http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/spor...castle-united-checkatrade-trophy-who-13322118 Port Vale (League 1) Crewe Alexandra (League 2) Oldham Athletic (League 1) NUFC U'23 Personally I'll be following this quite closely this year. The youngsters were unlucky not to get promoted last season and should be on for a good season this year. With a few seniors in the squad there shouldn't be any trouble qualifying in 1st or 2nd for the knockout stages.
In all honesty I don't like the format of this competition. It's seems manipulated for the benefit of big Clubs with little if any respect for the small Clubs. It allows the big Clubs to use their squad to get experience after hoovering up all the young players.
It's good for us and that's all I care about. But from how you put it I think you are thinking of the bottom half of the Premier League and the Championship and not this competition (increasingly).
This ^^ While it may be good for our youngsters, I can't help thinking it is unfair on teams like Carlisle. I really hope this is not the back door they try and sneak B teams through.
Of course it is. When Chelski, et al, set up their European Super League, they'll need established representation in domestic competition to ensure they can still effectively act as a feeder. It's all a grand design and the crusty fckers at the FA are sleepwalking towards it. To a point, they're now entirely powerless to stop it.
The format of the competition is an absolute joke, like people have said it just ****s on the lower league teams to benefit the bigger clubs.They clearly didn't think it through properly either as many big clubs turned it down as it's played during international breaks which a lot of their youngsters go to. Many lower league sides posted their lowest post war attendances in this last season. We won this competition at Wembley in the season after nearly going bust and I would have been mighty pissed off if that had not happened due to losing to Wolves u-21s or whatever. They don't even seem that bothered in drumming huge interest up either as they fixed the draw last week to ensure that our U-21s couldn't be drawn in the same group as Pompey... farce
