The new Football League Trophy

[The Red Baron]

Latest position. DRFC still silent.

http://www.againstleague3.co.uk/efl-voting-tracker/

RB, I wouldn't trust that as an indicator of voting preferences. The truth of the matter was there was no acknowledged 'no' vote. It didn't get that far. The vote was carried on the initial show of hands for yes.

Fair enough. I suppose all it really shows is those clubs who are firmly against the change. Or, being cynical, want to reassure their supporters.

[silent majority]

I would love all 16 of the under 21s to be knocked out first round.
Hope we voted against
Think that some clubs could have been conned into voting for this and now are realising that fans dont want this so the money gained from the pl will be lost be fans not going to the games

I can just imagine the FL pitch on this:

1. We don't have a sponsor.
2. The competition is dying on its arse (attendances were down last season).
3. It's only for one season.

There's also the possibility that the plan wasn't put forward until the meeting and was then presented as take it or leave it. So those clubs who might have wanted to consult fans had no opportunity to do so.

How very insightful!! That's pretty much 100%.

[The Red Baron]

I've been to quite a few meetings like that in my time. Then a few days later all hell breaks loose and you think "well, what they were saying seemed to make sense."

[pib]

I appreciate I'm not an "insider" SM but I disagree.

It's clear that the powers that be want PL U21 teams in the Football League.  They think, rightly or wrongly, that it will improve the development of young players and therefore the long-term fortunes of the national team.

It seems to me very clearly that this JPT idea is being used as a foot in the door for a restructuring of the league system.  It's being dressed up as a way to "keep the competition alive" but I'm very sceptical as to how it will actually do that?  Will it improve attendances? I doubt it.  On the national football forums I read, the vast majority of fans would refuse to attend the games.  Surely most clubs would want to EARN a tie at a top PL ground in a cup competition and play in front of a full house, rather than playing in front of a few thousand against their reserves.

Will it make the games more exciting?  I very much doubt that either.  If we thought it was more entertaining to watch Premier League players, surely we'd just do that rather than watching Donny/Barnet/Leyton Orient/Swindon/whoever else.

We all know that a handful of games in the JPT isn't going to make any difference to the development of young players as it's a drop in the ocean, but if they test the water and a few thousand local plastic fans turn up because they want to watch Man U ressies in the JPT, they will hail it a success and we'll move closer to having PL U21 teams foisted on us in the league.  Use a competition that not a lot of people care about/value to test the model, and then step it up from there.

I agree the JPT needs some changes to liven it up but I don't see how this will do it, and I can tell that yet again the rest of us are being made to dance to the FA and the Premier League's tune in the name of making the competition more exciting.

I'm ashamed that DRFC have voted in favour.

pib,

just to clarify the club didn't vote in favour.

I'm just a football fan like you are, I just chose (or it chose me) to become involved in the politics of these things 20 years ago, therefore being an insider seems an odd choice to use. But we are, (and there are many more like me), people who choose to involve themselves in various aspects of fan issues. We have a very strong governance team who take these issues seriously. Not only that but we have the weight of various bodies, institutions, authorities, and other heavyweight bodies that we can throw at these arguments.

The worry would be, as you point out, that this could be used as a way of restructuring the leagues. But the FL have already released details of how they are seeking to restructure the leagues so why would they choose this as the vehicle? If you mean will it demonstrate that PL U21 teams can be an asset to the FL then I personally think that will backfire, if in fact that is their position. And it will backfire for one reason only, and that is there is no appetite from supporters to see this happen. That means that attendances will be low and will therefore fail at the very first hurdle. Yes the PL could throw more money in their direction but empty stadiums will kill it off.

You're right to show concern but I wouldn't be overly worried, there's enough FL clubs out there who will seal its fate.

Sorry SM.  The "insider" comment wasn't indended to be derisory towards you in any way.  Thanks for offering some clarity on the club's position.

I guess I am just very cynical.  As someone with little knowledge beyond what is publicly available, I find it hard to accept that the views of supporters will be taken into account. (And that's not to say that there aren't many people working hard to make supporters' voices heard.)

We've seen it in action here with the JPT.  No consultation, and clubs seem to be over a barrel to accept it.  Probably because some money has been waved at them.  Not that I have that much faith in the intentions of some club officials across the FL anyway.

Seen it before as well with the Belles when they were inexplicably demoted.  Money makes the world go round and football authorities seem to largely do what they want.