Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have spoken out against a contentious English Football League tournament, admitting that they dislike it.

Debates on club performance, player quality, fanbases, and transfer decisions are widespread throughout the English Football League. However, one competition looks to be causing significant discontent among League One and League Two fans.

The EFL Trophy, now formally named as the Jersey Mike’s Trophy, has long been a source of contention, especially given the inclusion of Premier League Under-21 teams.

The league involves 48 teams, including clubs from League One and League Two, as well as 16 Premier League Category One academy sides. They are divided into regional groups, with the top teams continuing to the elimination stages before the final at Wembley Stadium.

However, the presence of youth teams has never been fully accepted by lower-division supporters, and Carragher and Neville have now clarified their stances.

Carragher and Neville discuss their frustrations with the EFL Trophy.

The conversation took place on the most recent episode of The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast, in which the former Liverpool and Manchester United defenders discussed the tournament following Wigan Athletic’s 2-1 victory over Crewe Alexandra.

Carragher had a personal motivation to watch the game, as his son James plays for Wigan. However, the former Liverpool defender admits that he only saw the first half before turning off.

He added that his son had informed him he would play for 45 minutes, and that Wigan had already qualified for the next round, as far as he understood.

Neville was even more blunt in expressing his feelings, confessing that he disliked the competition.

“That award doesn’t appeal to me. “It’s an odd one,” he said.

Carragher linked the competition to Premier League clubs’ Carabao Cup, particularly while discussing the importance of reaching the Wembley final.

Neville also discussed his time with Salford City, where he is involved in the club’s ownership structure.

Salford won the competition in 2021, defeating Portsmouth in a final that had been slated for March 2020 before being postponed because to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Neville noted that the original final had generated a lot of interest, with over 32,000 tickets sold before the postponement.

Salford had also anticipated to sell between 5,000 and 6,000 tickets, with the financial agreements allowing both clubs to share earnings.

However, the eventual final was held behind closed doors, which made the event significantly different from what the clubs had planned.

The Salford co-owner noted that directors and club owners were present at Wembley Stadium, but supporters were not, with social-distancing methods also influencing the experience.

His remarks underscore the difficult connection between lower-league clubs and a competition that provides a chance to play at Wembley Stadium but continues to draw criticism for its format and the inclusion of academy teams.