Fined by the Football League

LeaburnForEngland

Not for being incompetent at running a football club, or for being barefaced wooden-nosed liars, but because we didn't field a full strength team in one of our Checkatrade round one games apparently.

http://www.efl.com/news/article/2016/efl-checkatrade-trophy-update-3419509.aspx

Chris_from_Sidcup

Luton and Portsmouth really bothered about it then!

cantersaddick

A) I thought we complied every time.

of you're gonna break the rules and take the fine you might as well do it properly ala Exeter and play your manager and a bunch of kids..

Chris_from_Sidcup

Just seen that luton actually won 2 of their 3 games and qualified for the next round. How can you fine a team for not fielding a strong enough side when they won the match? Laughable competition.

golfaddick

we dint field our full strength team against Swindon either - but I bet they wont fine us for that !!!!

double fecking standards

Pedro45

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was why Brussel Slave was sacked!

DRAddick

Isn't not actually having a full strength team a defence then?

paulbaconsarnie

Oh dear.
That's £3k's worth of complimentary gin and vaul-au-vents not available over the festive period.

Missed It

17 Covered End season tickets worth.

Henry Irving

Pedro45 said:

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was why Brussel Slave was sacked!

I wouldn't be surprised if this was actually a factor.

JollyRobin

Fantastic statement from Luton in response to their fine

Hatters respond to maximum sanction imposed by EFL

Luton Town Football Club are dismayed by the EFL’s ruling that the maximum £15,000 fine should be imposed for fielding what the league believes were under-strength teams in securing qualification from Southern Group H of the Checkatrade Trophy.

The EFL executive has fined the Hatters £5,000 for each of the three matches played in the much-maligned competition for breaching Rule 7.3 by not starting with at least five players who started the league fixture immediately before or after the Trophy game, or the five players who have started the most league and cup matches to that point in the season.

The Town won 2-1 at League One club Gillingham (pictured above) and beat Premier League West Brom’s Under-21s – plus four senior players – to ensure qualification to the knockout stages ahead of last Tuesday’s defeat to Millwall, which was played in front of the second highest Checkatrade Trophy crowd of the week at Kenilworth Road.

The £15,000 fine will be deducted from the £20,000 prize money gained from these impressive results.

Luton Town chief executive Gary Sweet said: “We entered those teams with our eyes wide open and we accept that we would be fined for doing so. While we don’t feel we should be paying ‘fees’ to get our youngsters experience, we view that as an investment in their development.

“We are staggered, however, that we have been fined the maximum amount for our first offence, which was winning away from home at a club from the division above with half-a-dozen first-team regulars in their team.

“We played nine graduates of our academy in that game at Gillingham, and seven against a West Brom side containing four players, two of whom who were internationals and had been transferred for several million pounds, and still beat both.

“We believe our team selection has added value to a competition that was dying last season and is now – with low three-figure attendances at many matches so far – well and truly on its last legs.

“We had the second highest attendance in our one home game against a fellow senior EFL club, which we believe was only because we were playing our youngsters.

“We acknowledge our breach of the competition rules, but does our ‘offence’ make a mockery of the competition any more than a club substituting their first-choice goalkeeper after just a couple of minutes of the game to ensure they met the five-player starting rule.

“Which is more in keeping with the spirit of the game? Which supports the competition’s ethos of promoting young talent more?

“That is clearly disingenuous and by fining us this amount the EFL is effectively saying that promoting young talent is only acceptable if they’re with an EPPP1 club, and they are depriving their own member clubs’ young players access to first-team football.”

Read more at http://www.lutontown.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/luton-town-checkatrade-trophy-efl-3419548.aspx#EKZV7g9VSklRj93v.99

Henry Irving

oh for a CEO who makes statements like that rather than just appearing at conferences at the drop of a hat.

LeaburnForEngland

Henry Irving said:

Pedro45 said:

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was why Brussel Slave was sacked!

I wouldn't be surprised if this was actually a factor.

Quite. Think of all the duct tape three grand could buy you!

Scoham

I thought we had a tight budget and couldn't even afford poppies on our shirts.

killerandflash

Which game have we been fined for we were definitely ok for the first 2?

If it's the Colchester game, then surely we had 3 players missing for international call ups, and 1 injured, it's scandalous to penalise us in such circumstances...and ignore all the more important issues in football and our club specifically

RedChaser

Scoham said:

I thought we had a tight budget and couldn't even afford poppies on our shirts.

Yeh I mean, I wouldn't accept freebies to watch my beloved club play if it had fallen on hard times, I'd gladly buy a match ticket if I thought everything in the garden was rosey.

Chris_from_Sidcup

Great statement from Luton. Premier league clubs are allowed in the competition in a bid to supposedly promote youth players yet Luton have done this to great effect and are being fined. Pathetic.

thai malaysia addick

Henry Irving said:

oh for a CEO who makes statements like that rather than just appearing at conferences at the drop of a hat.

Or, at the drop of a Hatter, perhaps.

Covered End

Great statement. The competition is a complete and utter farce.

blackpool72

Just goes to show how far we have fallen under this lot.
Luton town are now better represented than we are.
Thanks Roland

Johnnysummers5

According to the BBC website we now play at Valley Parade

blackpool72

Johnnysummers5 said:

According to the BBC website we now play at Valley Parade

Groundsharing next season

I_Saw_Semedo_Score

Great statement from Luton!

Big William

Were we weakened or did we just play like it?

Holdkneebomb

Not sure if we got any prize money so we will have to take the money from gate receipts

Stig

Johnnysummers5 said:

According to the BBC website we now play at Valley Parade

Roly's got us a sponsorship deal with a gentleman's magazine.

FORD

Pedro45 said:

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was why Brussel Slave was sacked!

That's a very likely reason for the knee jerk reaction when it's obvious that once again we don't have a replacement lined up.

SDAddick

I have a bunch of friends from Luton, and a friend of a friend used to be on the board there. Gonna write them and recommend they pay the fine in pennies.

FORD

Another 3k "invested" by Roland!

cabbles

cantersaddick said:

A) I thought we complied every time.

of you're gonna break the rules and take the fine you might as well do it properly ala Exeter and play your manager and a bunch of kids..

Canters, you being a regular on here should no better

http://forum.charltonlife.com/discussion/comment/2321482#Comment_2321482

Capital B and closed bracket does not work.

kings hill addick

What a mess of a competition this is. With so many clubs choosing fines rather than playing first team players I wonder if the clubs should join together and refuse to even stage the games next season.