A Rare Glimpse Of Real Life

In a week when the EFL deliberately and willfully agreed to lie to supporters it has finally admitted what has been blatantly obvious for some time.

The EFL says it made a 'difficult decision' in allowing supporters to be lied to about the abandonment of a match, between Leyton Orient and Colchester, but admitted that it was powerless to stop rogue owners. Their own statement notes 'the decision was taken by the EFL to announce the abandonment of the game to clear the pitch and when it was safe, allow the players to return to complete the fixture.'

The statement also states that the EFL wants to protect the legitimacy of the competition which, in a season when teams have been fined for fielding reserve sides against Academy sides from higher grade teams (effectively a third string XI), and now sees honest paying customers fail to watch the match they forked out money to see, legitimate is no longer a word that can be used to describe the EFL.

The only decent thing the EFL have done is acknowledge what everyone knew. That their limited rules on owners were unenforceable and they were powerless to prevent rogue club owners. All the stern words, the threats, and the false hopes over the past years amounted to not one iota of real action. It was nothing more than the illusion of power.

Since their rebranding from the Football League last summer, the EFL has been massively devalued in terms of the integrity that it wishes to protect. Chief Executive Shaun Harvey has repeatedly enraged supporters, who he appears to care little about, with a series of ridiculous ideas that has seen the Checkatrade Trophy turn into the Mickey Mouse cup that many fans jokingly referred to it as - even going as far as bending the rules of the competition to suit the bigger sides.

The actions at Brisbane Road last Saturday should have the FA demand answers from the EFL and Harvey as to why the lifeblood of the game was treated with such utter contempt.

But, in a world of inaction, I won't be holding my breath.