Addicks and Dons both give youth a chance in midweek as the build up to the FA Cup tie begins

Charlton Athletic and The MK Dons are now in focus as the second round of the FA Cup on The Road to Wembley from Scotland gets closer. On Tuesday both teams were in action in the much maligned Checkatrade Trophy. Both teams lost but in truth both games were meaningless.

The Checkatrade Trophy is the latest incarnation of The Football League Trophy. Previous sponsors have included LV Vans, Auto Windscreens and Johnstones Paints. The Trophy offers a chance for League One and League Two teams to play in a straight knock out competition with a chance to reach a Wembley final. So, what is not to like about that? Nothing. So why change the format? This season two innovations have been introduced and they have been to invite Academy (U-21) teams from the big clubs and also to play the early rounds as all-play-all groups of 4 teams rather than straight knock-out.

The introduction of the Academy sides has back fired massively as the big guns (e.g. Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United) have in most cases turned down the invitation. This in turn means that to make up the numbers not-so-big teams currently playing in The Championship (e.g. Reading, Blackburn Rovers, Derby County) were invited to enter their Academy teams thus devaluing the competition further. Also the re-introduction of a group stage has led to a number of fixtures being totally meaningless ‘dead rubbers’.

On Tuesday Charlton Athletic travelled to play Colchester United in a match that meant SFA (and I don’t mean the Scottish Football Association). Both teams had already been eliminated from the competition before the match started due to their previous group stage results. The match finished 1-1 with Ajose on target for the Addicks. The rules of the competition state that if a game (even a meaningless game) finishes level then there must be a penalty kick competition to decide the outcome. Saints preserve us! For the record the home team won on penalties. The Addicks manager, Russell Slade, was clearly looking for positives to take out of this fiasco when he declared himself pleased to be able to blood some of his young players. The Charlton team that lost on Tuesday night will bear little resemblance to the team that represents the club on Saturday.

Over in Norfolk on the same night the MK Dons were playing against Norwich City under 21s. They were thumped 4-1 by the young canaries but who actually gave a damn about the result? Not the Caretaker Manager of MK Dons apparently as he took the opportunity to field a virtual Dons youth team. Ironically the Norwich U-21s featured a number of over-age players and it was clear that the ‘Academy’ innovation had proven to be a complete farce. I am pretty sure that the average age of the ‘full’ MK Dons side was less than the average age of the ‘U-21’ Norwich City side. Norwich City’s average attendance this season seems to be about 26,000 and on Tuesday night only 1042 hardy souls turned up. The last I heard on twitter on Monday is that the Dons had sold 24 tickets to their fans for this match. Well done to those 24 – now that is what I call dedication even if therein madness lies.

Norwich U-21s v MK Dons on Tuesday: Spot the Spectator 

The draw for the second round of the Checkatrade Trophy has been made and MK Dons travel to play Yeovil Town in December. Hopefully from this point on the competition will be a bit more credible and interesting for the teams still in.

Hence, as I looked for a form guide from Charlton and MK in advance of the big FA Cup tie in early December I learned nothing – except that the Checkatrade Trophy is pants. On Saturday The Addicks travel to Swindon and the MK Dons play host to Walsall in important League One fixtures. These matches will give a much better indication of what form the two protagonists are in ahead of the big game. I will be reporting on these games in a post on Sunday.

Other midweek news concerns the continuing search for a new manager for MK Dons with The Chairman now saying it might be another week before a decision is announced. The odds keep changing and the bookies now think it is a two horse race with Paul Mitchell and Steve Cotterill both short odds. Thankfully controversial Scotsman Steve Evans has drifted in the betting to 25/1 and it now seems very unlikely that he will land the job. Good news for MK Dons fans because, believe me, you don’t want him at the helm.

The next post will be on Sunday as I am taking a couple of days off – for a good reason. The man who is writing the ‘Road to Wembley from Scotland’ is going to Wembley from Scotland!

Anne Donkin proud member of the Tartan Army: Wembley here we come

Tomorrow night me and my old mucker Anne Donkin will be at the famous stadium in North London to see England v Scotland in a World Cup qualifier. The match against the ‘Auld Enemy’ is the oldest international football fixture in the world. The first ever meeting was in 1872 at Hamilton Crescent Glasgow. Tomorrow night will be the 113^th meeting of the great rivals. Cannae wait ..

Will Scotland beat England? Will the Addicks and the Dons win on Saturday? Will the MK Dons finally appoint a manager to replace Karl Robinson? Come back here on Sunday to find out the answers to these questions and much more!