Ex-Rangers defender Foster fears for future of kids let go by County ‘It’s like putting a plaster on a gunshot wound’
described that as “dishonest”. But the defender feels the actions of many clubs will come back to bite them.
“The furlough system was there and it should have been utilised to give clubs and players time to see what happens instead of making judgements now not fully understanding or knowing what is going to happen in future,” he said.
“I have trained with these boys. There were a lot of good players. Were some of them ready for the first team? Probably not, that’s why they’ve been let go. But some of them probably needed six months, a year and then they would have been ready to play in the first team.
“You are losing out on that, on one of the youth players coming through your system, just because you are making harsh cuts at the moment. In a year’s time, two years’ time, three years’ time, where are the players going to come from?
“The youth players are the future of all clubs and if you are getting rid of them to save money it is a short-term fix. It is like putting a plaster on a gunshot wound. It might help you for a little while, but in the long-run if you have got no kids coming through . . .
“If you get rid of your youth system, very few players at 16 are ready to go into the first team. From 16 to 20 where do you go? There is a gap there. If you’re not bringing players through, and no club is bringing players through, there is going to come a stage in three or four years’ time where there are no players. That is the issue.”