Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is in favour of such a move. He believes the current reserve system in England needs changing, while Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has also voiced similar feelings in the past.

Both Benitez and Mourinho have coached in Spain, where the top teams do have reserve sides in the lower leagues.

However, for Robinson, who is now a top television pundit in Spain, the system has some major flaws and would not like to see it adopted in England.

"I think it's an awful idea, and another one of the great evidences where the rich get rich and poor get poorer," he told PA Sport.

"I think it adulterates the competition. I understand why big clubs want that, because it gives them the chance for their younger players to compete against more expert players perhaps, and is good preparation.

"If I was a director of a top club, of course I'd want it. But I think it is generally unfair, and gives an unfair advantage to some clubs."

In Spain, the reserve teams cannot play in the same league as their first teams, while there are also certain rules about which players can play in which side.

For example, a player named in the senior squad at the start of the season cannot then represent the reserves during that campaign, even if they are coming back from injury and need games to get their fitness back - as would happen at an English club.

Robinson's biggest frustration though is the level of competition the reserve sides of the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid provide to the other teams in their respective divisions.

Robinson feels that while some weeks the big clubs will put out strong second teams, on other occasions they will be much weaker - making for an unfair situation.

"The fact that you can't go up and play in the same league as the first team creates all sorts of problems for the other teams," the former Republic of Ireland international said.

"How can you play in a competition under fair circumstances where no matter how well Real Madrid do, they cannot go up? So that affects their way of thinking.

"Here in Spain you get circumstances whereby if big clubs want to take players from their second team or third teams, that means that particular team, when it plays in their respective leagues, become an easier opponent for the team they are playing."

Robinson speaks from bitter experience on this subject, as he is a director and part-owner of Cadiz, who are currently competing against Real Madrid Castilla (Real Madrid's reserve side) in the Spanish second division.

He said: "I don't want Real Madrid's second team to be playing against my team's rivals with a weakened side.

"On the other side of the coin, if that (reserve) team wants to go up a league it can end up putting out a first team with very expensive football players.

"I've lived that at Cadiz, playing in play-offs to go up into the Segunda Division A.

"We've been in positions to get promotion, playing against Barca B and Real Madrid B, and we've come up against Real Madrid teams with the likes of (Argentina international Esteban) Cambiasso playing for them.

"The top teams use their reserves to prepare players for the first team, which is perfectly logical, but tremendously erratic because they do not play against everybody in the same sort of conditions."

In England, it could be argued that the prospect for fans and players of lower league clubs to possibly see the likes of Wayne Rooney, Thierry Henry and Andriy Shevchenko returning from injury would be a major advantage to having Premiership reserve sides in the Football League.

Robinson said: "It is good for the club, but I don't think it is fair because what the club will finish up doing is when the kids show how good they are, they are taken by the first team and then Liverpool reserves will play against Brighton, for example, and have five players missing.

"That's not fair on the other teams competing with Brighton.

"I think it's a great thing for Brighton or Preston North End to play against Liverpool, but not against Liverpool reserves.

"Strangely enough, people I speak to here (in Spain) think it is wonderful when the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool's reserves teams play against each other.

"And I think that parallel system is perfect, fair and well done."

Robinson also doubts whether watching superstar players work their way back to fitness in the Football League will be a major draw for supporters of smaller clubs.

"I can understand the thought process behind it with regards to the top clubs, but not as far as the small clubs are concerned.

"I can't imagine anybody at Brighton or Preston filling their ground to watch their teams play against Manchester United or Liverpool reserves."