Foyle Bemoans U21 League

Bulls boss Martin Foyle has found his efforts to bring a new face in on loan hampered by the new U21 League introduced this season.

The "Professional Development League" is another part of the Elite Player Performance Plan introduced over the summer. The vast majority of Premier League and Championship sides now operate in the league, including sides that have regularly loaned players to the Bulls like West Brom and Wolves, with clubs proving reluctant to loan out their youngsters due to the new competition.

Foyle told BBC Hereford & Worcester that he was getting knocked back by managers who wanted to keep their youngsters for the new league:


"Football has changed so our recruitment area has gone down, and those who run that league don't want their players to go out on loan. I've spoken to a lot of good friends who are at Premier League clubs. They're trying to get the Under-21 league up and running.

"I've spoken to two or three managers and asked them if I can take a player and they have told me: 'No, they are not going anywhere this season because we want to win the league'. So there is only a certain network you can now work in when you are trying to bring players to Hereford.

"Our recruitment area has gone from around 15% of the Premier League and Football League down to around 10%."

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