So it's no secret that I'm dead against the Leasing.com trophy in its current format, and with ticketing information for the final being announced, obviously anyone is free to buy or not buy tickets as we live in a free country and I won't judge anyone for buying a ticket however before you buy your tickets, take a few moments to consider what you are doing.
The inclusion of PL academies (or B-teams) into a competition that was designed to give teams in League One and Two a shot at getting to Wembley is terrible for a number of reasons. Firstly, every b-team that wins a game in the knock-out stage is denying a League One or Two team a chance to play at Wembley, and every team that makes it through the group stage is also denying a League One or Two team the chance to play at Wembley for a team that has no reason to be in the competition. You may say, oh just put a strong line-up and you'll beat them but football is not so simply and straightfoward as that, the stronger team doesn't always win, especially in a cup competition. It isn't simply a case of put a stronger team out and you ill win plus these kids are theoretically meant to be some of the best in their age category in the country (backed up with older PL players coming back from injury, etc so they're hardly going to be walk overs anyway....
Secondly, the inclusion of B-teams, as I've mentioned before, means the implicit value and worth of League One or Two clubs is based upon the number of minutes they can give to these PL kids (and older players coming back to fitness) as training opposition. That is the criteria that we are judged. We're not judged as clubs with our own history, our own fan bases, our own stadia, etc. We're just lumped together as 'PL kid training opposition'. For a club that's over 120 years old, I feel like this is incredibly and insulting to Portsmouth (as the other historic clubs in League One and League Two). We're not just training opposition, we are so much more than that. We're two time FA Cup winners, we're two time League champions, we've played hundreds or thousands of games, we've won all four league divisions, etc. So I find it frankly insulting that in 2020 (and 2019) we are just seen by the powers that be as nothing more than training opposition for these kids.
Yes, you may argue that we're not playing a b-team so it's fine, it doesn't matter but it does matter. I'm afraid we can't just view this match in isolation, this is part of a bigger competition. You can try to disassociate this match from the matches against b-teams or the presence of b-teams in this competition but it's a false disassociation because such teams are a part of this competition and will remain a part of this competition so long as fans don't stand up against it. You can bet your bottom dollar the FL will not be dissociating this final from the rest of the competition, they will use the attendance figures in this game to show how great the competition is. Yes, boycotting the earlier rounds is great but if you then all attend the final, does it really matter? Boycotting something, if you're serious about it, isn't meant to be easy but if you want to succeed and bring about change, it's not going to be easy, it's going to be hard, you're going to have to make difficult decisions. A boycott where you selectively ignore it is not really a boycott at all. Plus, just think what message you're sending to the FL and the PL by attending this match, you're saying (no doubt unwittingly) is that we can overlook b-teams in this competition, they don't matter, we might get a bit annoyed and not attend a few earlier round games but ultimately, when it comes to crunch time we can overlook them. The EFL are counting on people supporting their team no matter what, and attending these matches (including those against b-teams) to just support their team. Who is to say this won't lead to b-teams in the league in the future? Yes, they have said this won't happen but don't be so naive as to think it won't happen if the powers that be want it to happen. We've already proven that any boycott will be selectively ignored, and people will continue to attend matches at their club just because they want to support their club, and who is to say that won't be the same case if b-teams ever enter the league? And even if b-teams never enter the league, I do not think they should be in any first team competition. Yes, I admire those who have unwavering support for their clubs and that isn't usually a bad thing, but sometimes you have to think of the bigger picture unfortunately.
Just think by not attending the message you are sending to the fl and pl: we won't just sit idly by and accept b-teams in this or any other competition, we will not sit idly by while Portsmouth and Accrington Stanley and Wycombe Wanderers are seen as nothing more than training opposition to PL kids.
As I say, you are free to attend if you want to and I won't judge you or hold it against you. Just I urge you to think strongly what you are doing, why you are doing it and the implications of it.
The inclusion of PL academies (or B-teams) into a competition that was designed to give teams in League One and Two a shot at getting to Wembley is terrible for a number of reasons. Firstly, every b-team that wins a game in the knock-out stage is denying a League One or Two team a chance to play at Wembley, and every team that makes it through the group stage is also denying a League One or Two team the chance to play at Wembley for a team that has no reason to be in the competition. You may say, oh just put a strong line-up and you'll beat them but football is not so simply and straightfoward as that, the stronger team doesn't always win, especially in a cup competition. It isn't simply a case of put a stronger team out and you ill win plus these kids are theoretically meant to be some of the best in their age category in the country (backed up with older PL players coming back from injury, etc so they're hardly going to be walk overs anyway....
Secondly, the inclusion of B-teams, as I've mentioned before, means the implicit value and worth of League One or Two clubs is based upon the number of minutes they can give to these PL kids (and older players coming back to fitness) as training opposition. That is the criteria that we are judged. We're not judged as clubs with our own history, our own fan bases, our own stadia, etc. We're just lumped together as 'PL kid training opposition'. For a club that's over 120 years old, I feel like this is incredibly and insulting to Portsmouth (as the other historic clubs in League One and League Two). We're not just training opposition, we are so much more than that. We're two time FA Cup winners, we're two time League champions, we've played hundreds or thousands of games, we've won all four league divisions, etc. So I find it frankly insulting that in 2020 (and 2019) we are just seen by the powers that be as nothing more than training opposition for these kids.
Yes, you may argue that we're not playing a b-team so it's fine, it doesn't matter but it does matter. I'm afraid we can't just view this match in isolation, this is part of a bigger competition. You can try to disassociate this match from the matches against b-teams or the presence of b-teams in this competition but it's a false disassociation because such teams are a part of this competition and will remain a part of this competition so long as fans don't stand up against it. You can bet your bottom dollar the FL will not be dissociating this final from the rest of the competition, they will use the attendance figures in this game to show how great the competition is. Yes, boycotting the earlier rounds is great but if you then all attend the final, does it really matter? Boycotting something, if you're serious about it, isn't meant to be easy but if you want to succeed and bring about change, it's not going to be easy, it's going to be hard, you're going to have to make difficult decisions. A boycott where you selectively ignore it is not really a boycott at all. Plus, just think what message you're sending to the FL and the PL by attending this match, you're saying (no doubt unwittingly) is that we can overlook b-teams in this competition, they don't matter, we might get a bit annoyed and not attend a few earlier round games but ultimately, when it comes to crunch time we can overlook them. The EFL are counting on people supporting their team no matter what, and attending these matches (including those against b-teams) to just support their team. Who is to say this won't lead to b-teams in the league in the future? Yes, they have said this won't happen but don't be so naive as to think it won't happen if the powers that be want it to happen. We've already proven that any boycott will be selectively ignored, and people will continue to attend matches at their club just because they want to support their club, and who is to say that won't be the same case if b-teams ever enter the league? And even if b-teams never enter the league, I do not think they should be in any first team competition. Yes, I admire those who have unwavering support for their clubs and that isn't usually a bad thing, but sometimes you have to think of the bigger picture unfortunately.
Just think by not attending the message you are sending to the fl and pl: we won't just sit idly by and accept b-teams in this or any other competition, we will not sit idly by while Portsmouth and Accrington Stanley and Wycombe Wanderers are seen as nothing more than training opposition to PL kids.
As I say, you are free to attend if you want to and I won't judge you or hold it against you. Just I urge you to think strongly what you are doing, why you are doing it and the implications of it.
