Why don't we have England B' Teams?

[fozzybear]

I've just been wondering about this.

Why don't we have an England B' team and have matches against 1st teams of other countries. This would surely allow younger players to progress at an early age as well as getting crucial experience against quality opposition (not under 21's!).

There's so many players at the moment who arn't getting a look in with the England squad. Why don't we have 2 squads of, let's say, 18 players - one A'Team and one B'Team?

Here's an example of players that don't seem to be getting a look in at the moment.

Keepers - A bit thin on the ground at the moment.

Defenders - Michael Dawson, Anton Ferdinand, Gareth Barry, P Bardsley.

Midfield - Aaron Lennon, Kevin Nolan, Matthew Etherington, Joey Barton, Scott Parker, S Downing, J Pennant.

Strikers - J Beattie, M Harewood, J Defoe.

Feel free to mock my selections.

 

[fozzybear]

Been done before. Some players took offence and went off in a strop (e.g. Chris Sutton).

Main issue I guess is that clubs wouldn't be happy about having their players swiped for some meaningless B-international.

Well, something needs to be done. There's far too many talented players not getting a look in.

The majority of the current England squad will be the same in 5 years time. We need to 'blood' some of the more promising youngster's so they're ready to step in. Giving them the odd half here and there in the England squad will do nothing for their confidence.

Jermaine Defoe must be the most frustrated player on the face of the earth at the moment. He always seems to be given 10 minutes to prove himself for England. Resurrecting the B'Team's would sort this problem.

 

[fozzybear]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4822400.stm

Sven's quite shrewd after all.

Is it really nearly 8 years ago since the last B'Team?