Former Manchester United youngster Ashley Fletcher has accused former Reds manager Louis van Gaal of making life difficult for youngsters to prove their worth at Old Trafford during his tenure.
Van Gaal, who took charge of the Netherlands' national team for a third time back in August, spent two years in charge at Old Trafford, after replacing David Moyes ahead of the start of the 2014/15 campaign.
The Dutchman's tenure at United, which consisted of just one trophy, the FA Cup, was not the most memorable period in the club's rich and colourful history, with huge amounts of money being wasted on signings that failed to make the grade and prove their worth.
Their additions to the squad made it almost impossible for youngsters to try and force their way into the first-team, especially when Van Gaal had a strict policy where first-team players not playing had to play for the Under-23s.
That meant that young players looking to apply their trade at Under-23s level and make a name for themselves were pushed even further down the pecking order, including former striker Fletcher, who is now on the books of Watford after spells at the likes of Middlesbrough and West Ham United.
Fletcher has given an insight into just how challenging it was for young players looking to prove themselves, insisting Van Gaal's was "killing" him with his policy as far as the Under-23s was concerned.
Fletcher told Total Media : "At that time you could go out on loan for three months. Now you have got to go for either six months or a year.
"Louis van Gaal was the manager of the first-team and his character... he was a great guy, to be fair. But if you weren't playing in the first-team you had to play in the Under-23s that week. That was killing me.
"There was me, Marcus Rashford and Will Keane [amongst others]. Robin van Persie got injured in one game and he was out for a few weeks and because he had no fitness levels he played in the Under-23s.
"In the Under-23s, there is only a certain amount of games. It is not week-to-week. You might have a game on the Monday and then have a week off.
"Van Persie came down and I think Falcao played in one game. Wayne Rooney played in another. Then you had Will Keane, who I think is three years older than me, and he was still there.
"The Under-23s played with one striker and it was like a queue [to play]. If the first-team players didn't play, then Will Keane would play.
"I was literally just waiting for a chance in the Under-23s and I was thinking: 'I could be 21 by the time I am playing in the Under-23s'."
Having become increasingly frustrated by his lack of opportunities, Fletcher was alerted to interest from Barnsley by his agent. The South Yorkshire club were struggling in League One at the time and signed him on loan in January 2016, before, remarkably, helping them earn promotion to the Championship in the same season, scoring in the play-off final at Wembley.
"I think we played Tottenham in a game and I came on for the last 15 minutes and after the game my agent said Barnsley, who were 18th in League One at the time, had been on a bad, bad run," Fletcher added.
"So he said: 'Just go there for three months, get some experience, get some games and the manager has said that if you do well, you'll get into the team and you'll play'.
"I was on it because my patience was running thin."
We've teamed up with LiveScore to invite fans to nominate their favourite results - the games which were much more than a score. Nominate the match that mattered to you here .
