Leyton Orient Fans' Trust Official Website

Leyton Orient fans have overwhelmingly said 'No' to the English Football League's (EFL) proposed 'Whole Game Solution' that would radically alter the lower leagues.

In a survey carried out by LOFT, completed by nearly 600 people in just a week, 86% said that Leyton Orient should vote against the proposed changes at any forthcoming EFL meetings.

Among the headline figures:

• 82% believe the Football League does not need restructuring, with 78% believing a further 8 clubs should not be added to the League
• 77% also believe there should not be a reduction of fixtures, with 69% do not support fewer midweek fixtures
• 76% are against regionalisation of Leagues 1 and 2, and the same number do not believe there should be a winter break

There was also an overwhelming rejection to proposals that affect cup competitions:

• 91% do not believe that FA Cup matches should be moved to midweek
• Only 3% believe that Category 1 Academies should continue to be invited to the Checkatrade Trophy; 75% believe it should be just for lower division clubs whatever the format, while 22% believe the competition should be scrapped altogether

Overall, only 7% believe the club's income would benefit from the proposals, with 61% believing it would in fact negatively affect the club.

Some of the comments left tell a similar story:

• "The introduction of any Premier League youth teams demeans the nature of the competition"
• "It's fine as it is, just take a look around Europe, we are the only country with 4 professional leagues, there's a reason for that!"
• "Although I am not entirely against all of the proposed changes, I think the wholesale changes would not be in the best interests of the Orient"
• "If these changes go through it's the death of lower league football"

...although the proposal with the least negative reaction was for regionalisation of the lower divisions:

• "Needs to be partitioned into North and South (again). More local games, normally makes for bigger away following and media interest"
• "Changing the lower leagues to regional divisions is a logical step. Having teams like Plymouth play Hartlepool, especially if it is on a weekday, seems ridiculous. Regional leagues would lead to bigger average crowds"

LOFT has sent the survey results to the club, to inform their future decisions when voting on these proposals. While we welcome the club management's willingness to receive opinions gained by LOFT from this survey, we are disappointed that they also chose not to allow the survey to be publicised on its own website and social media channels.

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