I make this observation from the perspective of a recent follower of North Walsham.

The current table will show NW firmly rooted at the bottom of this league - played 4, lost 4 (heavily). Last season NW spared themselves from relegation on the last game of the season and it looks as though this season will not be any easier.

It is clear, to me at least, that the clubs closest to Greater London, enjoy a much greater pick of players given the employment situation on offer in the capital and its metropolis. Blackheath, last season's Nat 2 East winners are doing extremely well in Nat 1 and are picking up some very good players.

Rural Norfolk can never compete equally in this scenario, especially when Leicester strip out any of the best young talent and keep them within their academy system.

I guess that my post makes no new points and certainly offers no alternative solutions. I am one who supports the view that the Academies should be taken away from the Premiership clubs and be based on regions - e.g. London & SE; South West, Midlands, East, North West and North East. During their development years those players could go into regionally-based clubs to learn and improve their skills. 

The trouble with this is that the best young players in Norfolk (for example) wouldn't have top clubs to go to in order to further develop their skills potentially putting their development behind those in other areas.

(No offence to the likes of North Walsham).

The present system would appear to condemn those clubs furthest away from London to a future of mediocrity. 

We must try to grow the game outside of the Premiership - although something of a rugby backwater Norfolk is producing some quality players (as Leicester might confirm). It is a shame that this is not being reflected at a local level. 

I didn't for one moment suggest there was a need to feed only the top clubs with these players.

And of course not all will be good enough for the elite level and of course many will add quality to clubs at lower levels and of course we need to grow the game outside the Premiership.

Have another look at what I said which was that the best young players (not all of them) might fall behind others in their development if they don't have an opportunity to move to the top clubs. In rugby as in many things in life you develop faster if you are working with those at a higher level so it seems logical to me that if you take two equally promising players and place one with a Premiership club and one with a National League club the former is likely to develop at a faster rate than the latter.

All joking aside, the distraction point raised is 100% accurate, so many sports, so many clubs, and attracting the players without splashing the cash is extremely challenging when others are paying 2 or 3 times what you can afford, and players are being pulled in so many directions with so many choices.