The second half of the season is when titles are decided, cups are raised aloft and fans make memories to last a lifetime. But not every competition guarantees bums on seats.
The newly-reintroduced National League Cup, contested between non-league outfits and top professional U21 sides, has entered its knockout stage on a tide of controversy and disinterest.
“The competition has really split our fanbase,” Neil Maskell, club secretary at Maidenhead United, one of 32 teams to enter from the start, says. “We’ve seen very low attendances, but many of those who have come have appeared to enjoy themselves at some entertaining matches.”
The National League Cup hasn’t been well-received
The tournament – first introduced as the Bob Lord Challenge Cup in 1979 and most recently contested as the Setanta Shield in 2009, but only including non-league clubs back then – was resurrected at the start of this season as a way to boost non-league clubs’ coffers following the decision to scrap potentially lucrative FA Cup replays. Now, 16 top-flight and Championship U21 teams enter, with the Premier League stumping up £1 million in prize money.
“Traditionally, we’ve relied on the occasional FA Cup run to boost finances, as many clubs at our level do,” Maskell says of fifth-tier sides. “The National League Cup was seen as a bit of an olive branch from authorities – a new source of income that wouldn’t cause fixture pile-ups further up the pyramid.”
The issue, however, is that quite a few non-league clubs haven’t seen it that way. Eastleigh were one of many to decline a spot in the competition; among their gripes were the negligible financial gain expected from such low-level fixtures and the added demands that it would place on their squad.
These are concerns shared by many others – including those who entered.
“We’ve lowered the costs of tickets but, against Derby County’s U21s in the group stage, we had around 140 paying fans – the sort of gate we were getting when we played two divisions down,” Maskell reveals. “We can understand fans’ reasons for staying away, and we accepted the backlash we’ve received from some for joining. But we thought we’d give it a chance. The chairman, the manager and the board were all for it.”
That clash with Derby ended 3-3, so the National League Cup is capable of providing entertainment. Dagenham & Redbridge drew 5-5 with Tottenham’s U21s (in front of184 spectators), while Woking vs Southampton U21s ended 4-4 (attendance: 157). Other weird results have seen Braintree defeat West Ham U21s and Boston United beat Sunderland U21s.
Maskell emphasises other benefits, too: “The manager has used the competition to provide youngsters and fringe players with game time, which can only be a good thing for them.”
In the first round, the top two teams from four groups of eight advance to the quarter-finals, scheduled to begin in February. Non-league sides have been promised certain privileges in the knockouts, including home fixtures. The venue for the final is yet to be chosen, with the National League hoping to make it as easy as possible for fans of both clubs to attend.
“As I’ve said, we totally understand why many fans have stayed away,” Maskell concludes. “We’re still gutted about the decisions to scrap FA Cup replays. But we didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Whatever happens, don’t expect a sell-out Wembley final.”
