i disagree with the topic title.
keeping your NT players (and that includes U21 players) in your own country is good, but if they aren't being trained, then it's better of to try and move them to a team that is training players...
i'd still prefer the 5k salary Perenial allstar player (18 y old), who is trained aboard than a 7k MVP player (18 y too) who is in a team but that team doesn't want to train the guy.
so keeping your players in your country won't help futher the U21/NT. convincing the managers to put them on the TL, and having a list of teams (wheither the team is based in england or abroad) that train that position and are looking for a player, that is a key part for a U21 coach. he needs to know who he can ask to train that player if he is released to the TL (whatever the reason may be).
so having a list of players who are worth of being trained, that is easely obtained by keeping an eye on the TL and keeping having a look at the players drafted in the previous years (and i reckon Astragoth, the current U21 coach has some kind of form or forum where he can keep track of the players).
and a key part in keeping an eye on your futur U21 candidates, is having contact with the managers almost every 2 weeks, asking them for update in the skills, seeing if they are being trained well.
for U21 team of countries who have more than just a first and second division, it is almost impossible to be the U21 coach and to keep track of all your players. you need some helping hands ( NT / U21 Staff members) who look after certain positions. i am pretty sure their are a rahter great ammount of teams in the 3rd and 4th division who would wish to train up a player for futur U21, but the only problem is, they don't have the knowhow... and that is something your U21 staff members can provide.
The number of good draftees being trained is aorund 15, and hopefully there are more average draftees that can overcome those who are not being properly trained, so that they can be better by the age of 20 or 21
cause if the coach has to mail 72 people (4x 18 players, assuming you've got 18 players of each age you ar following, but i hope for Englands sake that it is more than just 72 players that they are following) every week, trying to help them out with the training, AND has to analyse his opponent, the possible tactic he'll be facing AND has to manage his own team, that is just to much for one person. so the NT head coaches need people to help out the Nt teams. it's not jsut a one man show. and i'll agree, the staff members seldom get the recognition that they deserve, but they got the advantage that they can learn of current U21/NT coach.
a U21 Coach is responsible for the futur of the NT. so if he fails to get people to train the players, your NT will fail to, cause they wont get any new players fresh from the U21 who are better than the current NT players...
also, the results of a U21 coach can't be based on merely 2 years. if the oach before you did a louzy job, then you'll have 20/21 year olds during your U21 coaching years who aren't worthy of the U21 team. on the other hand, if the previous U21 coach took good care of the 18 and 19 year olds, then you'll have nice 20/21 year olds during your 2 seasons as U21 head coach.
so a U21 team isn't just a one man show. it needs a team of people in order to be able to keep track of all the guy's worthy of being trained, cause new guy's to this game will need assistance in training their talents... it isn't uncommon that the U21 coach proposes a training schedule to a coach who is trainig a futur U21 candidate.
and the key difference between a U21 coach and a Nt coach is:
the U21 coach (the same goes for his staff) has to know everything about training a player.
the NT coach doesn't need to know that much about training, he needs to know more about how to analyse opposing teams, how to find their weaknesses and how to exploit.
Rev