The EFL Trophy has a fairly poor reputation in English football and that is something that has certainly gone downhill since the introduction of u23 teams playing in it. This competition was originally brought in to give lower league clubs a chance to play for a trophy that ended with a Wembley final. Now it is littered with reserve teams from top clubs, and lower league teams who play weakened teams because they have no interest in the competition at all.

From a betting point of view, this is probably the worst competition to have a bet in, and one you need to tread very carefully in. Team news is crucial, as is knowing how a team intends to approach the competition, and whether they are going to try their best to win it.

These two clubs go into the competition with very different mind sets, even more so now we are at this stage. Bradford are bottom of League One, they have lost their last five league games and already they are seven points from safety. They need a big turnaround very quickly and the last thing on their mind right now will be this competition.

Barnsley have a different outlook however. They are aiming for promotion this season, and currently sit in 4th position with three wins from their last five games. There is also something else that is important to consider here, and that is that Barnsley have won this competition before, and in the year they won it, they were also promoted. Although they have a new manager and  new owners at the club, everyone associated with Barnsley will remember the feeling of heading to Wembley twice, winning both times and winning this competition as well as the playoff final.

That is enough to make them of interest in the competition, because I really think they have a great chance of repeating the feat once again, getting promoted and winning the EFL Trophy.

The Barnsley Foreign Revolution

It is fair to say that Barnsley is a very typical northern town, but their football club is far from a typical League One football club. With a German manager, a French chief executive and owners on the board from China, India and America, there is little in the way of ‘normality’ at Barnsley Football Club. To their credit though, the owners have tried their best to keep things ticking over nicely. They haven’t over-invested and put anything at risk, they want the football club to grow slowly and bring a smile back to the local community.

When the new owners came in, they took over from long-serving local businessman Patrick Cryne, who sadly passed away shortly after from agreeing the deal after a battle with cancer. The new owners moved forward, but relegation from the Championship into League One came last season, which was their first in charge of the club. This showed they were not panic buyers, they didn’t thrown money to stay up, they have principles and they want to do things the right way.

Manager Daniel Stendel was brought into the club from Germany where he had previously managed Hannover. Like we have seen at Liverpool and Huddersfield, there is a lot of positives about having a German manager, and Barnsley will be hoping that Stendel can take them to the Premier League, just like the story we saw unfold at Huddersfield.

With a raft of youth players at the club, both on loan from bigger teams and from the Barnsley youth signing policy, the future appears to be very bright at Oakwell. Over the last decade they have produced many top quality players, but without the backing of big money owners they have always had to sell those players, which constantly puts them on the back foot.

Premier League centre halves John Stones, Mason Holgate and Alfie Mawson came through the ranks at Barnsley, all of which had to be sold to bring in much needed funds. Mark Roberts, Conor Hourihane and James Bree are others to name a few which are currently playing their trade in a higher division after being sold by Barnsley due to their lack of investment.

The hope for fans of the club moving forward is that while the new owners don’t seem intent on spashing the cash around for instant success, they will be able to resist bid for their best players. We have seen Barnsley produce some exciting, talented names over the past few years, but due to financial restraints at the club they have had to sell them. Had they kept those players together for another season or two, who knows where this small team from Yorkshire could have ended up.

Fans will now be well aware that their new owners are not going to throw money away, but for this club, the main aim will be to protect the assests they have, and that includes the youngsters coming through the ranks. The next John Stones could well be at Barnsley, and fans will be hoping to see more of him at their club, before he moves on thanks to the money that their new owners have available to them.

To those on the outside looking in, Barnsley is your typical northern town, with a typical northern lower league football club. But there is a far bigger picture, and a far better story to tell, one that will hopefully end in success for The Reds and their foreign friends.

Barnsley vs Bradford Betting Tips

The EFL Trophy is not a competition that you can go in blind on. You have to understand that teams don’t value this competition too highly, and they will make changes to their starting eleven. Finding a team that looks as though they will take it seriously is something you must try to do, and something I think we have found with Barnsley.

Their connection with this competition is something that everyone at the club will remember, and something they will want to replicate this season. I think they will try much harder than most in this, and when they are playing a team like Bradford, who will do the opposite in my opinion, then they look to be a great bet.

I am confident of a big Barnsley win here, with Bradford resting players to focus on their faultering league campaign. I am backing Barnsley on the -1 handicap line for this game, meaning they have to win by two goals or more. They will also make changes, but not too many, and I expect them to take this competition very seriously and go close to winning it.

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