Colchester boss Mick Wadsworth has issued a verbal broadside at Premiership clubs for deserting the Avon Insurance Combination League.

Wadsworth claims the decision by the Premiership clubs to snub the Combination - a league that has provided football for their reserve teams for 84 years - will rob his young players of the chance to gain valuable experience.

He also stressed the loss of Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, West Ham, Southampton, Wimbledon and Watford would rob the fans of a chance to see some of the top stars in action.

The Premiership clubs, plus recently relegated Charlton Athletic, have pulled out of the Combination to form their own FA Acadamy Reserve League as part of Football Association director of football Howard Wilkinson's blueprint for the future.

Wadsworth said: "It's simply a case of the rich getting richer and not bothering too much about the others. All the Acadamy clubs are going off to play Under-21 football as part of Wilkinson's diktat for the game.

"I think it's a poor show all round and I don't agree with it. I cannot see how young players are going to improve their game if they are not competing with and against more established and experienced players."

The U's joined the Combination last year and during the season came up against Scotland's World Cup defender Colin Calderwood, playing for Spurs, Arsenal's Argentinian defender Nelson Vivas and Welsh international John Hartson, who was with West Ham at the time.

The U's boss added: "It's a crying shame the big boys have gone because when I was at Scarborough we won Division Three of the Pontins League and had to go to Newcastle to clinch the title.

"It was a wonderful experience for my young players."

Wadsworth said the Combination would still be a strong league providing a good standard of football for his reserve team players.

But he pointed out: "The set-up as it was was tremendous and a lot of people are going to miss out this season."

Combination secretary Neville Chamberlain said: "We are very disappointed. The Premiership clubs simply told us of their plans - we were not consulted.

"They think it is a step forward, but I thinks it's a bad idea that is certainly not going to improve young players."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.