Quote Originally Posted by applepie2 View Post
It was rather different back then. Turnover of players was much lower, and it was far more common for a player to stay with a club for five years or more. Jimmy Sirrel’s record was pretty good; there were some players like Eddie Cliff who were just cover (for Ray O’Brien in his case) but I don’t recall many complete duds. Of course some players lost form or didn’t really come back successfully from injury (Eric Probert, iirc).

Having a proper reserve team had some benefits - a more helpful path for up and coming youngsters, and a gentler reintroduction for players returning after injury. I used to enjoy watching the reserves, a cheap afternoon out when the first team were away, and a chance to see a fringe player’s potential.
I agree, I used to watch alot of reserves as a kid with the A4 printed team sheet. Got to see the players coming back from injury and some good ones coming through. Still was one of my favourite moments when Chris Short said cheers to me when I threw him the ball at the front of the old Sirrel stand. I was made up!