Shouldn't be reducing the teams in the EFL at all. Only change I might like to see, is the National League and L2 merged and changed to a North and South. But even that would get complaints from those stuck on the borders of it.
Have you heard of the new competition that has been created, can't remember the name of it, would need to google, and I didn't even know this was happening until a few days ago, the National League will go into a competition with the Premier League U21's. Will go find the news article on it...
Here yer go lads.... https://www.thenationalleague.org.uk/premier-league-and-national-league-announce-new-co-82763
Yeah was reading about it the other day. Sounds to me like it was the sweetener for the NL not opposing scrapping FA Cup replays. Bit weird that only 16 clubs will take part though?
Don't they do it with league 1 and 2 clubs now. It's a farce, just over 800 at Walsall v Fulham the other night, at a tenner adults and £2 juniors, club must have lost money , just so the PL reserves can get a run out
Yeah we have the EFL Trophy (paint pot) or whatever name it goes by, they managed to get the U21's into that, because we refused them access to the league, so that was the end bargaining chip. Fans originally boycotted the competition, but I think everyone has accepted it now. We got tonked by Peterborough this season and we got a fixture against Crystal Palace coming up, all these games will be televised from now on, which is where the money will come from.
Anyway, bit of honesty now, I was one of the people that boycotted the paint pot, so had never watched a game. The Gills only open up one stand for it, and it's the family stand. Now as @Gessa said, clubs only get about 800 fans turning up for it, so they must be losing money over it. Well the brand new tv deal kicked in this season, so all games for the paint pot will be televised as I said earlier, hence I ended up watching our first game against Posh. Even though we got battered, it gave the players that normally sit on the sidelines a run out and the same for Posh, with some big names thrown in later (first team names I mean)....anyway to the point, I actually enjoyed it, it was a good game, better than some shhite you see from the number one selections, so much so I'm quite looking forward to the Palace game, and thinking why have I never watched this before. Although you have to be into lower league footie, if you just want to watch the big clubs, then it's not for you (as in people in general I mean).
Just out of interest i googled our 76/77 team to see how many games they played and we had 4 players play over 60 games (max was 62) and that was in the days 10 players would do the full 90 mins and often on pitches that resembled the somme and they survived . The only bit i have some sympathy with them for is FIFA and UEFA obsession of adding tournaments / increasing size of tournaments and recognising any a scrap of land as a country i.e. Gibraltar which has made Euro qualifying groups ridiculously big with little or no jeopardy the "big" nations.
To be fair back then they probably only around 8k a game so much less wear and tear although they got chopped down more with more ridiculous tackling
The subs thing gets overlooked massively with this discussion imo. You can swap half an outfield team these days when years ago it was just one player or even none.
Yeah, all the players number 1-11 with one sub....and with that in L1/L2 you played 46 games, and League and FA Cup games and in them days you got butchered lol. I think the only real change is fitness levels - back then we had a player who I use to think who ate all the pies, these days they have to be olympians. Training back in them days was conducted down the pub. Which is why we ended up with alcoholics.
