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Stories
Pitch Publishing, £9.99
Reviewed by Catherine Etoe
From WSC 360, February 2017
Buy this book
In WSC 177 Lionel Birnie donned his plimsolls to recall the strange competitions that filled a void when English clubs were expelled from Europe
New format will see academy teams competing against League clubs
15 June ~ Last Friday the Football League voted to include Premier League under-21 teams into the Football League Trophy. The competitions new, expanded format, which has been announced just a few weeks after the League suggested they needed to cut fixture congestion, will begin with a group stage and include 16 category one academy sides alongside the usual clubs from League One and Two. It will initially be trialled for one season, but the change hasn’t gone down well with fans, who were not consulted on the new format.
Supporters Direct asking members for opinions on reorganisation
5 June ~ On May 19 the Football League put forward proposals to reorganise the domestic system into five divisions of 20 teams from the 2019-20 season. The League claim that clubs would not be financially worse off despite having fewer games, while it would also help to ease fixture congestion. The suggestions received a mixed response from both those running and supporting clubs in the divisions that would be affected. Now Supporters Direct are asking their members’ opinions on the proposals – you can take the survey here.