With the European CL and Europa competitions have the domestic cup competitions lost their appeal? When I saw this weekend was cup weekend, all I thought was "Damn FA Cup, that means no EPL, SPL or Championship football". The league cup, in England at least, is now effectively a youth competition until the semis. Teams are now fielding weakened teams in the FA and Scottish FA Cups. Ken Bates (a tosser admittedly) has said that teams that field weakened sides should be banned from future competitions. There is also a suggestion that maybe the competitions should be seeded. Most supporters are not bothered if their team gets knocked out. How can we restore some prestige to these competitions? My solution is this: make the league cup a single competition in England and Scotland so English teams can get drawn against Scottish teams. Give the winner of the FA Cup a place in the CL, and the winner of the Scottish FA cup a place in the Europa.
The winner of the scottish cup does get a place in the europa league Problem is that when a diddy team like Gretna or QoTS get to the final and qualify for europe by virtue of losing to a team that's already qualified via their league position, the scottish european coefficient takes another kicking.
