TO paraphrase the great philosopher Homer (Simpson, not the Greek fella), are development squads the cause of or solution to all of life’s problems?

Ask 100 different people and you will get 100 different answers.

The intention behind them is noble.

They ought to work, really, and in many places, they do.

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But not everywhere.

Let’s take four different scenarios.

Example A: Johnny comes from a small rural club that’s not used to having representation on county squads.

His parents are both blow-ins to the club with big footballing histories in the two families.

The bloodlines help elevate Johnny.

He’s called into the U14 development squad and gets through the three years to U16.

Over that time, he gets used to hearing that he’s elite now. The players are never explicitly told not to play and train with their clubs, but in the ‘sit it out if you feel tight’, the inference is there.

He doesn’t mind. He’s a county star now. When he does go to club, it’s always in his county training gear.

People at home were delighted for him at the start but the more they see of him, the more allure wears off.

Johnny sees the club as beneath him.

Across the four years from U14 to minor, he hardly plays 20 games for the club. A mixture of head-on fixture clashes, two-games-in-a-day syndrome and ‘sorry boss, hammy’s tight, I’ll give it a miss’.

None of these practices are discouraged by anyone in a circle........

© The Irish News