Brentford's B team have made excellent progress over the course of the season, based on their display against Manchester City.

The shift from academy structure to B team is one that courted controversy at the time but the setup is seemingly being copied across football with Rangers pulling out of their development league for next season.

Now the academy system, especially EPPP, has plenty of flaws, including the slim chance an academy product has of making it at a leading club, with the possible exception of Tottenham.

A new setup was a gamble the club were prepared to take and based on their development this season it appears to be paying off.

Their first high profile game at Griffin Park was against Liverpool in September it was a lot harder to see how the project was going.

King Kev

This was a Reds side, Ben Woodburn aside, that appeared too used to the finer things in life and included £7million signing Tiago Ilori. The game lacked the intensity of a first team game by a country mile.

One of the major flaws, as far as I see it, is that players in the richest academies are used to a better quality of life and this Liverpool side were going to stay in a fine hotel after the game. Will any of those players make it at Anfield? Woodburn might. The rest had no chance on that score.

That Brentford side was still learning their trade under the excellent tutelage of Flemming Pedersen. The highest compliment I can pay the Dane is if a player didn't learn anything off him then they will never make it in the game.

Every conversation I had with him about football was an education in itself, not just in how to pass a ball but understanding what it takes to make it in the professional game.

Understandably, Pedersen was lured back to FC Nordsjælland and Kevin O'Connor, having learnt from him, stepped up.

Flemming Pedersen

With the groundwork laid, O'Connor was able to build on it and the Brentford brand of football is emanating out of the B team with greater confidence than before.

This was first evident against US U20s in April and moreso against Manchester City in May.

City have spent £200million on their academy, including facilities, but, on the pitch there was no noticeable difference in quality.

Now, when you look at that figure, it's easy to see why the Bees saw little point in the cost of running such a setup. None of the City players on display look capable of establishing themselves in their first team based on this performance. They may make an appearance in a cup match but, unless, there are a string of injuries it's unlikely they'll receive many Premier League minutes.

The $64million question is whether a Brentford B player can establish themselves in the first XI.

Their biggest weakness, at the moment, appears to be stamina. While they still play some brilliant football, they seemingly have less energy than their Premier League counterparts.

Both Liverpool and City ended the game stronger than the Bees. That said, when you've spent the money the Citizens have then you'd expect that.

General view of Brentford's Griffin Park as crowds gather for their match against rivals Queens Park Rangers.

It's certainly realistic to see more players make their league debuts in the next two years but that is where the hard work really begins.

Raw talent can only take you so far. You must also have the right attitude to succeed in the game, especially at a young age.

These B team players have the talent and appear to have the right stuff but, as I'm sure O'Connor would remind them, the rise and fall of Charlie Ide at Griffin Park.

For me, this setup has legs. It's not perfect but no system will be with the current rules in place over youth development.