On a night when such shocks as Woking beat Nottingham Forest 3-2, it's time to wonder whether it's time to kick the LDV Vans Trophy (Associate Members) into touch. Is it worth the effort? Barnsley made the biggest gate of the night with 4,095 supporters seeing them get hammered 2-5 at home by Yorkshire rivals Doncaster Rovers. In the Southern Section it was Woking, who had just over 3,000 fans, who had the biggest gate of the night to witness what was probably a cup-final atmosphere for them. The other gates in the first round were pretty poor with three teams not even making the 1,000 mark.
The Latics reduced admission prices to a mere £5 for adults and a quid for kids. I'm not sure what the costs of staging such a match is but the betting is that they are running these games at a loss. The tournament might have made a significent change for Ben Foster, from Wrexham's winning team of last season, who ended up signing for Manchester United, but for the majority of players it's just another insignificent game. So much so for the fans that they will boycott the game even though it's cheaper than watching a non-league game. It's a testament to the integrity of the Trophy that many managers consider putting out a weakened side and consider it a chance to see some of the younger players trying out.
It may mean a small windfall to the eventual finalists, who might expect a following of around 30,000 to view the final, but it's time to consider whether this Mickey Mouse Trophy should be relegated to be a part of football history that should be forgotten. Personally, I think it's time!