Checkatrade Trophy

[Winston Smith]

500 tickets sold at Bristol Rovers
800 tickets sold at Yeovil

£15,000 fines to be given to clubs who don't field their strongest team.

just wtf?

[Brum Royal]

Are those figures for the games against us or is the Yeovil figure for their game v Pompey?

[Winston Smith]

Are those figures for the games against us or is the Yeovil figure for their game v Pompey?

Yeovil Vs Pompey

[Zammo]

Absolute car crash of a tournament…..especially this being the ‘group stages’. West Ham U23 play all their group games away from home FFS.

Bar us winning it, I hope that final is played out by two league clubs. Can you imagine a final of Stoke U23 vs Blackburn U23. Lowest Wembley crowd of all time.

[Zammo]

Oh, hasn’t stopped me from placing a nice little accumulator on tonight’s games. The only U23 side I’ve backed is us (7/2). Think they’ll be a few BTTS.

[double d]

Such a shame that a trophy that L1 and L2 teams actually wanted to win has been absolutely devalued and ruined. What next..... Reading sunday league teams in the FA trophy?

[Stranded]

Absolute car crash of a tournament…..especially this being the ‘group stages’. West Ham U23 play all their group games away from home FFS.

Bar us winning it, I hope that final is played out by two league clubs. Can you imagine a final of Stoke U23 vs Blackburn U23. Lowest Wembley crowd of all time.

Are they? I thought one of the entry requirements is that the U23 played one group game at home?

[Nameless]

I'd imagine West Ham may have limitations on numbers and days of games to be played at the Tesco Bowl. Of course not having European competitions may eas that but when you rent a ground rather than own it you can't just use it when you want.

[stealthpapes]

The counter-argument you hear when you object to these proposals is never less than amusing. “Don’t you think these Premier League youngsters would benefit from playing in a proper competition? Don’t you want them to fulfil their potential?”

This argument comes up so often that I’m starting to suspect our answer isn’t being heard. So if you wouldn’t mind just sitting down and paying attention for a moment, I’ll issue our response once again.

We do not give a fuck about your Premier League youngsters. Not a flying fuck. Not a walking fuck. Not a static fuck. We have been to the cupboard and we have no fucks. We have checked online and there are no fucks in stock. When Alexander saw the breadth of your argument, he wept. For there were no more fucks left to give.

Lovely tirade

http://thesetpieces.com/features/b-teams-jpt/

[Stranded]

It's going well this tournament isn't it.

Low crowds and of the academy sides, if Sunderland qualify tonight then only 50% have made the knock-out stages and of those only 4 will be PL sides.

[rob_dawson]

I did laugh reading twatter last night... some people saying:

<Insert Team> have just lost their penalty shoot out, but qualify anyway...
<Insert other team> won theirs but they are knocked out due to other results

[AthleticoSpizz]

Good!

Always been a low-key tournament to give the smaller and unfashionable sides a chance at their big day out.

Who wanted to see another all-premier final anyway.

As underwhelming as it was, it should've been messed with.

[Sutekh]

The counter-argument you hear when you object to these proposals is never less than amusing. “Don’t you think these Premier League youngsters would benefit from playing in a proper competition? Don’t you want them to fulfil their potential?”

This argument comes up so often that I’m starting to suspect our answer isn’t being heard. So if you wouldn’t mind just sitting down and paying attention for a moment, I’ll issue our response once again.

We do not give a fuck about your Premier League youngsters. Not a flying fuck. Not a walking fuck. Not a static fuck. We have been to the cupboard and we have no fucks. We have checked online and there are no fucks in stock. When Alexander saw the breadth of your argument, he wept. For there were no more fucks left to give.

Lovely tirade

http://thesetpieces.com/features/b-teams-jpt/

If the PL would stop buying in a lot of overrated expensive filler from abroad and actually properly invest in their youngsters by giving them game time where it matters this argument and stupid interference in a lower league competition wouldn't even be necessary in the first place.

But until clubs either wake up, the money levels drop or caps are put in place limiting "foreigners" this country will be stuck in this idiot loop at the top of the game and thus continuing to suffer at international level.

[Royal With Cheese]

Hark at Donald Trump there.

[sandman]

One year thing, no big deal.

Suspect if "the big boys" were involved then the dissenting voices would have quietened by now.

Besides, if it does help our youngsters development then:
I do not give a fuck about their lower league cloggers. Not a flying fuck. Not a walking fuck. Not a static fuck. I have been to the cupboard and I have no fucks. I have checked online and there are no fucks in stock. I've don't know who Alexander is so don't care how he felt when he saw the breadth of my argument, or if he wept. For there were no more fucks left to give.

[stealthpapes]

'Their'

But for the grace of god.