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Post by philbemmygas on Dec 6, 2017 7:39:07 GMT
God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Sadly the mid part was severely lacking amoungst many, who wrongly believed the former. Whilst the carrot of potential earnings was enough to convince some teams to vote in favour of this shambles of a tournament; it's clear that the EFL are ignoring the attendance figures to pander to the premiersh*t. Therefore in my opinion the boycott of a number of fans in the early stages of a generally poorly supported cup, made to all intents and purpose the sum total of f*ck all difference. I attended one game this season; pretty much the same as last season because I wanted to watch my team. Unless they (the EFL) enforce their ideology on said premiersh*t teams to represent the appropriate number of home nations youngsters; then it will remain a farce. The success of Englands lower age level teams in winning two world cups; can easily be attributed to this cup by the spin doctors of the EFL et al, in reality we ll know this to be bollox but it wont change their minds. I would suggest we follow the rest of the herd and either support or not support our team (dependant on personal opinion/circumstances) as it wont change anything with Shaun Harvey and his gang. Long live the revolution
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Post by Henbury Gas on Dec 6, 2017 7:50:37 GMT
I wonder what would happen if one or two of these super expensive premiershit players got a serious injury during one of these games....
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2017 11:03:07 GMT
I'd say no credit to the BBC as they're refusing to publish the facts - abysmal attendances and weakened line-ups! There is an article on their website explaining how dire the crowds were for last nights games and pointing out that leicester fielded 6 over age players.
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Post by BishopstonBRFC on Dec 6, 2017 14:22:19 GMT
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42246392Shameful rules, makes me so angry. Definitely time to kill this competition dead. These Premier League clubs can no longer use lower league clubs as their own personal training ground opponents. The EFL must have no shame. And shame on the clubs that voted in favour for a cheap buck. Brilliant to see this competition is being shown as the farce it is.
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Post by warehamgas on Dec 8, 2017 15:42:13 GMT
Ultimately EFL clubs will vote for the option that provides more money, sad but true I feel. I would like Harvey and the EFL explain to me how Leicester fielding a team costing £45m and West Ham fielding a team with several overseas players one of whom cost £4.5m is going to help England develop young players, which was one of the reasons for these teams entering the competition. I suspect that I may have to wait a long time before i get the answer. UTG! Fully agree with your comments, I've e-mailed my concerns to them, I'm sure if enough people sent them a e-mail they may get the idea enquiries@efl.com Thanks henbury when I get home I will do the same. best wishes, warehamgas. UTG!
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Post by knowall on Dec 8, 2017 16:32:08 GMT
Fully agree with your comments, I've e-mailed my concerns to them, I'm sure if enough people sent them a e-mail they may get the idea enquiries@efl.com Thanks henbury when I get home I will do the same. best wishes, warehamgas. UTG! You are completely right and have to be complimented for your efforts, however, you might be interested to know that the family that owns Checkatrade are happy to continue sponsorship because they are getting their Company name publicised and the fact that there are Premiership Clubs involved gives their reason for sponsoring credence. They are not at all interested in the 'helps England' aspect.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2018 15:48:07 GMT
Lincoln v Chelsea u21 in the semi final Tuesday.Nothing against Lincoln but Chelsea surely wouldn't attract much of a following if they made the final.Up the Blues!
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Post by legas on Feb 4, 2018 16:34:08 GMT
Chelsea u23s against Fleetwood in the final would surely show the competition up for what it is. That said, Lincoln have had some crap times lately (pretty much since we did them in the play-offs in 2007 - how many times in a row did they mess that up?!), so I wouldn’t begrudge them a trip to Wembley.
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Post by Gassy on Feb 6, 2018 15:43:52 GMT
Only just came across this thread the other day, so I sent them an email with the BBC link above. I actually got a reply. I thought i'd also share my reply I just sent them back, let's see what they say
Hello Jack,
Thank you for your further email regarding the Checkatrade Trophy, we note your comments.
In terms of the format, essentially, the reasons for the competition revamp have been communicated extensively since the start of last season (https://www.efl.com/news/2017/may/checkatrade-trophy-competition-gets-backing-from-league-one-and-league-two-clubs/), and all clubs voted on these changes and a continuation of the new format, albeit with some amends for 2017/18.
Clubs were free to consult with their own fans regarding the competition changes and progress, and many took comprehensive steps to do so following the successful 2016/17 Final in April. All of this consultation, combined with clubs’ own feedback, was aired and discussed across club meetings to shape the competition. EFL clubs were in agreement that there were clear benefits for them in reinvigorating the competition. Some of the progressive elements of the new structure include benefits regarding player development and financial return. In relation to team selection, the amended criteria for EFL clubs and Category One (invited) sides from 2017/18 is clear in that for EFL clubs, 4 out of 10 (excluding goalkeeper) must be a qualifying outfield Player (defined as having played in the game prior to or after the Checkatrade game, or have achieved a certain number of career appearances). For invited Category One teams the requirement is that six from the starting 11 must be under the age of 21 as at 30 June 2017. Chelsea and Leicester City met that requirement in the fixture you refer/link to.
However overall the competition, while not exclusively a 'youth' competition, is having a positive influence in terms of young player exposure to competitive first team football. Five players from the England-U17 World Cup winning squad have featured in this seasons Checkatrade Trophy, continuing the trend from last season, when seven of the England U19 European Championship winning team featured during the tournament. There has also been an increase in young players participating in the Checktrade Trophy this season, with 27.3% of players in Matchdays 1 and 2 being English and Under-21, an increase on the figure from the whole of last season's campaign.
Once again, we understand your personal views and recognise that not all fans may have approved of the change of format, however clubs have agreed to the existing arrangements until the end of the 2018/19 season upon which there is likely to be further review.
Thank you for contacting the EFL.
Regards,
Andrew Pomfret
Supporter Services Department
EFL
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My response:
Hello Andrew,
You're bending statistics here. Yes, they were communicated but you offered 3 options, where number 1 (the one the EFL wanted let's be honest here) seemed to have a nice cash bonus. That's verging on bribery. Why didn't you offer increasing the competition prize money for option 2? I wonder why... Why isn't there an option that clubs do not have to participate. How about you make it that a club has to apply to be part of this competition, considering it is so prestigious. I wonder how many would apply, how many do you think? Wouldn't that be fairer?
In your point regarding a EFL team must play a certain amount of players, why? Why are EFL clubs not allowed the opportunity to play 11 of their youngsters for good first team experience in what is a tantalizing competition? Or does the EFL only care about future players from Premier League teams now?
In fact, let's look at the last England first 11 (who you may have heard of) and where they started their careers;
Joe Hart (Shrewsbury)
Kyle Walker (Sheffield United)
Joe Gomez (Charlton)
John Stones (Barnsley)
Harry Maguire (Sheffield United)
Ryan Bertrand (Gillingham)
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea)
Jamie Vardy (Sheffield Wednesday)
Eric Dier (Sporting CP)
Jake Livermore (Tottenham)
Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
I have highlighted players from the last England game who are not from Premier League teams. That is 7/11 from EFL teams. Only 3 were actually from Premier League teams. However, if a team did want to give their players the experience, what will happen, they will get a fine because of the one sided dictatorship that the EFL has imposed with this competition.
Now you actually mentioned here about 6/11 must be under 21. Why not 11/11? Do you think it's fair that Chelsea U-21's could host Hazard, Kante, Pedro, Morata & Fabregas whilst playing Accrington Stanley?
Please do not mention the final between Coventry & Oxford as successful. The EFL were lucky to have 2 teams with large followings who wanted to see their team play at Wembley in 1 game. Instead of twisting figures, why don't you look at Coventry & Oxford's average attendances in the league Vs their home attendances in the Checkatrade Trophy. But if you want to put figures in your advantage, I put this to you - How many fans do you think Accrington Stanley Vs Yeovil would attract if it made it to the final? Would it be 70,000? When/If it didn't reach 70,000 fans, would you admit that the tournament wasn't successful? I doubt it.
Here's another example, Portsmouth Vs Bristol Rovers - Checkatrade Trophy game. Bristol Rovers made the maximum amount of changes they could. In the 2nd minute, Bristol Rovers made a substitution of goal keepers. Bristol Rovers were then fined for breaching rules of the competition. What was wrong with Bristol Rovers putting a GK on that actually played in the Conference Playoff Final for them?
Using the Checkatrade trophy as England's success story for youth football is really clutching at straws here too. When England don't win the World Cup this summer, will you be saying that the tournament failed? When England don't win the Euro's in 2020, will you say the competition was a complete and utter disaster?
At the end of the day, look at the real figures - attendances. That will tell you what people really think. In fact, why don't you put a survey out every EFL fan and ask their opinion? Why don't you? We both know why you won't.
Looking forward to your reply,
Jack
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Post by Topper Gas on Feb 6, 2018 16:04:16 GMT
Lincoln v Chelsea u21 in the semi final Tuesday.Nothing against Lincoln but Chelsea surely wouldn't attract much of a following if they made the final.Up the Blues! If they offered them cheap tickets they may well turn up in large numbers, don't forget they virtually sold out for our cup game at Stamford Bridge, which was hardly a glamour tie for them. Although if they actually won the trophy it might finish the competition off for good!
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Post by tommym9 on Feb 6, 2018 16:19:11 GMT
Lincoln v Chelsea u21 in the semi final Tuesday.Nothing against Lincoln but Chelsea surely wouldn't attract much of a following if they made the final.Up the Blues! If they offered them cheap tickets they may well turn up in large numbers, don't forget they virtually sold out for our cup game at Stamford Bridge, which was hardly a glamour tie for them. Although if they actually won the trophy it might finish the competition off for good! Its worth noting that game was a first team fixture not an U21 fixture.
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Post by spiess1 on Feb 6, 2018 16:40:49 GMT
Most Chelsea fans won't even have heard of The Checkatrade Trophy.
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Post by timsburygas on Feb 6, 2018 20:25:55 GMT
Has anyone told Lincoln there is a fans boycott of this competition, seems to be a lot there tonight.
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Post by Topper Gas on Feb 6, 2018 20:43:29 GMT
Most Chelsea fans won't even have heard of The Checkatrade Trophy. Probably still won't stop them having a cheap trip to Wembley! I wonder what Chelsea players are really learning from defending against Lincoln's battering ram of a No 9.
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Post by Squiffy on Feb 6, 2018 20:48:21 GMT
Chelsea fans will get a trip to Wembley.....to see Spurs in the Prem. But you are right, it won’t be as cheap.
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Post by rusho'gas on Feb 7, 2018 8:44:17 GMT
Watched a little bit of Lincoln v Chelsea last night. All the commentator was on about was how great it must be to be a premiership player in waiting, the pitch was a leveller, stars of the future etc. De-valued, pathetic competition at present, glad they were bombed out by Lincoln, pop that up your premiership ass and move on. Nothing to see here.................
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Post by tommym9 on Feb 7, 2018 8:49:02 GMT
Is it bad I was rooting for Chelsea. I think the day an U21 team gets to Wembley bringing no fans is the day the competition is rethought.
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Post by Qatar Gas on Feb 7, 2018 11:15:38 GMT
Is it bad I was rooting for Chelsea. I think the day an U21 team gets to Wembley bringing no fans is the day the competition is rethought. Yep, this is what I want to see. Was just really unfortunate that two of the better supported teams made it to the final last year so the EFL have been able to live off that as a success story. As soon as an U21 team get there, even if the parent club give away free tickets etc it'll only be a few thousand there. Plus surely the attendance from a football league team would be much lower compared to playing against another league team.
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Post by Antonio Fargas on Feb 7, 2018 11:41:41 GMT
Whatever happens Shaun Harvey will find a way to lie about it for money.
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Post by abbeygas on Feb 7, 2018 12:22:31 GMT
Whatever happens Shaun Harvey will find a way to lie about it for money.
If Shaun Harvey had the middle names Ian Thomas his name would be an anagram of A Very sh** Naus.
True story.
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