Loans - Good or Bad?

Jacob Murphy to Swindon?

Norwich City up-and-comer Jacob Murphy has been linked with a loan move to Swindon town. The pressing question for me is, are loan moves really that good for the players?

Without an expert insight I cannot definitively comment however from my perspective you can look at it from a different angle. Lets say Jacob Murphy does go to Swindon, will he surrounded by the mentality of winners? the mentality of players who want to be at the very top and play for their countries? Perhaps not. For starters, Swindon town are host to one Nile Ranger, possibly the best example of an anti-pro. Surrounded by players of his calibre, Mr Murphy may not be in the company that can provide him with the route to success that will be surrounding him in droves at Norwich City.

Take Nathan Redmond, a regular player for the England under-21's and the potential to play for England seniors one day, he is the perfect role model for someone like Jacob Murphy to be playing with, study his progress and envision himself taking the same path.

The other point is the facilities he will be using for his development. I would hazard a guess that Colney training ground offer a higher level of services than Swindon towns training ground. The budget that Norwich have for staffing is likely to outweigh that of Swindon's and therefore are more likely to have a higher level of physio's, sports scientists etc. This environment should be put to use to accelerate the talents of the youth players and, even if it means keeping them behind the scenes, refining them into premier league standard players.

The loan system is fantastic to get players first team football and give them experience of playing in front of larger crowds. Building transferrable skills that can be taken back to the parent club and then applied to the first team playing in front of approximately 27 000 fans. But is it the best way to hone talent into that which can compete with the very best?

I am swaying towards the idea of teams creating a 'B' team which can compete in the division below, as they do in Spain. The idea to create a league where the fringe players and young players can blend together and compete against other teams of a relative standard at the same intensity of the first team would, I believe, be very beneficial to the Jacob Murphy's of our country.

But that's just my opinion, what do you think?