To Checkatrade or not to Checkatrade: That is the question
The answer is twofold. The English Premier League is desperate for this “experiment” to be deemed a success as they are equally desperate to destroy the existing pyramid system in English football by trying to make an English version of the German/Spanish model by introducing B teams into the league using this toxic competition as a yardstick.
Everyone who even has the remotest interest in English football knows this & the well-trodden “trying to develop the top English talent” excuse is BS as your Chelsea, Man City etc teams are mostly made up of foreign players anyway. The worrying thing is that EFL Chairmen voted for this format with an overwhelming majority which is akin to turkeys voting for Christmas, worrying & puzzling. It has been said that the EFL clubs have had financial incentives to adopt this competition but surely that is short termism at its worst?
On the other side of the argument is we, the supporters, who despite travelling the length & breadth of the country following our respective clubs have largely given this competition the widest of berths. The early rounds of this competition in its previous guises (pre B teams) always struggled to get decent gates but not to the extent of tonight’s (10th Oct) gates where several clubs recorded their lowest EVER attendances (Oxford Utd had just 929 for example). I applaud every single fan that stayed & continue to stay away & would encourage fans to continue their actions until this toxic competition is abandoned altogether. I also applaud fans groups such as Against League 3 who have had a magnificent response to their cause. If you have any thoughts or suggestions about what should happen to the EFL Trophy then drop them in the comments box below.