Ruined but still an opportunity? The EFL Trophy

Tonight Tranmere embark on a journey that could result in another appearance at Wembley. Unfortunately the competition is the EFL Trophy, and opinion is divided regarding the merits of the competition. 

The key change to the Trophy came in 2016 when under 21 academy teams from Premier League and Championship clubs were invited to enter the competition. For many this removed the appeal of the Trophy, which gave teams in what is now League One and League Two the chance to get to a Wembley final. Tranmere have a reasonable history in the competition, having won once and been trophy finalists on three occasions. The inclusion of teams from outside the bottom two divisions, however, removed the exclusivity of this being something that was our own. 

At the start of this years competition we have yet to see one of the 16 entrants from the Premier League or the Championship win, or even reach the Trophy final. However, their inclusion has hardly set the competition alight and, if anything, has had the opposite effect. Just how many people will be bothered to turn up,at Prenton Park tonight to watch Everton's youngsters take on Rovers remains to be seen. In all probability the gate will be less than 1500. Bragging rights of sorts will win out if Rovers beat Everton, but most supporters will be indifferent to the final score. 

Of course this will change if we make it to the final. A chance to visit Prenton Park 2 is one that few Rovers fans will pass over. It remains to be seen if that final was against Arsenal U21s or Chelsea U21s  if the enthusiasm would be the same. On the other hand if it were a repeat of our final against Birmingham City or Bristol Rovers I reckon the enthusiasm would be there. Some might see this as being hypocritical. Supporters don't determine the format of competitions, but they are supposed to get behind their teams, regardless of the opposition. The problem is that for too many the inclusion of the elitist (rather than the elite) teams plays into the hands of allowing greed to dictate what happens in football not principles. 

The question for me is how long the competition will survive? The early rounds probably cost clubs more than they get in from revenue. The lure of Wembley is appealing but no longer the tug it used to be. I still have a VHS recording of our final against Bristol Rovers, part of the appeal of the match was that it was one of the few occasions you saw Rovers on the TV. The world has changed in the subsequent years. Tranmere will be on Sky on another 18 occasions this year, taking into account that the Walsall game is televised and excluding our match v Leicester in the League Cup. The format of the competition has been tinkered with, including inviting teams from the 5th tier of the football pyramid to participate in the early rounds between 2000-2006. Personally I would prefer us to revert back to this approach rather than including the 16 clubs from the top two tiers.

As it is, hats off to those who bother with the matches. The current competition has sponsorship for another couple of seasons.Time will tell if it survives beyond 2026.