The FA Cup

[Elite_Pie]

Do you have any proof of this?....or is this just another "gut instinct" call, similar to your "we will all be 5% worse off after Brexit"

Did you see the proposal for a 5 division / 100 club Football League? Where do you think the extra clubs would have come from? Fortunately, because of the passionate opposition from lower league fans it was scrapped. You might be happy to sleepwalk into it because you don't see any 'proof', but most fans adopt a zero tolerance policy because the idea is so obscene. That's why it's a completely different thing to the big boys fielding a weakened team in the FA CUP.

[magpie_mania]

This answer has no logic......Checkatrade, Premier B teams = possible B teams in League = boycott (and delight when we are knocked out)?.......FA Cup, Premier B teams = unbridled passion and romance (and full grounds), without any threat to Premier B teams in the League?

So the Premier teams are using the Checkatrade as Trojan Horse to enter the EFL?.....but not the FA Cup (and presumably the Caribou Cup) which we happily take part in, despite Premier Clubs never allowing their top 11 players to enter until the later rounds, and usually against other Premier Clubs.

I understand your concerns but until I see some proof of this "plot", I'm inclined to see this as an overactive imagination sprinkled with a hefty dose of hypocrisy

And you inferred that I'm stupid!

Of course they aren't using the FA Cup to get B team into the league. IT'S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT TEAM THEY PUT OUT IN THAT COMPETITION. As the FA Cup has been taking place since 1872, I think that's pretty obvious.

No hypocrisy whatsoever:
The Checkatrade was for L1 and L2 teams - the others have forced their way in.
The FA Cup is, always has been and always will be for all.

[ncfcog]

This answer has no logic......Checkatrade, Premier B teams = possible B teams in League = boycott (and delight when we are knocked out)?.......FA Cup, Premier B teams = unbridled passion and romance (and full grounds), without any threat to Premier B teams in the League?

So the Premier teams are using the Checkatrade as Trojan Horse to enter the EFL?.....but not the FA Cup (and presumably the Caribou Cup) which we happily take part in, despite Premier Clubs never allowing their top 11 players to enter until the later rounds, and usually against other Premier Clubs.

I understand your concerns but until I see some proof of this "plot", I'm inclined to see this as an overactive imagination sprinkled with a hefty dose of hypocrisy

Hi Tarkers, can I try and add to some of the comments above but put it in a slightly different way.

I'm fortunate enough to have a season ticket to watch a club I have supported for 40 years, a club with a PROUD history, a founder member of the Football League.

We are extremely lucky that to date we still have a Notts County to support, let's be right, we've had a few scrapes with extinction. What I really want is for myself and other supporters for generations to come to be able to enjoy what I currently experience every other Saturday down The Lane but also at every other lower league club that finds themselves in the same precarious situation as ourselves.

Earlier in this thread there was discussion about the prize money and parachute payments paid for essentially failing in the Premier League, relegation is worth approx £175m . . . that's for one team and massively dwarfs the pittance shared out to clubs outside the top two divisions.

The Checkatrade Trophy competition is actually the Football League Trophy, a competition created for the bottom two divisions only and a chance for additional revenue and possibly a Wembley final appearance.

The inclusion of up to 16 Premier League and Championship 'B' teams was introduced by the Football League after PL clubs suggested opportunities for their young starlets to be involved in competitive football matches was few and far between. To put this into perspective it was recently reported that Chelsea have over 40 young players out on loan . . . yes, forty.

Ultimately the PL and Championship would quite happily chuck a sh1t load of dosh at the Football League to allow their 'B' teams to play in the league at the expense of clubs like ours.

Imagine this scenario . . . Notts, have had a terrible season and need a result at home on the last day to avoid relegation to the conference. Our opponents are Florist B who win and send us spiralling into non-league oblivion. It might seem absolute rubbish to think this but I would hazard this could be highly likely if the powers that be ever did get their way.

I'm prattling on a bit now but there are only two things I want from my club for the future, the first is for it to become long term financially sustainable, the second is for the players who put on the shirt to always given nothing but their best for the club crest.

Unfortunately I can see a time in the not too distant future where this could not be the case on both counts and schemes like 'B' teams in league competitions will be the hammer that strikes the final nail in the coffin for many clubs like Notts County.

[uysapie]

Do you have any proof of this?....or is this just another "gut instinct" call, similar to your "we will all be 5% worse off after Brexit"

You must be the only tw@t that doesn't understand the difference and the reason for
the boycott.

[LaughingMagpie]

Assuming we will be comfortably lower-mid table by December and not likely to trouble the top 7 this campaign, the FA Cup takes on more importance.

Would you like me to get you a rope mate?

Talk about glass half full! I would hope we are troubling the top 7 by mid December and automatic by May!

[MagicBoots]

OK - I think I may have understood the point being made by Tarquin. Sorry for the long post.

If I understand correctly, you are saying there is no difference between playing an U23 side in the FA CUP and an U23 side in the Check-A-Trade. Completely agree. There is no difference should that be the case.

However (you knew it was coming) in the FA Cup, a premiership club is only represented by one team. If they choose to select U23's its up to them.

What is happening in the Check-A-Trade is a move to purposely create a club structure and culture to have two teams. Man Utd A, Man Utd B. Man City A ,Man City B Newcastle A Newcastle B .... etc.

I see a number of problems here;

1. Apparently it is to give England youngsters a chance to play. Absolute codswallop. There is no requirement that the B squad has to have any English players. By supporting this competition you are actually giving Spanish/French/Croatian/German etc future players the opportunity to blossom. In effect, it is detrimental to the England team.

2. Age Restriction. U23 is it. How long do we expect that to be in place for. Whether we are in the EU or not, some law case will prove it to be unjustified in that one team has this restriction (i.e. seen it before with Bosman ruling), so very soon it will be lifted and before you know it, the whole principle of developing U23 talent goes out the window and we get a true B squad.

3. Money & Greed. Cmon, we talked about the parachute payments and the amount of money premiership teams have. It is pure greed to enter this competition. If they are so wanting to develop U23's, why don't they wave the admission price when they play, why do they not have a policy to give the million pound prize money to grass roots should they win it ?

4. 5th league. Its coming. And we will be one division lower with B squads in the championship, possibly premiership, moving us down the pecking order. Its already been mentioned Chelsea have 40 players out on loan, 40 players that are way too good for League 2, so it wont be too long before we see Chelsea A, B and possibly a C team ! All in the premiership ! We will end up with a 20 team premiership consisting of the big 6 teams having A, B and C squads. Do we honestly want that ?

5. If its all about developing U23's than surely the answer has to be ..... an U23 league ! Wow now why have they not thought of this. Because........that will not get them into a league 5. I really do not believe people cannot see this.

What proves all this to be true is the way the premiership teams were reluctant at the inclusion of Scottish teams in our league, but they don't see anything wrong with B squads....hmmmmmm.

I am a season ticket holder, but live up in Leeds. I have been to a few EFL trophy games previously but there is absolutely no way I would even contemplate going now in its current format, and cannot understand why we still get over 1000 people actually attending.

[tarquinbeech]

You must be the only tw@t that doesn't understand the difference and the reason for
the boycott.

Errr, no....there were over a 1,000 Notts fans that went to the last game (hardly a boycott!), plus a chairman that has been throwing his dosh at Notts like a loony and supports the competition......as for the "tw@t" comment, you have either been drinking or you are a complete kerrnob that cannot hold a civilised conversation

With "fans" like you, MM and Snobbers, if I was Alan Hardy I would chuck it all in and walk away.....complete waste of time the lot of you.....at least Coventry and Lincoln got behind the competition and are now light years ahead of us....to prove my point, obviously.

[uysapie]

Errr, no....there were over a 1,000 Notts fans that went to the last game (hardly a boycott!), plus a chairman that has been throwing his dosh at Notts like a loony and supports the competition......as for the "tw@t" comment, you have either been drinking or you are a complete kerrnob that cannot hold a civilised conversation

With "fans" like you, MM and Snobbers, if I was Alan Hardy I would chuck it all in and walk away.....complete waste of time the lot of you.....at least Coventry and Lincoln got behind the competition and are now light years ahead of us....to prove my point, obviously.

Compared to 6000 for a league game? Fans are voting with their feet. Check out the attendances for the early group game, every club has reduced attendances. Not a coincidence. Only in the latter stages did the attendances rise. There is no point in trying to discuss the matter when you have a fixed point of view, especially from a distance. Check out the fans forums for other clubs, if you think it is only the majority of Notts supporters that feel this way.

[tarquinbeech]

OK - I think I may have understood the point being made by Tarquin. Sorry for the long post.

If I understand correctly, you are saying there is no difference between playing an U23 side in the FA CUP and an U23 side in the Check-A-Trade. Completely agree. There is no difference should that be the case.

However (you knew it was coming) in the FA Cup, a premiership club is only represented by one team. If they choose to select U23's its up to them.

What is happening in the Check-A-Trade is a move to purposely create a club structure and culture to have two teams. Man Utd A, Man Utd B. Man City A ,Man City B Newcastle A Newcastle B .... etc.

I see a number of problems here;

1. Apparently it is to give England youngsters a chance to play. Absolute codswallop. There is no requirement that the B squad has to have any English players. By supporting this competition you are actually giving Spanish/French/Croatian/German etc future players the opportunity to blossom. In effect, it is detrimental to the England team.

2. Age Restriction. U23 is it. How long do we expect that to be in place for. Whether we are in the EU or not, some law case will prove it to be unjustified in that one team has this restriction (i.e. seen it before with Bosman ruling), so very soon it will be lifted and before you know it, the whole principle of developing U23 talent goes out the window and we get a true B squad.

3. Money & Greed. Cmon, we talked about the parachute payments and the amount of money premiership teams have. It is pure greed to enter this competition. If they are so wanting to develop U23's, why don't they wave the admission price when they play, why do they not have a policy to give the million pound prize money to grass roots should they win it ?

4. 5th league. Its coming. And we will be one division lower with B squads in the championship, possibly premiership, moving us down the pecking order. Its already been mentioned Chelsea have 40 players out on loan, 40 players that are way too good for League 2, so it wont be too long before we see Chelsea A, B and possibly a C team ! All in the premiership ! We will end up with a 20 team premiership consisting of the big 6 teams having A, B and C squads. Do we honestly want that ?

5. If its all about developing U23's than surely the answer has to be ..... an U23 league ! Wow now why have they not thought of this. Because........that will not get them into a league 5. I really do not believe people cannot see this.

What proves all this to be true is the way the premiership teams were reluctant at the inclusion of Scottish teams in our league, but they don't see anything wrong with B squads....hmmmmmm.

I am a season ticket holder, but live up in Leeds. I have been to a few EFL trophy games previously but there is absolutely no way I would even contemplate going now in its current format, and cannot understand why we still get over 1000 people actually attending.

A superb post Sir, thank you.......my only point to add, is that clearly there a 1,000 Notts fans (plus me, obviously) that do not see the Checkatrade Trophy as a way of kicking Notts out of the League......BUT you may have a point, a point that I may have to reconsider once I've had time to do a bit of goggling!

Excellent post.

[tarquinbeech]

Compared to 6000 for a league game? Fans are voting with their feet. Check out the attendances for the early group game, every club has reduced attendances. Not a coincidence. Only in the latter stages did the attendances rise. There is no point in trying to discuss the matter when you have a fixed point of view, especially from a distance. Check out the fans forums for other clubs, if you think it is only the majority of Notts supporters that feel this way.

Whoa, whoa whoa........a night game in a 3rd-rate competition?......no way do we pull 6,000....2,500 to 3,000 absolute tops....we pulled in just over 1,000....that is hardly a boycott IMO

ps glad to see a post without insults xxxx