There's still a handful of games to be played, but of the 16 u23s teams that are entered, only 2 have progressed to the 2nd round (Chelsea could make it 3). Surely now the football league or whoever will see its a mockery. Bradford City had their lowest ever attendance at Valley Parade yesterday for a competitive fixture. There was less than a thousand in attendance to see a 2nd string Rotherham side hammer a 2nd string Bradford side. We know first hand that this competition gives smaller clubs the chance to play at Wembley for silverware, and it's about time this disrespectful action of adding PL u23 sides was scrapped. There needs to be an improvement at u23s level but this certainly isn't it.
The premier league sides should never have been allowed to enter in the first place; the vast majority of fans were against it for reasons stated above. The best thing that could happen would be for two premier league sides to get to Wembley and the final be watched by around 3,500 fans. Having said that the footballing authorities would probably see this as a roaring success that fully justified their decision to debase the competition.
I honestly don't think they get anything. I thought that after last season they would have gone back to the original format, but not only have the carried on with the youngsters, but they also seem to have further complicated it.
It's about time the FA or whoever has some clout hammered the top clubs for stifling all this talent. As a knee jerk reaction I'd suggest that after a season out on loan to a league club any player should be included in the parent club's 25 for the following season or the parent club should be made to release them. Is it Chelsea that have just lost their longest standing player and he's never played in the first team? Pathetic.
It's a joke, I enjoyed our day out at Wembley in the jpt and enjoyed the semis against Fleetwood. But if we were to play in the competition again (hope we won't) and the prem youth teams were in I wouldn't go to any of the games including the final.
The entire competition is just a farce. The powers that be clearly thought that this would be a step towards the continental competitive B Team model but it couldn't be any further from that, in my opinion. The best U23 players are either playing in their respective club's first team or they're out on loan elsewhere getting first team football so what you actually see in the competition are the worst U23 players that haven't secured a loan move or players that are actually U18/U20 players, as evidenced by the OP's analysis as to the two/three U23 sides that have managed to progress. I just can't imagine fans or players of the likes of say Bradford City getting excited at playing essentially a PL youth side or best case scenario against a vastly weakened FL side. It's just pathetic and is clearly viewed as a hindrance by all involved.
It's not good timing for the u23 squads though archey. It's been done at times that don't benefit the u23 teams. How many of the better Chelsea players say are around this week. The u17's just been played. Manchester city had a team out in the comp and played the first team the same night. It was the league cup game against Wolves and the u23 game at Bradford which they lost 2-1.
This whole debacle proves two things to me. Firstly the standard of competition at Under 23 level is failing young players and doesn't prepare them for the pro game. Secondly, whatever the suits commercial, Premier friendly schemes are, us ordinary fans ultimately have the power to prevent ludricrous changes by withholding our money. I've said for a number of years, why not merge the League Cup and Football League Trophy so that it is exactly what it says on the tin... a competition for Football League teams. Sod the Prem who can't be arsed with it anyway. But there again, the gulf between League Ome and the Championship is also now so huge that it wouldn't be that level a playing field.
It's hardly ideal timing for the FL clubs either whose first team played the weekend before and whose U23 side also has fixtures to maintain. The better youngsters from the PL club's U23 squads are already out on loan at FL clubs. Abraham last season and Ugbo this season are prime examples of the cream of Chelsea's U23 crop that have been shipped out on loan to get first team experience.
It could be something to do with all these sponsors tha knows, checkertrade johnstons paint they might want Premier teams in the competition be they there 2nd teams, this trophy should be played for by championship, 1st and 2nd Division clubs as its a football league trophy. Did you know the 1st football league trouphy in the early 1960's was bought and given to the football league by the then President a certain Joe Richards of Barnsley F.C.
I definitely agree that the trophy should be merged with the league cup and sod the prem, would be better for all involved.
U23 is such a stupid pointless category of football anyway. They should be playing competitive mesters football from 21 at the latest.
And what about the football league clubs who have to spend tens of thousands of pounds to open up their stadiums, cover security costs and turn on the undersoil heating for 600 to watch literally men against boys. Something needs to be done to improve the standard of young players coming through, and all this competition does is highlights the disparity between league clubs and u23 teams.
http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/match-reports/grimsby-town-1-1-sunderland-749009 248 fans with 3 away supporters. To see the elite team that is Sunderland’s U21 team. Beyond a joke
It sounds like even Grimsby didn't actually bother fielding their full first team, which says it all.