It was harder 20 or 30 years ago, no u23 teams which seems to me like an extension of youth team football and seems to allow clubs and afford young pros more time to develop, although that doesn't seem to be working at our club. It used to be to years YTS, a player was called in half way through the second year and basically told that if they didn't do something special in the final 6 moths of their contract then they were out. If a player made the grade then they were given a pro contract at 18 (in 1990 that was £125 per week) and they then trained with the first team and played for the reserves until they were deemed good enough. No messing about, it was down to the young player to impose himself on the manager and coaching staff. Young players learnt on the job against seasoned Pros.