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Wanderers boss Ian Evatt counts himself among the vast majority of lower league football supporters who would rather not see Liverpool Under-21s competing in the Papa John’s Trophy.
For the last few years, the EFL’s decision to allow Premier League elite academies to play their kids in a competition which traditionally offers lower league clubs a route to Wembley has proven a controversial one.
Bolton’s lowest-ever attendance, a paltry 1,540, watched Phil Parkinson’s side against Everton Under-21s in August 2016.
And while the current public clamour to see Ian Evatt’s side should ensure a better gate tonight, the Bolton boss reckons there is little evidence to suggest that allowing ‘reserve teams’ into the competition has had any positive effect.
“I’m not a fan,” he said. “We’ve had this debate recently and even though Pep Guardiola said it, I don’t agree with everything he does and says. The idea of having B teams in the Football League - no is the answer, from me.
“Even though it’s probably good for their development, you’ve seen with the success that they’ve had in this competition, they are not ready to play in competitive fixtures against men’s teams on a regular basis.
“I think it should be kept to competitive reserve team football and an under-23 model. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that at the moment.
“We have to remember a large percentage of these lads won’t ever get into Liverpool, Man City’s, Man United’s first team and they’ll have to go and ply their trade elsewhere. I guess it’s a good opportunity for them to be in the shop window for potential suitors for the future. But at the moment they’re still harbouring dreams of getting in their first teams there.”
Wanderers won a previous incarnation of the Papa John’s Trophy in 1989 and also reached the final three years earlier.
But when the new format was introduced five years ago, there has been little appetite among the public to see the Whites lock swords with the kids of Everton, Manchester City or Newcastle United.
Financially, Wanderers do stand to profit more from the Papa John’s than, for example, the Carabao Cup with prize money on offer, even in the group stages.
Evatt says his side will be going all-out for a win which should theoretically take them into the knockout stages, and, as ever, he has not entered the competition to do anything else but target a place in the final.
“I understand the public image and that it maybe cheapens the competition,” he said of including Under-21s teams. “But for us it doesn’t because even though obviously we will make changes, we still want to win every game we play.
“We’re professionals, that’s what professionals do, and you should never turn down a chance to play at Wembley. I did it many times, loved it, and you remember it for the rest of your life, so we’ll have to make sure we’re at it, do what we can to prevent them playing the way they play and then all our lads are coached the same way, so they should know automatically how we want to play and what we’re trying to do and implement our game plan on them.”
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