The Johnstone's Paint Trophy[JPT]is an important part of lower league culture. It is a chance for fans of smaller teams to get to see their clubs playing at Wembley, and adds another competition and therein another level of excitement to English football.

There are many reasons for rejecting Premier League B teams from joining:

1. It will undermine the JPT and its competitiveness; to a lower league team, the JPT is a valuable competition and something clubs really do put effort into-it is a hotly contested competition. It is unlikely that a Premier League B team would have anywhere near the level of enthusiasm towards it as lower league clubs do. It would also be farcical if the lower league trophy had two B teams in the final, with very few fans in attendance.
2. Decreased ticket income for clubs; it is unlikely that fans of B teams would follow their team far at all, much in the same way u21 teams rarely attract many fans. Many lower league fans are opposed to attending games against B teams.
3. Making a mockery out of the lower league and the JPT; It is insulting to say the least to use the JPT and League One and League Two as places to fine tune young players, trampling over the rich heritage of these clubs and essentially reducing the JPT to a training game.
4. A slippery slope; We believe that the "slippery slope" isn't a fallacy in this regard, as the FA and the Premier League have already made clear their ambitions for B teams to play in the leagues, most recently in the "League 3" suggestion. Once our cup competitions have B teams in them,that aim will be far easier to realise.
5. The lower leagues are not here to serve as breeding grounds for the Premier League to swoop in and remove players as they see fit. The problems in English football were not started by the Football League clubs, instead, they have originated at the top. It is not fair that we, the lower league clubs, should have to bear the brunt of the consequences.