I gather Ipswich decided in advance to pay the £5000 fine and had 5 kids making their first start plus a 16 year old on the bench...
I am a spot puzzled here Simon, I thought a major part of the raison d'etre given for the competition, was precisely to offer young talent - specifically young homegrown talent - opportunities in a competitive environment...(?)
Thad; you got it wrong. The major part of this competition is to get lower league clubs used to playing top flight u23 teams before they are shoehorned into leagues 1 & 2.
Ipswich are now league 1 so they no longer count as one of the elite and therefore must play their full side. Luton fell foul of this acouple of years ago. They played their academy kids in this competition and received fines every game...I think they made the final, or close to it, too.
Having watched this level of game in the past I was refreshingly impressed with the organisation and application of both the senior and junior Crawley players credit to them and the management team which bodes well for Crawley's future.
Thad; you got it wrong. The major part of this competition is to get lower league clubs used to playing top flight u23 teams before they are shoehorned into leagues 1 & 2.
Right... So basically it is designed for the rich clubs to get the benefit... while the poorer clubs are penalised for actually needing to play their youngsters, due to the restricted size of their playing operation...(?)
Having watched this level of game in the past I was refreshingly impressed with the organisation and application of both the senior and junior Crawley players credit to them and the management team which bodes well for Crawley's future.
Good point eltel and a lesson that Yems is NOT just a grumpy git... He is a lazy sod too... always happy for others to do the hard graft on a cold night, while he pontificates in a warm radio studio.