The EFL Trophy returns today, but why do fans not care?

The season began with a bang for Richie Wellens and Swindon Town following Saturday’s triumphant two-nil away win over Scunthorpe United. But after the highs of an opening day victory, STFC fans are brought back to reality today with a resounding bump as the formerly-known Checkatrade trophy returns for another season once again.

Now the thought of lifting domestic silverware ought to have fans clinging to the edge of their seats with nail-biting excitement. But unfortunately, the now-named Leasing.com Trophy presents a different situation for EFL League One and Two teams. 

Starting today, sixty-four teams will compete for the chance to lift the ‘coveted’ EFL trophy, but why do fans have such a negative mindset towards the competition? 

Amongst the 64 competing teams, 48 will be League One and Two teams with the remaining 16 sides being category one Premier League and Championship club under-21 sides. 

The problem? Fans of the EFL teams yearn to see their club be successful in their respective league's with promotion the ultimate aim. And whilst the cup competition will be a good opportunity for the under-21 sides to test themselves against professional senior men's teams, fans don’t want to see their beloved side playing against so-called ‘children’. 

The County Ground attendance averaged just over 2000 for their EFL Trophy matches last season, and whilst changes have been made to make the cup more attractive, you only have to take a glimpse at social media and the #BTeamBoycott hashtag that has become popular over the years to see the thoughts of many fans whose teams are competing in the competition. 

The tournament operates by splitting the participating clubs into sixteen groups of four with eight Northern and eight Southern groups. Each team will play each other once with the group winners and runners up progressing to the round of 32, with the rest eliminated from the trophy. 

This year Swindon Town sit within the Southern Group F alongside Plymouth Argyle, Bristol Rovers, and Chelsea Under-21s. And whilst you would on face value expect Swindon compete to become group winners, don’t be surprised if Richie Wellens’ side leaves the 19/20 competition at the group stage. 

Town exited the tournament on goal difference last season following their final group match against Chelsea U-23’s. 

And even though the Leasing.com Trophy presents EFL teams with a realistic chance of playing at Wembley, not to mention the prize money - with last season's final between Portsmouth and Sunderland setting a new competition record attendance of 85,000 - Richie Wellens won’t be too worried about the competition, with it likely that the STFC manager will use the matches as training games and a chance to experiment with tactics for the long league campaign ahead in which Swindon aim to challenge for promotion. 

The Leasing.Com Trophy will inevitably be met with the usual moans and groans of EFL fans up and down the country as the competition begins it’s eight-month duration later this evening, but for many Swindon fans, it will hopefully be a short-lived affair. 

Photo Credit: Swindon Town FC