Is it even worth trying? "The average attendance of Tuesday's 16 Carling Cup ties was 7,630, with only three games attracting gates of more than 10,000" I know the 2nd round doesn't feature the big clubs ( to Liverpool) but surely this is a sign that the competition as it stands is dead. I honestly think the only way to save this competition is to remove Premier League teams from it, or open it up to the Scottish, Welsh, and Irish leagues as a British Isles Cup.
It is what it is, a good learning curve for youngsters and reserves. I would not like to see Scottish clubs involved in the competition as it may open the door for their inclusion in the league and that should be avoided for many reasons but mainly as it would ruin league Football across Europe as the Portuguese would want to play in Spain, the Dutch in Germany etc. Celtic and Rangers would bring nothing new to the PL yet have plenty of negatives, with their intolerance and hatred their inclusion could well see English Football return to the 1980`s.
For many clubs, it's just another game added to the calendar. At this point, so early in the season, it does seem quite pointless but as you get to the latter stages, it does get better. From our perspective, it's not been that highly regarded but it doesn't mean that we haven't taken it seriously or done well in it. In fact, one could argue that the League Cup was what spurred us onto better thing from 2006 onwards. People from 606 might remember I did an article on the value of the League Cup after Arsenal's defeat to Birmingham in the final. In that article, I didn't slate Arsenal, I merely pointed out that in May 2006, at the end of that season, we had seen Arsenal's invincibles and Mourinho winning back to back titles with us trailing very far behind. We'd been knocked out of Europe at the first group stage, we had never faced humiliation like it. BUT we won the League Cup in 2006. It's not much, but IMO it kept the winning mentality going, especially to the young kids we had in the team at the time- Rooney and Ronaldo just to name two. That following summer, big changes, RVN left, Saha became our main striker, Keane (had already albeit) left and we bought Carrick and we have never looked back since then. So it might seem like a Mickey Mouse trophy, but, silverware is silverware and winning competitions breed sucess, something that very few of the Arsenal squad have tasted.
I agree with that, it was also Mourinho`s first trophy at Chelsea and helped create a winning habit at Chelsea just as it did with our 2006 squad. I said to Gooner pal that their season would collapse if they failed to beat Birmingham and he agreed too.
Well it's the only trophy Liverpool and Arsenal have a realistic chance of winning, so don't think it's dead just yet.
I think once it gets to the latter stages of the competition it gets taken more seriously by the fans and attendances rise but i would like to see them remove extra time and just go straight to penalties to decide it if finishing a draw.
Putting Scottish teams in would only embarrass them more when they get beat by League 1 and League 2 sides.
Does it need to be "saved"? It's a good competition to give the youngsters some playing time and let the fringe players play too. I honestly fail to see how your suggestions would help. How would removing the most popular teams help with falling attendances? And who gives a toss about Hamilton Accies or Lisburn Distillery or Aberystwyth Town, I know I don't, I'd much rather watch Wolves v Millwall
Personally, I enjoy watching the League Cup. I am keen follower of the U18s and reserve teams, so like to see if fringe and younger players have the mentality and ability to play for the first team.
And the Premier League as well. Can't see what good it would do for the competition to kick Prem teams out of it. Does JPT really get huge attendances?
It's the Football League cup, hence the name. I think they should scrap the JPT and have one cup competition for all Football League teams (Championship, League One and League Two).
It's the League Cup because it excludes non-league teams. But the Premier League is still part of the football league structure, even if it is separate for media purposes. I wouldn't support excluding PL teams from the LC as you are then either going to have a Championship team in Europe, or you will have the third EL participant being the sixth placed team in the league. Which would be bad for the game, in my view, as the LC currently represents a good chance for clubs like Blackburn, Middlesborough and Birmingham a shot at Europe which they couldn't otherwise hope for. In fact, I think that's the big appeal of the League Cup - the top four challengers don't always take it very seriously, so it helps break their monopoly on silverware. Barring Pompey in 08, the last time the FA Cup was won by a side outside the top four was Everton in '95, back before the CL was expanded.
Top flight was part of the Football League when the cup was formed. So yeah the split has made it into a bit of a misnomer but I don't see why the split should affect cup competitions. The cup's idea from the start was to include clubs from all the professional levels. JPT's official name is Football League Trophy but it's not open to fizzy pop teams is it? One major attraction about the Carling Cup is the EL spot, that would be lost if Prem teams wouldn't be allowed to compete in it
I like the sound of a British League Cup. Invite the sides from the top divisions in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England and maybe create a new cup for teams in the lower divisions to compete in. While the money won in the English League cup wont be much for an English club if the prize money was used for a British cup and a none English side won it it would be a huge amount of money for and Irish or Welsh club. Granted the quality of the Scottish, Welsh and Irish clubs leaves a lot to be desired the English clubs could use it as a reserve league cup and give squad players a game. I feel if done well it could aid the development of the game in Britain and help the home nations bar England ( we dont need the help, we just need to figure out how to use the talent we have available already ).
