[Albion] EFL Trophy Quarter Final - Amex, Tuesday 9th January ko 7pm

[drew]

Not sure why so many seem to think winning is important. The U21s are all about development and the style of play should reflect what the 1st team play. If that wins games in this competition then great but I don't see that switching just to win serves a purpose.

 

[nicko31]

Sounds good to me, a ground I've never visited. Hopefully we can get a few hundred along.

Is it POTG?

 

[GT49er]

Not sure why so many seem to think winning is important. The U21s are all about development and the style of play should reflect what the 1st team play. If that wins games in this competition then great but I don't see that switching just to win serves a purpose.

That's what PL2 is for, and the other U21 cups and competitions we enter. This ain't one of them.

 

[GT49er]

Sounds good to me, a ground I've never visited. Hopefully we can get a few hundred along.

Is it POTG?

I'll try and find that out. If it is, I will look into the possibility of an affordable hotel or B&B near the ground. I really enjoyed the team's earlier trip to Forest Green, even though it was a 0-0 draw. If I have to be a member, or have enough points, or own a smart phone, or jump through some other sort of hoop to get a ticket, then forget it.

 

[AZ Gull]

...

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

All the matches played by the U-21 sides in the group phase will be away games, but that doesn't persist into the knockout rounds. Wolves U-21s and Everton U-21s hosted matches in last season's competition, for instance.
On this occasion, it appears that Albion didn't WANT to host the tie, for reasons known only to them.

Even in the knock out rounds they still try to have the academy sides away when it can be agreed between the teams, even if it breaks the tournament seeding that happens in the second round.

The Wolves game was against fellow academy side Man Utd. Man Utd should have been the home side as the round was seeded for group winners to be at home but it was decided to switch it to Wolves instead.

Everton were also group winners and it was decided that the game would stay at Goodison Park.

This season West Ham won their group but played their second round game away to Colchester.

 

[Slum_Wolf]

I'll try and find that out. If it is, I will look into the possibility of an affordable hotel or B&B near the ground. I really enjoyed the team's earlier trip to Forest Green, even though it was a 0-0 draw. If I have to be a member, or have enough points, or own a smart phone, or jump through some other sort of hoop to get a ticket, then forget it.

For the West Ham game in the previous round they only opened the Origin stand

All tickets were sold by Wycombe Wanderers, as I am hoping to go probably worth registering with WWFC...

 

[drew]

That's what PL2 is for, and the other U21 cups and competitions we enter. This ain't one of them.

We'll have to agree to disagree. We have a development team to do just that, develop players and we are doing that with the aim of them progressing to the 1st team or for a good sale. Not to throw our principles about play out of the window just to win a low level cup, albeit with Wembley final!!

 

[Thunder Bolt]

The closest of the three for me and haven’t been to Adam’s park since….2002 maybe.

2004, the sit in for Falmer after the game. The megaphone being passed around whilst the stewards were searching for it.

 

[patchamalbion]

2004, the sit in for Falmer after the game. The megaphone being passed around whilst the stewards were searching for it.

That’s the one!! 1-1 I think?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

That’s the one!! 1-1 I think?

Yes.

 

[GT49er]

We'll have to agree to disagree. We have a development team to do just that, develop players and we are doing that with the aim of them progressing to the 1st team or for a good sale. Not to throw our principles about play out of the window just to win a low level cup, albeit with Wembley final!!

Principles? - Where have we agreed, or are morally obliged to, not to play our best team, but to play enough U18s to give the other side a chance?
Low level? Pffft!
Wembley final? Yes please!

The only thing we agree upon is that you won't change my mind and I won't change yours. C'est la vie!

 

[drew]

Principles? - Where have we agreed, or are morally obliged to, not to play our best team, but to play enough U18s to give the other side a chance?
Low level? Pffft!
Wembley final? Yes please!

The only thing we agree upon is that you won't change my mind and I won't change yours. C'est la vie!

We don't have to agree to play our best team or are morally obliged to but pretty certain the attitude the club will take will be to carry on as they are. Highly unlikely we'll chuck in to the U21s Mitoma, Gross, Dunk, Pedro and Van Hecke just to chase this piece of silver. I'm guessing the club will stick to what it has already done.

 

[sparkie]

Why has it been moved to away?
Special dispensation? Reckon we'd have got a few thousand at the Amex.

Indeed. The Amex was bursting for the last game.

 

[dazzer6666]

We don't have to agree to play our best team or are morally obliged to but pretty certain the attitude the club will take will be to carry on as they are. Highly unlikely we'll chuck in to the U21s Mitoma, Gross, Dunk, Pedro and Van Hecke just to chase this piece of silver. I'm guessing the club will stick to what it has already done.

Agree, although would expect the likes of Duffus and BB-B to participate perhaps

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

Principles? - Where have we agreed, or are morally obliged to, not to play our best team, but to play enough U18s to give the other side a chance?
Low level? Pffft!
Wembley final? Yes please!

The only thing we agree upon is that you won't change my mind and I won't change yours. C'est la vie!

The whole idea of adding Acadmey sides to the EFL trophy was to give those players a chance to test themselves against sides made up of more senior players than they’d normally face in PL2 etc. It’s always been about development.

We could parachute in the likes of Hinshelwood, Ferguson, Enciso and Fati into the team because it’s within the rules, but we aren’t going to. We won’t learn anything about them as they are already facing better players week in week out. It would be taking an unnecessary risk of injury in what for them will be a meaningless game and it would come at the detriment of the development of players who aren’t yet at their level and have also worked hard to get the team to this stage of the competition.

 

[GT49er]

We don't have to agree to play our best team or are morally obliged to but pretty certain the attitude the club will take will be to carry on as they are. Highly unlikely we'll chuck in to the U21s Mitoma, Gross, Dunk, Pedro and Van Hecke just to chase this piece of silver. I'm guessing the club will stick to what it has already done.

Maybe they will. Quite possibly. I'm just saying what I would like to happen. Like some people would like bottle tops to be allowed in the ground - but their preference is irrelevant too.

 

[Gabbiano]

A few Albion connections in the Wycombe squad -

* Former loanee Sam Vokes
* David Wheeler, who was in the Albion youth system (when, unfortunately, that DIDN'T mean you were a wonderkid)
* Former Albion youngster Jasper Pattenden who spent 8 years coming through the ranks but was released without being given a scholarship (and who is the younger brother of Lucas, currently playing at Bognor Regis Town)
* Former trialist Kieran Sadlier (who played for the U-21s almost 10 years ago)

Jesus, your spreadsheet really has everything.

Fair enough AZ!

 

[Whitechapel]

Would have gone if it was Wimbledon, new ground and all that. Our games at Wycombe are normally eventful though. I’ve been 3 times and seen

- A 2-0 win (?) followed by a lock-in afterwards as a Falmer protest

- A 4-4 FA Cup draw, where Gavin Hoyte kicked John Paul Pitman and then shat it when he turned around (he was sent off)

- A 5-2 win a few weeks later where MurrY scored 4

The latter two were some of my first away games without a parent, going on the Costa express with my mates when we were all 14/15. Definitely got a few of my mates hooked on away days!

Would definitely take an uneventful 1-0 win this time. Hopefully we don’t need to play Fati, Ferguson & Enciso for it either

 

[AZ Gull]

Jesus, your spreadsheet really has everything.

Fair enough AZ!

Once a player/scholar/academy player/trialist is connected to Albion I tend not to forget his name. For sure, I have multiple Albion-related spreadsheets that helped furnish the specifics of that post, but as soon as I looked at the Wycombe squad on wikipedia those four names jumped out at me.