Right, let me make this very clear straight from the off. I do not like the Checkatrade Trophy.
I think it's a load of bollocks invented for Premier League teams to try and weasel their 'B' sides in to lower league football - even if the EFL have rejected it.
Shaun Harvey and the rest of his goons are still actively trying to ruin the football league structure as we know it, only interested in how much money they can make for themselves and not in the furthering of the England National team (as they claim to be).
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But it's not working. Myself and fans of many football league sides alike are not interested in it. And it shows..
Low Attendance Figures
If fans are looking to get their point across, then avoiding the competition in their droves is the way to do it. Last night, some incredibly low attendance records were set and stadiums across the country were left almost abandoned.
Take a look at Portsmouth. Fourth tier Pompey have an average gate of 16,391 for games at Fratton Park but last night, for their game against Reading Under-23s, there was less than 10% of those fans there.
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The total attendance of 1,355 was their lowest post-war total ever and is a scathing indication of how little people actually care about playing these games.
In fact, only 18.7% of people that attend the games of last night's home sides turned up to their games last night; including just 7.59% of fans Charlton see through the turnstiles on an average matchday.
The attendance across last night's 31 fixtures was just 41,066 (an average of 1,325 per game); which pales in comparison to the usual total of 219,568 (7,082 per game).
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Not only have attendances dropped from average league fixtures, they've also dropped from the opening round of Checkatrade Trophy fixtures too.
On the opening night of this farcical competition, 43,605 fans turned up to the 29 matches with only 88% of them returning for the second round of games.
Elsewhere; Colchester United saw their lowest ever home crowd, Grimsby saw their lowest ever cup crowd, Port Vale saw their second lowest attendance in history and The A420 Derby (between Oxford and Swindon) saw it's lowest ever gate - a 6,315 drop from last year's Johnstone's Paint Trophy fixture.
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Interestingly, there wasn't a single three-figure attendance in the JPT last season, while there have been EIGHTEEN already in the EFL Trophy.
Such a huge drop off in attendance is hardly a viable business model, is it?
One Big Pisstake
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On a serious level, is ANYONE actually taking this competition seriously?
The re-brand of the tournament was billed as something that would vastly improve the National side by giving English Under 23 players the experience of playing against physically stronger sides. It hasn't happened.
In their opening game against Sheffield United, Leicester City fielded; a 27-year-old Spanish right-back, a 36-year-old Polish centre-back a 29-year-old Tunisian centre-back, a 28-year-old English goalkeeper and a 25-year-old English midfielder.
Hardly sounds promising for the future of England, but they weren't the only ones.
In the opening round of games, a hat-trick from 28-year-old Frenchman Tony Andreu saw Norwich U23 safely past Peterborough.
On the same night Luton Town broke EFL rules in giving debuts to five young English players instead of retaining five players from their previous matchday squad.
The Hatters also made eleven changes to their line-up for last night's game with West Brom U23s; who fielded 33-year-old Welshman Boaz Myhill, 33-year-old Swede Jonas Olsson, 29-year-old Englishman Craig Gardner and 25-year-old Englishman Callum McManaman.
Over at Valley Parade, Bradford City substituted first choice goalkeeper Colin Doyle after three minutes to get around the 'Five Player Rule'.
Their assistant manager, Kenny Black, joked that it was because "he didn't have a particularly good first 45 seconds".
Stoke City's 'development side' also lost at Morecambe, despite a goal from a promising youngster; 30-year-old Charlie Adam.
Elsewhere; the total sum of the Leicester City U23 players' shirt numbers was higher than the attendance at Blundell Park, the Reading U23 side's goals were scored by an American and a Frenchman and Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth named himself on the bench again after recording an assist in their opening game.
What's The Point?
The team I support, Oldham Athletic, actually picked up a victory last night; our first win since August 20th. Did I get excited about it? Did I fuck.
A victory in a competition I disagree with in front of 793 people is hardly something to write home about, is it?
Bizarrely enough, our next competition fixture is against Blackburn U23s - a side in the relegation zone of the league above us that we will more than likely be playing next season.
What's the point in wasting our time and stretching our thin squad even more to play U23 sides of teams whose Senior sides will almost certainly be in the same league as us next year?
The only way the EFL Cup had any chance (and it was a really slim chance at that) of being a success was if the 'big clubs' could be bothered with it. They couldn't and neither can anyone else.
The competition won't make it past this inaugural year and the National side will be just as shit in ten years time. Good job lads, mission accomplished.
