Formerly the Football League Trophy AKA the JPT.
According to a BBC Sport Article 16 Cat One Academies will be in the EFL Trophy that now also has a new format
The format of the 2016-17 EFL Trophy, which will include 16 Premier League academy sides, has been confirmed.
Clubs from both League One and League Two will play alongside the Category One academies, starting with a group format before a Wembley final in April.
The 16 groups of four teams will each comprise an academy side with the top two from each qualifying for the first knockout round of 32 teams.
The group stage draw will be announced by the EFL in due course.
Known last season as the Football League Trophy and sponsored by Johnstone’s Paint, the competition has been rebranded for this season along with the Football League as a whole.
Southampton are one of the 16 Cat One Academies taking part, saw a tweet earlier from the Grantee saying that only 5 of the 11 man team have to be under-21 too. Won’t this just make it an League Cup light for the bigger teams and Everton!!
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FFS don’t leagues 1 & 2 already have a hard enough time without the Premier League barging in?
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On the other hand could give exposure to players L1 and L2 teams would be looking to take on loan in future seasons? Agree it doesn’t seem that fair to them though. Would have been better to have the academies play a separate mini tournament and then have only one or two academy teams join the JPT at a later stage in the competition.
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Fair points Won Ton.
I’d suggest that the L 1 & 2 clubs’ should know who is worth getting on a loan.
My beef is that the Premiership appears to be gate crashing someone else’s party - I’m sure its not for the prize money, but it seems more about expanding their “brand”. I don’t mind them expanding the “brand”, but not at the expense of the lower leagues (except you know who down the coast).
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It is a trophy for the lower league teams to try and win. I do not agree with this at all.
Stick them in the league cup or FA Cup, one that everyone is in.
What if we win it, will we care, really? But if Carlisle or the like win it, it is huge for their fans!
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I think it definitely de-values the FLT even further and I doubt that any L1/2 teams will even bother to put out their best possible sides in it anymore - the real cash for those clubs is in climbing the football pyramid by promotions or getting a good cup run together in the FA/League cups, so the FLT will be left in the dust.
Still, I am curious to see how our U21s match up to league clubs. Will be good to get more regular game time for the kids against proper sides and ultimately it will be a good thing for the Cat 1 academies because they’ll have a youth team full of players with dozens of competitive matches under their belts looking to make the step up. I do feel sorry for the L1/2 clubs who will be pushed out by this but it works well in Spain with Barca B/Castilla in the Liga Adelante so English football in general will probably benefit from this move.
Some PL clubs to opt out of EFL Trophy participation
Sixteen top-category clubs were invited to join the 48 clubs from League One and League Two in an attempt to spruce up the competition – formerly known as the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy – starting this season. But the Press Association understands that of those sides, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are set to decline the offer.
Everton, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion have initially said they will take part while it is understood Southampton - who won the competition six years ago - are planning to participate.
Originally posted by @BTripz
Some PL clubs to opt out of EFL Trophy participation
Sixteen top-category clubs were invited to join the 48 clubs from League One and League Two in an attempt to spruce up the competition – formerly known as the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy – starting this season. But the Press Association understands that of those sides, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are set to decline the offer.
Everton, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion have initially said they will take part while it is understood Southampton - who won the competition six years ago - are planning to participate.
I still feel very strongly about this. I think we should have a competition for the lower league sides. I think they should all do the right thing and decline. If they are going to do this at all, then do it in the league cup, as Arsenal and other ‘top’ teams put out a young side anyway. I suppose you could end up with Arsenal v Arsenal U21’s, hmmm needs a re-think that one, as that would be a crap final and I would not watch!
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Call me a pessimist but our academies are shit if our national team is anything to go by and representation of our players in the EPL also.
We breed workhorses who are the size of goliath at 13 and have a “good engine”.
Until we get past this we’ll always be shit.
Originally posted by @BTripz
Some PL clubs to opt out of EFL Trophy participation
Sixteen top-category clubs were invited to join the 48 clubs from League One and League Two in an attempt to spruce up the competition – formerly known as the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy – starting this season. But the Press Association understands that of those sides, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are set to decline the offer.
Everton, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion have initially said they will take part while it is understood Southampton - who won the competition six years ago - are planning to participate.
We have no right to be in that trophy at all.
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First step to reorganizing the EFL Pyramid to allow B Teams -argument being so few kids can break through to EPL teams.
Then they’ll start the process of pushing for EPL games to be held overseas.
Should keep the trophy as it was.
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If they are good enough to play at the lower league level, then loan them out, to lower league teams, let them benefit. Correct me if I am wrong but is this not what has been happening for donkey years? We see many of our players having a huge impact with such clubs. If they are really good then I want them on our bench!
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Ahh Bless,
(properly done link - Pap still hasn’t fixed the site)
We should offer them a 2-nil head-start and either the choice of 12 players or rush-keeper.
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OK - as long as they can have jumpers for goal posts and all go home promptly when it’s tea time.
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Pumped up with their own Self-Importance. No-one will give a flying fuck if their fans walk out. I don’t suppose anyone will even notice.
Your views were overturned by a majority vote? Big woop. That’s democracy, fkwits. Deal with it.
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The big club are running scared. They might get beat by Reading U21’s ha ha. They are such idiots, so they have paid, then they are going to walk out? Brilliant! All 200 of them! God I wish our under 21’s were drawn with them, would have got a full house at the park!
Nose spite face
come to mind
they are in a group which they should win but will not.
get the excuses in early
fuck em
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It’s clearly a clumsy attempt to fire some life into a dull group section but I see why pompey fans are worried about getting turned over by someone’s reserve side.
But let’s be honest, if we drew them in the League Cup we would only field a reserve side, so not much changes.
They are more angry at themselves for being so irrelevant that the authorities have lumped them in with the Combination League.
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