Thing is, you've assumed there that League One teams lump the ball. Yes, you'll get the odd team that does this - but think you'll be surprised by how many teams like to get the ball down and play.
I'd rather a defender earn his craft against a wily old pro in the lower leagues and see how he deals with that first - if you can't handle a Kevin Phillips, Jamie Cureton, Akinfenwa style player - then you're not really going to get much luck against a Drogba or Sanchez.
Playing lower down the leagues exposes younger players to challenges they wouldn't necessarily face in the PL - and by going on loan, you'd want them to make mistakes and learn from them.
I don't necessarily think that a defender who has a good game against Akinfenwa a couple of times a season is going to feel it's adequate practice to ensure they are ready to face even an average PL 'big man', say a Jon Walters, let alone a Giroud or Benteke.
How many times have we sent players off on loan to the lower leagues, and how many times have they come back as better players for it?
Ibe? Even he has bad habits, and looks very raw for the PL, and yet seemed to have much success at Derby.
But let's not kid ourselves, the youth team aren't necessarily run to develop first team players for LFC, they're run in the main to produce good pro's that we can sell on to lower league clubs and keep the academy books looking healthy.
I dare say that had we loaned Flanno out to a lower league club that he may never have become the first team starter he was for us. He just wouldn't have developed in the right way, learning the right things.
If you look at a lad like Clyne, he played four seasons for Palace in the Championship and then age 20 he moved to the PL and had 2 seasons playing regularly in the PL before really blossoming last year in his 3rd season. That seems much more likely to be the natural progression for young players to develop. Not cast them far and wide over the lower leagues for 3-6 months here and there, and then expect them back here as PL quality players.