I'd far rather watch my team replay a drawn proper cup match ( Fa Cup, League cup) than take part in the absolutely farcical EFL -< insert current sponsor here> - trophy in its current format .
It was when introduced the Football league trophy , a competition for lower (football) league clubs , L1 & L2 ( old 3rd and 4th division) - Premier clubs,who when they split away from the fFootball league, chasing a kingsize slice of sky tvs money each, removed themselves from the football league- yet now their young squad players are invited to take part!
IF the EFLtrophy was run from Feb to May as a straight knock out competition for only L1 & L2 sides (majority would by then no longer be in FAcup or League Cup) it may be viable, but not in its current format, or scrap it
Im certain some Oxford supporters over a certain age, can remember the League cup run a couple of years before we got to Wembley and won the League Milk cup, when we had 2 replays with Manchester united as well as the initial tie, both replays went to extra time, with the deadlock finally broken at the Manor with a late in extra time winner from, I think, Steve Biggins. Granted there have been the odd occasions when the U's have been 'ebarassed' by a lower league side in Fa and League cup matches , and after a replay too, but thats all part of (proper) cup football- or it certainly was!
Doing away with replays is nonsense IMO .... pretty much all clubs have oversized squads of players on their books, probably enough squad players to play 3 matches in different competitions on the same day/date, 'complaining about 'too many games, when they have so many players signed some of them will never play for the PL side they are contracted to's first team as things stand. And with winter breaks and the like, off they trot to various counties abroad to play highly lucrative exhibition matches, or mini tournaments , wonder if those high appearance fee paying games/mini tournaments count in the playing too many games claim???
the sooner the next stage in silly amounts of TV money going to only top level clubs is reached - a European super league type of thing being likely- the better for English football IMO, what remains of the top flight in England wont be so attractive to the likes of SKy sport (etc) Id guess....and then maybe the FA willl finally stand up to the remaining PL clubs, who then wont have the same sort of bargaining power as they have had for many years now
doing away with replays and only playing latter round cup ties midweek is at the very least disrespectful to the oldest cup competition in football , the FA Cup . And its morally and ethically wrong too