Crewe game

Quoted from Mariner_09

If we beat Accrington, and then get another home game I think attendances may creep up in this competition, especially as the prospect of Wembley looms larger and if our League season begins to fizzle out.

You wil only get me at Wembley for the FA Cup final or the play-off final, will not attend Wembley even if we get there in this competition.

I don't like the competition in its current format, but I have to attend in a professional capacity.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I was a little bit disappointed that this was Stockwood's stance after the trophy game:

[url]https://twitter.com/jstockwood/status/1590105789192339456?t=gAgpjOLAryA-89sWSnweiw&s=19[/url]

What do you expect him to say? 'We don't want your money, stay at home?

Idealistically, yeah I'd loved it if the club came out and said something along the lines of "we're 100% opposed to this competition at present.  We'll be putting out our youth side and will challenge any fines as a result.  We believe the morals have absolutely dropped out of this competition and we actively discourage anyone from attending".

Never going to happen, so maybe reading the room and just saying nothing would have served better?

I'd be happy with something like
"We disagree with the u21s teams in this cup and the format. Sadly, we was outvoted therefore they will remain. We understand everyone has their own views and they're entitled to them. But whilst we have to be in this cup we may as well try earn the club and team some money."

Quoted from The Yard Dog

You wil only get me at Wembley for the FA Cup final or the play-off final, will not attend Wembley even if we get there in this competition.

I don't like the competition in its current format, but I have to attend in a professional capacity.

I doubt you'll have to worry about that Paul?!

I think we're all opposed to this competition because, of course it could serve as the thin edge of the wedge for premiership reserve sides to enter the EFL.
However I think there would be so much opposition to this scenario that it would never get off the ground.
So in the meantime why should the club not endeavour to progress in the competition as the financial rewards are not to be sneezed at.
I think we have already pocketed £20k for just entering & another £20k for 2 wins. Another £40k if we beat Accrington & I think it's another  £60k if we progress in the following round & so on
TV revenue could materialise in the latter rounds & us natives will show a lot more interest should we get to Wembley.... £££!

Quoted from Heswall Mariner

I think we're all opposed to this competition because, of course it could serve as the thin edge of the wedge for premiership reserve sides to enter the EFL.
However I think there would be so much opposition to this scenario that it would never get off the ground.
So in the meantime why should the club not endeavour to progress in the competition as the financial rewards are not to be sneezed at.
I think we have already pocketed £20k for just entering & another £20k for 2 wins. Another £40k if we beat Accrington & I think it's another  £60k if we progress in the following round & so on
TV revenue could materialise in the latter rounds & us natives will show a lot more interest should we get to Wembley.... £££!

Speak for yourself.

Quoted from Heswall Mariner

I think we're all opposed to this competition because, of course it could serve as the thin edge of the wedge for premiership reserve sides to enter the EFL.
However I think there would be so much opposition to this scenario that it would never get off the ground.
So in the meantime why should the club not endeavour to progress in the competition as the financial rewards are not to be sneezed at.
I think we have already pocketed £20k for just entering & another £20k for 2 wins. Another £40k if we beat Accrington & I think it's another  £60k if we progress in the following round & so on
TV revenue could materialise in the latter rounds & us natives will show a lot more interest should we get to Wembley.... £££!

Judging by his comments on this and the ridiculous supporter’s survey, I’m not so sure that JS is particularly bothered about ‘reading the room’ as someone suggested.

Quoted from Heswall Mariner

I think we're all opposed to this competition because, of course it could serve as the thin edge of the wedge for premiership reserve sides to enter the EFL.
However I think there would be so much opposition to this scenario that it would never get off the ground.
So in the meantime why should the club not endeavour to progress in the competition as the financial rewards are not to be sneezed at.
I think we have already pocketed £20k for just entering & another £20k for 2 wins. Another £40k if we beat Accrington & I think it's another  £60k if we progress in the following round & so on
TV revenue could materialise in the latter rounds & us natives will show a lot more interest should we get to Wembley.... £££!

I think this is the definition of naming your price.

There's a reason the EFL are chucking money at this competition, it's because it's all they have.  They know, the clubs know, the fans know, everyone knows that this is very much the thin edge of the wedge.  If anyone seriously believes that this competition is accepting Academy sides in the interest of helping out Gareth Southgate then they need their heads testing.

It's a foot in the door to give some sort of credibility to this argument, supported by the likes of Pep flipping Guardiola, that football begins and ends at the bottom of the Premier League and that everything else is just fodder.  If we, as fans and as football clubs, take the crumbs that are offered it just gives justification to the approach.  Collectively we'll have lost our strength and shown that the integrity of the game can be bought, quite cheaply too.  

Next step will be Academy sides in the League Cup, with some bizarre shared player arrangements between senior and Academy sides - it won't make sense but it's not meant to.  We're just meant to enjoy the £100,000 sweetener we get and extra TV revenue because Jack Grealish is likely to play his comeback game, after a few weeks out injured, away at Rochdale.  Reduced tickets will be offered and little-by-little it's actually the games featuring the Academy sides that are the better attended ones.  

Well, if it's propping the competition up in such a way then we probably should start to consider playing more games featuring Liverpool Under 23's and Jay Spearing.  The Championship would be too much though, there's still a fair bit of money at that level and it won't be as cheap to buy them.   Maybe just inserting a few select clubs in League Two. Fitting extra sides in is difficult but enough sides will take a financial gamble on not sitting in the bottom four the season before and dropping into the Conference....Especially if the incentive is good enough.

Promotion will be off the cards, at first, I mean by this stage the whole league system is a flipping farce so promotion probably doesn't even matter.  But eventually the rules will change and before long we'll have a load of Academy second string sides in the second tier of the game.  By now there's a big question mark over why the two different sides from the same club are playing under different organisations....there's also some pretty big clubs also in the Championship too who would bring a lot of fans to the table.  Maybe we should split the leagues out a bit.  How about a Premier League, Premier League 2 and then possibly a third league too.  That way the bigger boys can have a smaller top tier so they only need to worry about playing other big clubs both on the domestic and European stage.

Those two other leagues?  intercourse 'em.  

I don't trust Stockwood's argument. Essentially, you should all relax because we would never sell out and vote for academy/B teams joining the pyramid, we promise.

So why did the majority vote for them in the trophy? Why are we still persisting with the format, supposedly devised to revive a dying competition, when attendances have been worse than ever? Oh yeah, because we'll bend over for the big clubs for a bit of extra cash. Always.

If we lose the will to fight this, then we deserve the consequences when they inevitably bite.