There has been quite a lot of energy by the English Football League (EFL) being put into changing or what they would consider improving the pyramid system in the last few months. Their latest initiative was to suggest making another league and bringing the number of league clubs up to 100. Now they want the Premier League Academy teams to take part in the EFL Trophy and 16 of the 20 Premier League clubs will put teams in to play against League One and Two clubs in the competition.
It has not been announced which will be the 16 Premier League academy's to take part in what was previously the Johnstone's Paint sponsored Trophy. The EFL is being rebranded though and a lot of effort is being put into revitalising the competition with the aim of improving the U21 players in the country by giving them more meaningful fixtures. The idea is only to be a trial in the new season and may be scrapped if it does not work well. Opponents to the idea have been Portsmouth, Accrington Stanley, AFC Wimbledon and Hartlepool Utd. I imagine much of their complaint surrounds the worry of Premier League clubs reducing the number of layers they have out on loan if they want their players to be involved in this competition.
I don't suppose it is any coincidence that AFCB's official website has been getting us all to pay attention to the 'Next generation' series of articles as the club encourages us to know more about the young players who are at the club now. The acid test will be how well supported such games are and whether the academy players can benefit from the extra games against league players. In principal I see it as a good way of ensuring more players at the top clubs get more regular run outs but I also see why some clubs at the bottom end of the pyramid season just see it as eroding their chances to further their own players who now have to play against young players who are getting the best facilities and benefits at being at top academies. That means they might not get as far in the competition as they might have done of course and lessens their experience.
The haves and the have nots. We are beginning to see the power and weight of the Premier League clubs now fully unfold and by putting £1m into the £1.95m prize pot it is something that the EFL is keen to see flourish even if it is small beer in terms of how much the Premier League clubs could put in.
Meanwhile, Adam Federici has signed a new three-year contract keeping at Dean Court until summer 2019. AFCB have also been linked with Aston Villa's, Jordan Veretout according to the Daily Mail.
It has not been announced which will be the 16 Premier League academy's to take part in what was previously the Johnstone's Paint sponsored Trophy. The EFL is being rebranded though and a lot of effort is being put into revitalising the competition with the aim of improving the U21 players in the country by giving them more meaningful fixtures. The idea is only to be a trial in the new season and may be scrapped if it does not work well. Opponents to the idea have been Portsmouth, Accrington Stanley, AFC Wimbledon and Hartlepool Utd. I imagine much of their complaint surrounds the worry of Premier League clubs reducing the number of layers they have out on loan if they want their players to be involved in this competition.
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| Jordan Green may be one of AFCB's U21 players to benefit from the revamped EFL Trophy. |
The haves and the have nots. We are beginning to see the power and weight of the Premier League clubs now fully unfold and by putting £1m into the £1.95m prize pot it is something that the EFL is keen to see flourish even if it is small beer in terms of how much the Premier League clubs could put in.
Meanwhile, Adam Federici has signed a new three-year contract keeping at Dean Court until summer 2019. AFCB have also been linked with Aston Villa's, Jordan Veretout according to the Daily Mail.
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