opportunities but proved not to be up to the standard required.

4. It’s better for the U20s team to develop an understanding with each other before they make it into the first team

Why? They’re not all going to play together in the first team. Even Man Utd’s famous “Class of ‘92” consisted of just six core first-team players. Typically, only two or three guys at most are going to make it. It would be much more constructive to learn to play with a players right across the age and talent spectrum, something which can be achieved using the current loan system.

5. Young players will learn from playing regular football against experienced professionals

Playing in League Two is only likely to prepare youngsters for the future if their future involves playing in League Two. It seems far-fetched that playing against Stirling Albion rather than Aberdeen U20s will make or break a talented future international player. It’s not the 1980s any more – the lower leagues are full of young aspirational coaches and the style of play is often not that different to the development league.

6. Radical changes like this are needed to improve Scottish football

Making radical changes just for the sake of it is a terrible idea. Before putting any sort of proposal on the table, the SFA or SPFL need to have a clear goal of exactly what they want to achieve, and need to provide evidence that it will work. “Project Brave” (even the name makes me vomit in my mouth a little bit) may have been in the works for a while, but Malky Mackay is literally just in the door as the SFA Performance Director. Rather than immediately jumping to implement the first half-baked idea that comes to mind, it would be wise for him to take a bit of time to assess the current state of the game and then make some informed decisions.

Written by Craig Anderson