Who Benefits From International Experience?

Another superb result for Brian Flynn's Under-21s today, who are again in with a great shout of getting to the European finals, but what does it do for us?

With Chris Maxwell keeping a clean sheet and Marc Williams playing for the first hour up front, it's natural to be proud, but another play in the starting line-up naturally makes me think twice.

Neil Taylor played too, so forgive me for pointing out that neither of the current Wrexham players can get into our side, and maybe Taylor would have stayed if he'd been a regular too.

Of course, that's a cheap shot, but I it's also a fair concern. It's good indicator of the talent coming through our academy that our players can go to a pressured envronment and perform; getting such experience is a massive boost in their development.

At the same time it's a worry that the experience they gain in such matches might be for the benefit of their new clubs, not us. I know it's hard to hang onto young talent when you're in the fifth division, but if we're to turn the club around we've surely got to hang onto the youngsters we produce, either to get the most out of them on the pitch or to get a decent fee for them once they've matured.

It's hard to see why Maxwell would want to stay when his contract's up in the Summer if he doesn't break through into the first team, and Williams is hardly being made to feel welcome is he? So their exploits abroad are merely putting them in the ship window, while toughening them up for their next employers, I fear.