losing 1-0

hey ho

 

Only annoying thing is we’re forced to play 2 more Micky Mouse games even if we lose. Including against Everton’s kids teams. Completely ruined the completion. Glad we made so many changes & hope at half time we bring off Lindsey to make sure he’s 100% for Saturday.

 

Oh dear.

 

Lindsay to blame for their goal

 

Best to bring him off now then

 

10 players getting a run out tonight who are desperate for competitive game time.

It’s fantastic they’ll get at least another 2 opportunities.

Bobby Hassell is delighted the lads are getting a chance.

 

And yet we have to risk first team players mid week as well. Be great experience if Walton or Isgrove got injured. Pre season friendlies should be pre season. Not mid week between two league matches. This competition is a joke and wish we could have played all the U23s.

 

1-1 now

 

Brilliant that the young lads gets to play along side players like Jackson, Lindsay, Isgrove ect.

The only way for the young lads to learn is playing alongside pros and this competition is a great chance to do so.

Walton getting 90 mins under his belt before Saturday is more than ideal for us.

 

well I did not think that Wembley was a " Mickey Mouse" game... it was bloody great day for the club and the fans. Hope we pull it off again.

 

errrrm this is NOT a friendly, the trophy is a good looking thing and the money for winning is a very decent wedge too.

 

That's was a poor competition to be in and this new one is even worse.

 

It was an absolutely amazing day, I agree. But you have to admit that the changed format of the competition is pretty unappetising on many levels, unfortunately.

 

I enjoyed it. Back when the competition didn’t ruin itself through kids teams, empty stadiums and unnecessary round robin fixtures

 

The crowd is less than 500 ish. 200 or so reds. Even the commentators said it’s like a friendly.

It’s my opinion that the competition has been devalued to the point of being a joke. I couldn’t care less about it and all I hope is the kids enjoy a run out, the subs get a few minutes in their legs and we don’t get any injuries. Which is exactly how I feel about pre season friendlies. Although at least they usually have a sense of pre season excitement.

 

It was a good, honest competition for lower league clubs when we won it. Thanks to the authorities it has been sold out and is now a pale shadow of its former self.

 

That competition has ceased to be in effect though. This new version is bizarre in format - and the point of it, which before was a competition and chance of glory and a Wembley trip for lower league sides, is now getting game time for the kids that the premier league ‘elite’ teams unnecessarily stockpile.

It’s gone from a tournament exclusively for the lower league sides and their fans to a glorified premier youth v lower league cup, with rules on first team player selection, albeit limited rules, applied to the league one and two sides which don’t apply to the premier/championship u21s.

The Johnstones paint trophy contributed to turning our season around in 15/16. I felt at the time, until after we beat Fleetwood, that it was a waste of time. I was wrong. It gave the players confidence and kept up momentum.

This version is a pale imitation though.

 

It isn't the same competition. It was fficialky claims to be but we all know it is isn't. It's a premiership play thing where league 1 and 2 clubs are mere pawns. And the worst part is that those clubs willingly agreed to it against their supporters wishes.

 

Well said.

We were the last winners of the Football League Trophy. This is now the Checkatrade Category-A Academies Professional Development Trophy

 

Because the premier league sides essentially told every club that the pittance they let drip down to them would be even further reduced if they didn’t.

The clubs had little choice.