More B/U21 Teams?!

You only need to see on Sky Sports News how much the news items for L1 and L2 are dissapearing to see the lower leagues are becoming an irrelevance unfortunately. Women's football has more prominence.
When the Prem league duvvy up the additional monies, be interesting to see how much filters down to L2.

I wonder what the likes of Man City and Liverpool fans think/will think about this endless saga of European games
I enjoy watching Premier League games on the box (sorry) but find the Champions League games a bit tedious.
Those magical European nights at Andield etc must be coming less and less magical by the season.

It’s coming, simple as…

REVEALED: How the new European calendar from 2024-25 leaves the FA, EFL and the Premier League with little option but to scrap FA Cup replays from R3 and change the EFL Cup for teams in Europe.

IN FULL: https://t.co/M7IliBLRWh pic.twitter.com/Nnk2MOWkxY

— Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonESPN) September 30, 2025

Marko? You there?

Oh a little footnote. Winning on Pens does not get you £11k like James Phillips keeps saying on the Radio. Both teams receive £5k for the Draw in 90mins and the bonus point is the reward for a shoot-out win…

Quoted from Peekaboo Flo on Thursday, 22 September 2025

Quoted from franksidebottom on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from Peekaboo Flo on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from ccu on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from Peekaboo Flo on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

There’s obviously still too many clowns turning up for these trophy games, for them to get the message.

Be interesting to see the attendance this evening when it’s Fleetwood reserves and not Man Utd’s future stars…

Too many fickle, short-sighted “supporters” of the club turning up to these games. That last attendance in this competition was an embarrassment, a real low point for the club in my opinion.

Getting a crowd of over 3,000 in the FL trophy is a real low point for the club? Don’t talk rubbish. Is that just because you don’t agree with the format of the competition?

Calling fans who go and watch their team “clowns” is a real low point however. Pathetic.

Absolutely! For the good of the club and the game, fans should be voting with their feet. If they are happy to support this, you can bet the same folk will be happy to support B/u21 teams in the league. Sad really.

Like I’ve already said, going to a game doesn’t mean you’re happy to support something. I used the current BoD, the WC and the PL as examples. Some people just want to go and watch their team play, it doesn’t make them clowns.

What is sad is that people with different thoughts on a certain subject are being called clowns by the likes of you.

Quoted from franksidebottom on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from Peekaboo Flo on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from ccu on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from Peekaboo Flo on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

There’s obviously still too many clowns turning up for these trophy games, for them to get the message.

Be interesting to see the attendance this evening when it’s Fleetwood reserves and not Man Utd’s future stars…

Too many fickle, short-sighted “supporters” of the club turning up to these games. That last attendance in this competition was an embarrassment, a real low point for the club in my opinion.

Getting a crowd of over 3,000 in the FL trophy is a real low point for the club? Don’t talk rubbish. Is that just because you don’t agree with the format of the competition?

Calling fans who go and watch their team “clowns” is a real low point however. Pathetic.

Absolutely! For the good of the club and the game, fans should be voting with their feet. If they are happy to support this, you can bet the same folk will be happy to support B/u21 teams in the league. Sad really.

Quoted from ccu on Thursday, 22 September 2025

Quick comparison for you Marko, I’ve gone from our return to the League in 2005 as a fair marker?

Home EFL Trophy Crowds 2005-2015:

2005/06
Blackpool - 2987
Kidderminster - 4432
Macclesfield - 5706

2007/08
Chester - 3154
Stockport - 3395

2009/10
Macclesfield - 1753
Bradford - 3176

2010/11
Port Vale - 2273
Crewe - 2142
Sheff Wed - 3149
Huddersfield - 3706

2012/13
Preston - 3471

AVERAGE - 3279

Then…

Home EFL Trophy Crowds 2016-Present

2016/17
Blackburn U23 - 1253
Fleetwood - 1420
Mansfield - 1126

2017/18
Leicester U23 - 1009
Fleetwood - 909

2018/19
Morecambe - 1213
Stoke U21 - 882

2019/20
Wolves U21 - 893
Blackpool - 911

2021/22
Hartlepool - 1360
Everton U21 - 875
Lincoln - 884

2022/23
Man Utd U21 - 3331
Fleetwood - 1089

AVERAGE - 1225

So 3279 minus 1225 = 2054 less per game on average for Trophy Games.

Bit more than 150 at Brunton Park eh?!

Some of our games in this competition (with the very low attendances) the crowds looked a lot less than what they announced in my opinion. They obviously wouldn’t want the lowest crowd record of 6 or 700 being linked to this shambles of a trophy.

“150”



FFS Marko, you get worse!

Going further, Post 2016, if you exclude the obvious outlier in the Man Utd game, the average falls to 1063 - a difference of 2216!

Quoted from ccu on Thursday, 22 September 2025

Quick comparison for you Marko, I’ve gone from our return to the League in 2005 as a fair marker?

Home EFL Trophy Crowds 2005-2015:

2005/06
Blackpool - 2987
Kidderminster - 4432
Macclesfield - 5706

2007/08
Chester - 3154
Stockport - 3395

2009/10
Macclesfield - 1753
Bradford - 3176

2010/11
Port Vale - 2273
Crewe - 2142
Sheff Wed - 3149
Huddersfield - 3706

2012/13
Preston - 3471

AVERAGE - 3279

Then…

Home EFL Trophy Crowds 2016-Present

2016/17
Blackburn U23 - 1253
Fleetwood - 1420
Mansfield - 1126

2017/18
Leicester U23 - 1009
Fleetwood - 909

2018/19
Morecambe - 1213
Stoke U21 - 882

2019/20
Wolves U21 - 893
Blackpool - 911

2021/22
Hartlepool - 1360
Everton U21 - 875
Lincoln - 884

2022/23
Man Utd U21 - 3331
Fleetwood - 1089

AVERAGE - 1225

So 3279 minus 1225 = 2054 less per game on average for Trophy Games.

Bit more than 150 at Brunton Park eh?!

He he, not like Marko to be inaccurate is it?

Quick comparison for you Marko, I’ve gone from our return to the League in 2005 as a fair marker?

Home EFL Trophy Crowds 2005-2015:

2005/06
Blackpool - 2987
Kidderminster - 4432
Macclesfield - 5706

2007/08
Chester - 3154
Stockport - 3395

2009/10
Macclesfield - 1753
Bradford - 3176

2010/11
Port Vale - 2273
Crewe - 2142
Sheff Wed - 3149
Huddersfield - 3706

2012/13
Preston - 3471

AVERAGE - 3279

Then…

Home EFL Trophy Crowds 2016-Present

2016/17
Blackburn U23 - 1253
Fleetwood - 1420
Mansfield - 1126

2017/18
Leicester U23 - 1009
Fleetwood - 909

2018/19
Morecambe - 1213
Stoke U21 - 882

2019/20
Wolves U21 - 893
Blackpool - 911

2021/22
Hartlepool - 1360
Everton U21 - 875
Lincoln - 884

2022/23
Man Utd U21 - 3331
Fleetwood - 1089

AVERAGE - 1225

So 3279 minus 1225 = 2054 less per game on average for Trophy Games.

Bit more than 150 at Brunton Park eh?!

Just reading something saying Crawley are planning to play some celebrities in the FA cup this year.
Ironic given our worthy debates about lower league football.

Let's be honest though. The level of competition brought to these games is poor overall. ManUre aside, the rest of these so-called U21 sides aren't doing too well are they? Looking at the current group tables, most of them are lying 3rd or 4th in their groups.

Maybe the EFL should grow some balls and say ''you're lowering the standard of competition, now [censored] off'' - but they won't because they are only interested in the money on offer.

I’m only interested in OUR crowds though, and if you think we’ve only lost 150 off the gate then you’re bonkers!

Barring the Man Utd game we’ve been getting 900-1200 for these games. Pre-2016 our crowds were at least double for this Competition…

How much have attendances fallen by. The one stat I saw is that it's an average of 150 people per game. So we lost £1500 a game but gained £10k, if we win, so potentially there is 30/40 grand in it for us. Even pre 2016 the average attendance was a huge fall on a normal Saturday

The Trophy was just fine pre-2016 though Marko?

The ‘Prize Money’ now merely makes up for the drop in Attendance since the B/U21 Teams entered…

Quoted from Champions95 on Wednesday, 21 September 2025

The 'big picture' is fairly straightforward.

This farce of a competition was clearly being used as a test run for future use of 'b-teams' in legitimate competitions, maybe in the league pyramid itself ( that has already been suggested).

It needed to die on its arse and it hasn't really done that. Attendances haven't been great but not noticeably enough.

If the football community had spoken as one, left the games with 2 figure attendances then it would have been noticed and it would have sent out a strong message that we don't want it. That didn't happen.

I respect the fact that some would watch their team regardless of the circumstances but I really wish that, in this instance, you didn't.

Don't agree at all. Across a 5 year period, every team in the division runs at a loss. This is about money. If the PL offer each club £200k Clibbens won't even have a choice, Day will order him to accept. Even if he doesn't all the other clubs will. You can make moral choices when you have money in the bank, when you are broke you do what you need to do to survive. Not going to these games makes it more likely we will get U21s in the league, not less likely

I was just looking at the pl table.
In the case of Brighton, Bournemouth, Fulham , Leeds, Forest, Leicester, Southamptin and Wolves, there are 8 teams there that we have been in the same league as, in the last decade or so.
Now they are routinely buying and selling players for millions and even tens of millions, while we are having to offer some magic beans for players and offer them little more than w living wage.
Regardless of the rights and wrongs of the way individual clubs are run, any reasonable person would surely conclude that something isnt quite right there.

I think it would be best all round if we just make it that whoever finishes in the top 16 of the PL this season, then that’s the PL forever. No further relegations. They can just carry on with their bond villain chairman and European competitions with never ending group stages and play by themselves. They can even make a little b team league if they want.

Then the rest of the pyramid carries on as the football league. Divisions 1,2,3 and make the conference div 4 and we get the FA Cup too

The 'big picture' is fairly straightforward.

This farce of a competition was clearly being used as a test run for future use of 'b-teams' in legitimate competitions, maybe in the league pyramid itself ( that has already been suggested).

It needed to die on its arse and it hasn't really done that. Attendances haven't been great but not noticeably enough.

If the football community had spoken as one, left the games with 2 figure attendances then it would have been noticed and it would have sent out a strong message that we don't want it. That didn't happen.

I respect the fact that some would watch their team regardless of the circumstances but I really wish that, in this instance, you didn't.

Quoted from Peekaboo Flo on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from franksidebottom on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from Peekaboo Flo on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from ccu on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from Peekaboo Flo on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

There’s obviously still too many clowns turning up for these trophy games, for them to get the message.

Be interesting to see the attendance this evening when it’s Fleetwood reserves and not Man Utd’s future stars…

Too many fickle, short-sighted “supporters” of the club turning up to these games. That last attendance in this competition was an embarrassment, a real low point for the club in my opinion.

Getting a crowd of over 3,000 in the FL trophy is a real low point for the club? Don’t talk rubbish. Is that just because you don’t agree with the format of the competition?

Calling fans who go and watch their team “clowns” is a real low point however. Pathetic.

Of course they are clowns, Frank. They are giving their nod to the authorities for what they have done to this competition. They aren’t seeing the bigger picture. The same ‘fans’ will be turning up in a few seasons, when we are playing some premier league B team in a league fixture - which is ultimately the PL’s end game.

As one of the 3300 clowns who turned up to watch the Man U game, perhaps you could explain what the big picture is? Please use small words so that the 3300 of us who can't attain your intellectual level can understand.

Quoted from Peekaboo Flo on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from franksidebottom on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from Peekaboo Flo on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from ccu on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from Peekaboo Flo on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

There’s obviously still too many clowns turning up for these trophy games, for them to get the message.

Be interesting to see the attendance this evening when it’s Fleetwood reserves and not Man Utd’s future stars…

Too many fickle, short-sighted “supporters” of the club turning up to these games. That last attendance in this competition was an embarrassment, a real low point for the club in my opinion.

Getting a crowd of over 3,000 in the FL trophy is a real low point for the club? Don’t talk rubbish. Is that just because you don’t agree with the format of the competition?

Calling fans who go and watch their team “clowns” is a real low point however. Pathetic.

Of course they are clowns, Frank. They are giving their nod to the authorities for what they have done to this competition. They aren’t seeing the bigger picture. The same ‘fans’ will be turning up in a few seasons, when we are playing some premier league B team in a league fixture - which is ultimately the PL’s end game.

Has it ever crossed your mind that some fans have different views to you and don’t really give a monkey’s about the politics behind football, they just want to go and watch their team play? Think you need to learn to be a bit less bigoted rather than calling folk with different thoughts from you “clowns”.

Anyway, your assumption that fans who turn up are ‘giving the nod’ to authorities is seriously flawed. Plenty don’t approve of our current ownership but still go, are they ‘giving the nod’ to the 3 failures in charge? I don’t like what Sky and the PL have done to English football but have still been to PL games since it’s inception, am I somehow in approval? I can’t stand FIFA and it’s rotten core but have been to their WC’s before, am I giving them the nod?

Fair enough you don’t approve of the competition these days (a competition which was on its arse anyway) but no need in abusing others who are happy still to go.

Quoted from ccu on Wednesday, 21 September 2025

But there’s been several instances of an invited team playing in the Trophy also playing a League or Cup game on the same night?

I can remember Man City and Chelsea I think it was doing so. So if you played them on one of those nights in this Competition, you’d expect them to simply be called Man City or Chelsea? Even though it was their U21 Team?

I remember the first Season we had invited teams, we had Blackburn in our Group. Their Twitter was saying how these games don’t count for Stat reasons, but for us they do. How does that work?!

A sorry mess sadly…

It doesn’t work, does it. A sorry mess indeed. No way should a club ever be playing two fixtures on the same night. It’s simply beyond the realms of greed and ridiculousness.

But there’s been several instances of an invited team playing in the Trophy also playing a League or Cup game on the same night?

I can remember Man City and Chelsea I think it was doing so. So if you played them on one of those nights in this Competition, you’d expect them to simply be called Man City or Chelsea? Even though it was their U21 Team?

I remember the first Season we had invited teams, we had Blackburn in our Group. Their Twitter was saying how these games don’t count for Stat reasons, but for us they do. How does that work?!

A sorry mess sadly…

Quoted from ccu on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

Quoted from thefoot on Tuesday, 20 September 2025

The one thing I object to is the calling of a side a ‘B team’. I find it insulting and degrading in any competition, and takes away the glory of a victory.

Is there any glory in beating an U21 Team in the Trophy?

As these Teams were considered to be ‘B Teams’ by all and sundry when they arrived in 2016.

From the link:

The controversial restructuring sees Premier League and Championship clubs entering 'B teams' into the competition against League One and Two sides for the first time.

Sorry I should have been clearer, I mean U21 teams as well as B teams. It’s made even worse when the so called “U21” has a number of players over the age of 21 allowed to play.