The draw for the second round of the EFL Trophy took place yesterday (without comment on the official site).
Week commencing 2nd December will see us play Chelsea U21 at home. That probably means our usual drubbing, but as it’s their babbies, by the odd goal rather than the usual net full.
Maybe not on the website but a more or less immediate post on the official Twitter feed - says details of the game will be announced in due course.
BTW Just before the draw on SKY, I noticed they were interviewing Josh Gordon at the ground, but the sound was turned down in the Stadium Suite so no idea what it was about. Anyone else catch it?
PS But for the awful defending 7 minutes into the 6 added on giving us an away trip on Wednesday, the tie against Chelsea would have been a 7th consecutive home game. Would it have been a record?
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I try to keep away from Twitter and Facebook. Apparently it’s full of Russian bots.
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Yes a good tie for us…I think I might go and hope to see the next Mount or Tomori or Abrahams playing.
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I know this is totally different team, but in a way, it looks like Dean Smith’s game against them in cup, years ago. Should be good game, maybe with few accidental visitors, who just want to see a footy game. Against Chelsea, even when it is U-21 team, without big names. Possibly loan later? Everything will help for the second part of the season.
It really doesn’t. It’s their U21s. We played a lot of Chelsea’s first team that day. This time they’ll mostly be 18-20 year olds, some of which are probably having their first taste of ‘competitive’ football in a Chelsea shirt.
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And who have already beaten two League 2 teams in the group round to earn the privilege of playing us in the knockout stages.
Don’t underestimate them as a team - and remember that in his first spell with us Milan Lalkovic was on loan from this same squad (as over the years have been Romelu Lukaku, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham amongst others).
I’m just pointing out that it’s nothing like the League Cup game under Smith.
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I know it won’t be senior match between two senior teams, but first they have rather strong academy and second, it is still Chelsea. So bigger chance to attract few more bums on the stands. Result? That’s not league game.
And tying it back to another thread - even though the preceding games have not been that well attended (and even more so since they messed about with the format and letting in PL and Championship academy sides), each of the 3 times we have got to an EFL Trophy area final before there has been a very decent turnout. Beat Chelski yoof and we’d only be 2 games away from another one …
Am I alone in seeing the irony of the fact that numbers of our supporters have been staying away from the EFL Trophy games for the last few seasons due to the inclusion of Premier League U21’s teams, and now some of them are going to turn up because we’ve been drawn against one of them? 
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Even if it was full-fat Chelsea I wouldn’t be interested. An uninteresting team in an uninteresting league.
It being an under-21s team is frankly insulting. It’s a match we cannot win, after all, “it’s only the under 21s”.
Not an even playing field, not sport; a Joseph Merrick of a tournament.
Looking forward to it. Might be able to watch it if it is possible to subscribe to Chelseas tv channel for 1 Month. Of course there is the I follow. I will not be attending the game. So i will do one of them 2 options.
You’re not alone.
I stay away because I think it’s the first step in introducing PL U21 sides into the lower leagues, and I do not wish that to happen.
I don’t care if we play Chelsea or whoever. I hope we win the competition but I won’t be there to see it.
Revert the competition to its intended format and I will gladly go to games.
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