Forest Green and Tamworth both made early subs in the National League Cup last night, with just minutes on the clock.
In 2016/17, teams competing in the EFL Trophy did much the same, and history is repeating itself.
First-Minute Farce
Forest Green Rovers, Rochdale and Tamworth all took advantage of a technicality in the National League Cup rules this week. With regulations insisting on at least four “first-team” players starting, managers have found a neat way around it: start them, then haul them off inside 60 seconds.
2′ | An early set of changes for the Lambs 🔁
⬅️Bates, Enoru, Donkor
➡️Mols, McGlinchey, Curley🔴0-0🔵#vertunissantamworth #COYL
— Tamworth Football Club (@tamworthfc) September 16, 2025
Robbie Savage, unbeaten in 11 games as Forest Green boss, made four substitutions in the first minute against Wolves U21s. His side went on to win 3-2, but the headlines were dominated not by the result but the manipulation of the system.
Rochdale did likewise, swapping out two starters in the opening moments of their tie against Blackburn U21s, while Tamworth made three changes in the second minute of their clash with Everton’s youngsters. It was a trend, not an isolated quirk, and it lays bare the competition’s lack of credibility.
A Trophy Re-Run
For EFL supporters, it all feels eerily familiar. Back in 2016, Bradford City famously removed goalkeeper Colin Doyle in the second minute of an EFL Trophy tie, fulfilling the requirement to field senior players before whipping them off. That tournament, rebranded and restructured to accommodate Premier League U21 teams, has spent years fighting against indifference, boycotts and controversy.
The National League Cup appears to have walked the same doomed path. Many National League teams have not even entered, and those that have are working around the rules. By mandating line-ups and trying to protect its image, it has only succeeded in undermining itself. Instead of producing meaningful competition, it has created theatre of the absurd, where managers play to the letter of the rules rather than the spirit of the game.
The Bigger Picture
Fans have not been shy in voicing their frustrations. Social media is awash with ridicule, with many questioning why a competition that was accepted in exchange for scrapping FA Cup replays even exists. Supporters argue that if clubs can swap out half their side after kick-off, then the regulation is pointless, and the whole tournament becomes a box-ticking exercise.
And yet, the issue runs deeper than substitutions. It highlights a growing disconnect between competition organisers and the reality of lower-league football. Clubs battling gruelling league campaigns have little appetite for a midweek distraction, particularly one that risks injury to key players. For Forest Green, promotion back to League Two is the real prize; tinkering in the National League Cup is little more than an obligation.
Writer’s View
The National League Cup’s credibility is already hanging by a thread. The loophole is not a clever quirk, but a symptom of a flawed concept that was never needed. Just as the EFL Trophy became an unloved sideshow by prioritising the involvement of academy sides, the National League Cup risks the same fate.
Competitions should exist to inspire players and excite supporters, not to create rules so artificial they invite ridicule. If clubs and fans continue to treat it with contempt, scrapping the tournament altogether may be the only honest solution.
The one bright spot in the EFL Trophy. While not exactly a crowd pleaser, it has shrugged off those early jitters, and is now being accepted, begrundgingly, by much of the EFL.
