Crewe game

Quoted from diehardmariner

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.  

Quoted from Maringer

I don't think they are currently allowed to own more than one club in any country, are they? Probably the only impediment, which is why they are so eager to get 'B' teams up and running in the League.

I'd imagine they'll pay somebody, somewhere off (probably at the F.A.?) in due course to change the regulations and allow it.

Quoted from Marinerdeano

Any news on when this is going to be rearranged for yet? Presume there was a bit of a wait to see if both teams would be free FA Cup 2nd round weekend.