The EFL Trophy Thread

[antn1.b]

personally think a load of fans should sign for free on rolling no wage contracts and play the games. would be hilarious

 

[Vanni]

The clubs won't be making losses at all since they all received a sweetener to push this through. I don't know what the sum was, but it has to be a significant one I'd think, and hopefully this should cover the match day expenses. But to make your way to the ground and then leave just before KO is silly.

Let's make sure this farce isn't repeated, though I have my doubts on this as no one knows if the 'big' academies will refuse to take part again next year.

 

[Tom_CUFC]

It's the same for everyone though! Clubs will reduce their staffing/policing levels based on tickets sold, OK some stadiums cost a bit more than others to operate and a few will always have a few more police than others so operating costs may be slightly higher, but the numbers are negligible, ultimately if everyone gets the same level of fuck all in attendance then they get the same level of fuck all in revenue.

Boycotting this tournament and the statement it makes is far, far more important than the odd £30k less costs per game.

 

[BeesKnees]

How many staff will be needed if no one turns up?

 

[Grecian O'Grecian]

Don't want the club to lose money? Spend a tenner in the club shop then.

You don't need to attend the games through the fear your club will struggle.

 

[antn1.b]

be interested to know what it costs to fire the different grounds up for a game. the money is all split between every club involved evenly regardless off different attendances etc right?

 

[Vanni]

Don't want the club to lose money? Spend a tenner in the club shop then.

You don't need to attend the games through the fear your club will struggle.

THIS ^^^^^^

Get yourself an alarm clock or a bed spread. Or even a nice cuddly teddy bear.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Just donate the cost of a ticket directly to your club without buying a ticket surely? Buying a ticket is completely self-defeating even if the intentions are obviously noble.

What does everyone think would make for a more effective protest?
a) completely boycotting (or as complete as can be organised) every game in the tournament?
b) completely boycotting the game vs the academy sides but turning up en masse (or as en masse as can be organised, iti s the JPT after all) for the games against proper teams?

 

[WAP]

I find the idea of buying a ticket and then leaving at kick off a waste of time and money. If a boycott is well planned ahead of the game the club can surely just open the Fratton End for the game or one stand which would cut the stewarding costs. I won't be going either way.

 

[hellogregory]

Don't agree with the walk out. Obviously it beats going and staying but not going full stop is a better protest.

At the end of the day if 6,000 people turn up and 5,000 walk out before kick off, the attendance will still go down as 6,000 and will be presented at the end of the season when they attempt to convince people that the trial has been a success.

 

[antn1.b]

our club shop is pointless and very little trickles through to the club. donating direct to club would be better. sos pompey already looking at alternatives as not many on board. we have a funding page set up to cover any fines given for fielding weakened teams so that could be an option.

 

[Crewelad87]

Guarantee all the TV games in this comp will have a Premier league academy involved. This competition has to be boycotted. If we except this, it won't be long until these teams join the league.

 

[Bar Carousel]

Yup, paying to get in is completely defeating the point. If no-one goes then no clubs at all get any admission money, you go in they get the money and can say that X thousand people went. Stupid, just boycott it.

Our board voted against these ridiculous changes. Why should we hit them in the pocket?

The alternative not reported was to boycott the game and give the ticket money as a donation to help fund the academy.

Either way, it's a piss poor decision to have to make thanks to a bunch of fuckwit boards voting for it in the first place.

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

Our board voted against these ridiculous changes. Why should we hit them in the pocket?

The alternative not reported was to boycott the game and give the ticket money as a donation to help fund the academy.

Surely you've just answered your own question.

Without checking, I would have thought the donations, unlike the match tickets, would be outside the scope of VAT, so the club would benefit more by being able to keep the full amount.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

At least the Carlisle owners in their usual idiot ways last night let out the exact reason for a yes vote.......mind we all knew it anyway.

The simplest way to say it was they knew fans would hate it, but prem shoved in a million so they thought 'sod the fans'

For all it hurts you HAVE to force clubs into big losses on this.......football has changed, we are not longer classed as fans of football clubs......we are customers of businesses.

Its sickening, but using their logic the only was businesses learn is when customers stop buying their product.

A million isn't much around 48 clubs....easy to turn that into losses across board

 

[Bar Carousel]

Surely you've just answered your own question.

Without checking, I would have thought the donations, unlike the match tickets, would be outside the scope of VAT, so the club would benefit more by being able to keep the full amount.

But by boycotting the game the club will be hit hard in the pocket, regardless of any donations made to the academy.

The donation route would be ring fenced for the academy and won't cancel out the losses to the club for putting the game on.

 

[Tom_CUFC]

Jesus, this is far more important than a few grand to each of our clubs. By paying to get in you might as well not bother leaving, because they're getting the money and they're getting the attendance, the two things they need to make it a success!

If NO-ONE goes then EVERYONE loses money, and the concept dies.

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

But by boycotting the game the club will be hit hard in the pocket, regardless of any donations made to the academy.

The donation route would be ring fenced for the academy and won't cancel out the losses to the club for putting the game on.

You make a donation to the club directly. There are countless ways to give the club your money without it needing to be in the form of a ticket for that competition. If it is being organised and coordinated, you save money in both the VAT on the income and the ability to scale back the operation on the night due to the known lower crowd.

 

[hellogregory]

The checkatrade trophy

 

[Kenneth E End]

The checkatrade trophy

I initially thought this was a Crawley based joke, but this sums up the tournament perfectly.

 

[antn1.b]

based in Selsey bill for the mentally Ill just up the Road from me. exactly the scummy sort of company you would expect to get involved to be fair.

 

[Smudge]

Are they going to play the jingle after all goals like they do at Crawley?

 

[Look Out There Are Llamas]

Are they going to play the jingle after all goals like they do at Crawley?

When you say jingle, do you mean that fucking bell? They also do it when they win a penalty...

Reminds me of the Black Death personally, "bring out your dead!" Apt for this competition really, it's dying. Sooner it goes the better.

 

[Smudge]

No, I dont know if they still do it, but I did a groundhop to Crawley when they first changed the name of their ground, and they played the Checkatrade in lieu of goal music every time Crawley scored. I was in the away end, so it was a strange experience to be surrounded by people who were pissed off one minute at conceding an equaliser...to then all break out into laughter at this ridiculous jingle!

 

[shoddycollins]

What are people's thoughts on going to the home game against the proper team (if you're lucky enough to have one)?

I plan to go, although in our case the word 'proper' has to be taken with a pinch of salt, as it's Fleetwood (so probably vinegar too).

I think a boycott of the home game against the academy side (Blackburn in our case) would be more effective if there was a decent crowd for the game against Fleetwood, so that the powers that be can see it is still a financially viable competition that is well-liked by fans who want it just put back to the way it was.

The worry about boycotting the competition entirely is that it could just make the FL think that since nobody cares about the FL Trophy, they can mess with it all they like, or even abolish it completely.

On a related note, the fact several top clubs have declined to enter the competition because they don't see the benefit makes a mockery of the whole idea.

 

[Tom_CUFC]

I think you've made this point before but I really don't believe it's the best way to get the message across. They already know everyone hates it and thinks it's an absolute farce, the final nail in the coffin now is non-attendance across the board, and the most surefire way of doing that is by not going at all and not giving them the opportunity to spin it.

I am embellishing this to best illustrate my point, but let's say:

Carlisle v Fleetwood - Att. 7,000
Carlisle v Blackburn - Att. 0
Average = 3,500

Which doesn't look too bad for them and is certainly an increase on what Carlisle would usually get for the first couple of rounds, I imagine. If they can spin it that way, they will. If no-one goes, then they've got absolutely nothing, and the idea dies a total death, no ifs or buts. If that means the whole competition as well as the idea of B teams, then I don't think a sizeable proportion of lower league fans would lose any sleep over it either, but the important thing is it gives them absolutely no opportunity to spin it positively.

 

[shoddycollins]

I think you've made this point before but I really don't believe it's the best way to get the message across. They already know everyone hates it and thinks it's an absolute farce, the final nail in the coffin now is non-attendance across the board, and the most surefire way of doing that is by not going at all and not giving them the opportunity to spin it.

I am embellishing this to best illustrate my point, but let's say:

Carlisle v Fleetwood - Att. 7,000
Carlisle v Blackburn - Att. 0
Average = 3,500

Which doesn't look too bad for them and is certainly an increase on what Carlisle would usually get for the first couple of rounds, I imagine. If they can spin it that way, they will. If no-one goes, then they've got absolutely nothing, and the idea dies a total death, no ifs or buts. If that means the whole competition as well as the idea of B teams, then I don't think a sizeable proportion of lower league fans would lose any sleep over it either, but the important thing is it gives them absolutely no opportunity to spin it positively.

I can't have made the point before as I haven't posted anything between the format being set and yesterday.

But I don't think in your example where there is nil attendance (or any ridiculously low attendance) for the Blackburn game they would ignore that fact in favour of an average attendance. I don't think we're going to get a higher than average attendance for the Fleetwood game either. Decent in this context would be 3,500 similar to what we got against Port Vale last night.

As much as introducing B teams to the trophy is a fate worse than abolishing it altogether I would rather see the trophy continue as the only realistic opportunity teams at this level have of winning a cup. If there is a risk that a decent attendance in all-lower-league ties could result in them taking an average attendance and hailing it a success then I think it's a very low risk and one worth taking.

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

But I don't think in your example where there is nil attendance (or any ridiculously low attendance) for the Blackburn game they would ignore that fact in favour of an average attendance. I don't think we're going to get a higher than average attendance for the Fleetwood game either. Decent in this context would be 3,500 similar to what we got against Port Vale last night.

You can bet a large wad that they will. It will be a case of attendances are up x% across the board with more people turning up under the new format.

After all, this is the body that told us that 16 Premier Teams would be entering academy sides, that all would play one home game at their first team stadium and press released the fixtures and the groups without acknowledging that it wasn't the first teams of these invited teams.

Hardly a great track record of presenting things as they are.

 

[shoddycollins]

You can bet a large wad that they will. It will be a case of attendances are up x% across the board with more people turning up under the new format.

After all, this is the body that told us that 16 Premier Teams would be entering academy sides, that all would play one home game at their first team stadium and press released the fixtures and the groups without acknowledging that it wasn't the first teams of these invited teams.

Hardly a great track record of presenting things as they are.

Yeah but the attendances will be there for all to see, it won't be down to them to present them. Even if they tried to claim that attendances were up on average, I'm sure that sponsors, FL clubs, Prem clubs they hope to entice and other stakeholders would be well aware of the real figures.

In any case, I highly doubt that only boycotting the games against academy sides would mean an increased attendance at the games against lower league opposition enough to make up for that.

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

Yeah but the attendances will be there for all to see, it won't be down to them to present them. Even if they tried to claim that attendances were up on average, I'm sure that sponsors, FL clubs, Prem clubs they hope to entice and other stakeholders would be well aware of the real figures.

In any case, I highly doubt that only boycotting the games against academy sides would mean an increased attendance at the games against lower league opposition enough to make up for that.

The sponsors have already liked a tweet that any publicity is worth having, so I doubt they care about the attendances. The Premier League Clubs don't give a stuff about it anyway. They are more interested in the door it opens to B Teams rather than genuinely thinking that the Johnstones Paints offers any real benefit to their starlets.

That leaves the Football League who make the FA look competent and honest.