Rage Online

The percentage trickle down of money from the Premier League below the Championship, to Leagues 1 and 2 is pretty poor, and the threat of withdrawing these 'solidarity' payments would affect many of the clubs who don't have wealthy benefactors.

I still don't really understand why the Premier League offered the increased prize money for the Trophy, only for six of the invited teams to then be able to turn down the invite. They then did subsequently announce Premier League 2 which is a full league and cup competition for their U-23 teams. http://www.premierleague.com/news/58764

So perhaps the Premier League teams decided to throw a million pounds at the competition to appease the football league before unleashing their own idea for competitive U-23 football.

Group fixture dates released.

Can't see us playing at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea's academy
teams play at Aldershot.

http://thesetpieces.com/features/7692/

More good writing on the subject.

Ah yes, that's a good article,. I had just read it and was going to link to it myself.

Seriously Darryl, just stop making a tit of yourself about this issue.

If fans want to boycott the game because they don’t like the format with under 21 teams I respect that. But it would now be unsustainable for fans to say the reason I’m boycotting is because I think this is the thin end of the wedge and B teams are going to come into the league structure. We’ve got a big game next Tuesday and the fans can make a difference.

For a chairman who has such a good relationship with the fans and such a good understanding of what we think, I find it staggering that he won't just accept the fact that his board made the wrong call and fans have voted with their feet.

Personally, I don't think the situation is as simple as people seeing this as the "thin end of the wedge" and a pre-cursor to B teams entering the league structure. Yes, of course that is a concern (and I use "is" rather than "was" deliberately), but many people were also boycotting because there simply shouldn't be B teams in the EFL Trophy either.

I still wonder if there is some sort of conspiracy behind this whole one season trophy experiment.

I don't believe the Premier League were ever proposing B teams, but other aspects of the "whole game solution" would be of interest, like fewer cup games and replays.

So in order to get these through, the League invent a trophy competition with invited U-21 acadamies in order to trigger a protest, and then in six months time fans are happy that B teams are dropped, but think that losing FA Cup replays is an acceptable price to pay.

Also this new five leagues of 20 teams, who is this to benefit? Possibly regionalisation is a good idea, but last season i don't think we really struggled with something like 59 games? So is it really to reduce the Championship to 20 teams before they try and become Premier League second division?

An interesting article from a Middlesbrough supporter's perspective.
http://www.middlesbrough.vitalfootball. ... p?a=463459

OUFC4eva wrote:Can't see us playing at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea's academy
teams play at Aldershot.

Very surprised to read that we've sold 560 tickets for tonight's game. That's as many as we took to the County Ground, isn't it? And almost as many as went to the league game at Port Vale a few weeks back?

For me, this is the one game in this competition that should be boycotted. 'Academy' teams have no place in the Trophy - it is the one thing that the whole campaign has been about. I have no problem with people attending a home game against Exeter, or an away game at Sw*ndon - that's the kind of fixture this competition should be about. But for so many to want to go and watch an Under-23 side in this sham fixture just because it's at Stamford Bridge shows that the powers-that-be have won. It's exactly what they wanted to happen, and helps to ensure that this 'experiment' will be deemed a success and continued in future seasons. Depressing really.

http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-ne ... xford.html

...and Kurt Zouma is playing for Chelsea!

Chelsea's Webshite wrote:Oxford will provide the next challenge in Zouma’s recovery, a battle against the hardened pros from English football’s lower leagues in a clash the visitors are desperate to win in order to seal their progress from the group stage

I'd prefer:

Smileyman's Paraphrase Machine wrote:The 'hardened pros' who are 'desperate to win' will in fact roll over and let their betters walk away with it. Why not score a few own goals while we're at it. Let's get that College Servants nonsense off the record books - 110 years of history overturned in pursuit of some rich teams' circle jerk. I want Eales to look at it with shame for the rest of his natural life.

Chelsea U21 (average age 45) ... 20 - 0 ... Oxford United Hardened Pros FC

This is a Pompey perspective ...

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/footb ... -1-7676454

Luton make a good point ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38367323

They've been fined for repeatedly putting out a 'weak' team but are still in the competition!

Attendance last night: 1383

Supporters who travelled to Rotherham: 1382

I'm not an expert on football supporter virtue signalling, but if the Swans go out and there are no 'academy' teams left, does it become OK to support the Us in the Trophy?