League Cup - What is the point?

[Hound Dog]

Being a betting man, I am quite pleased that this competition exists, as it allows quite unique opportunities to place bets due to all the rotation and differences in motivation between the sides.

However, other than that - what the hell is the point of this competition? There are no other countries that I know of that have two domestic cup competitions.

Furthermore, the competition has the exact same format as the FA Cup, with the difference being that there is even more rotation going on here. So, apart from giving smaller clubs one more opportunity to have a great run, like Burton have had recently and Bradford relatively recently, I do not see any point to this.

Also, despite being considered as a second-rate competition by the clubs, they still dominate it. The latest minnows to have won it were Swansea in 2013.

So, my question to you is whether you even care if your club wins the competition and whether you think it should be scraped. I would also appreciate insight by anyone on why this competition actually exists.

 

[Neil_Buchanan]

I think it should be scrapped, this season more than ever. Or at least exclude all the teams who are playing in Europe that season.

 

[11101]

It's great for smaller clubs and lower leagues but its become a joke for the big teams who inevitably end up occupying the latter stages. It should change to be restricted to Championship and League 1 and 2 clubs.

 

[Zlatan 7]

It's great for smaller clubs and lower leagues but its become a joke for the big teams who inevitably end up occupying the latter stages. It should change to be restricted to Championship and League 1 and 2 clubs.

I agree it’s great for the smaller clubs, but that’s because they have a chance of playing the bigger clubs, it defeats the point of that removing the prem teams. I seen it suggested that teams that qualify for European competition don’t enter it and think that’s a great idea

 

[always_hoping]

To add more trophies to Peps Wikipedia page.

 

[Skills]

I agree it’s great for the smaller clubs, but that’s because they have a chance of playing the bigger clubs, it defeats the point of that removing the prem teams. I seen it suggested that teams that qualify for European competition don’t enter it and think that’s a great idea

You can just enter the PL teams earlier into the FA cup surely?

 

[Zlatan 7]

You can just enter the PL teams earlier into the FA cup surely?

I don’t, can you? We were talking about the league cup. It’s an idea I suppose

 

[Jezpeza]

Its because the football league and FA are different entities and both want to run their own competition. They've kind of acknowledged its never going to be won by a non PL side by by establishing the weird EFL trophy as well.

I feel for league one and two clubs who have to feck around with the league cup, EFL (johnstones paint trophy to me) and early rounds of FA cup on top of 46 league games

It should all remain though IMO. Its been won by clubs who have won little else and provides their fans with a day out at wembley or memories of a trophy. Think Birmingham beat the gooners in the final in 2010 for example, was their first trophy for 60 years. They then got EL group stage. Think big teams look down at it but dont get why, its a trophy at the end of the day

 

[11101]

I agree it’s great for the smaller clubs, but that’s because they have a chance of playing the bigger clubs, it defeats the point of that removing the prem teams. I seen it suggested that teams that qualify for European competition don’t enter it and think that’s a great idea

Problem is the league cup is not an FA competition and is in direct competition to the FA Cup. They need the biggest teams to market it.

 

[fergosaurus]

I like it but the two-legged semifinal ties need scrapped.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Problem is the league cup is not an FA competition and is in direct competition to the FA Cup. They need the biggest teams to market it.

Ah fair enough, I’m out of ideas then

 

[Skills]

I don’t, can you? We were talking about the league cup. It’s an idea I suppose

Well entering the PL teams into the FA cup earlier achieves the same effect. More opportunity for the lower league teams to play some of the big teams and get some income/exposure.

The top 7 only enter the league cup in the 3rd round, so by the time QF start (2 more games) its heavily dominated by the PL sides anyway.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Well entering the PL teams into the FA cup earlier achieves the same effect. More opportunity for the lower league teams to play some of the big teams and get some income/exposure.

The top 7 only enter the league cup in the 3rd round, so by the time QF start (2 more games) its heavily dominated by the PL sides anyway.

But that will still be more games for the top teams (Europe qualifying teams) as they drop one competition and enter another earlier. Just give the teams who enter Europe a break from another lower classed competion. Would still be good for Everton, West Ham level teams and improve their chances of maybe a decent cup run in Europe if they make that as they’ve had more regular good runs in a lower league cup.
I think it’s a decent idea but as the poster above pointed out, big teams Sell and it’s about money at the end of the day. Everything bad about football these days comes back to money

 

[Snow]

It's extra income via TV and attendance (usually) for smaller clubs. It's obviously not a big deal for bigger clubs. It's a balancing act between winning a trophy and sacrificing fitness to do so. Sometimes you're lucky and get far on your backups so you can take the last couple of games seriously without many sacrifices. That's usually the case for the winner.

Swansea won it in 2013 but you have to go back to 2004 to find another surprise win in Boro. FA Cup is similar in that way. Wigan in 2013 and Portsmouth in 2008 only surprise wins in like 30 years. Europe took away the shine from domestic cup competitions many years ago.

 

[Bwuk]

I’d like there to be an age cap on premier league teams starting 11s in it, that way it gives more chances to young players and evens the playing field a bit. Something like only 3 over 25s starting.

 

[TwoSheds]

It might be the only competition that actually gets finished this year tbf. I'd go all out for it.

 

[Skills]

It's extra income via TV and attendance (usually) for smaller clubs. It's obviously not a big deal for bigger clubs. It's a balancing act between winning a trophy and sacrificing fitness to do so. Sometimes you're lucky and get far on your backups so you can take the last couple of games seriously without many sacrifices. That's usually the case for the winner.

Swansea won it in 2013 but you have to go back to 2004 to find another surprise win in Boro. FA Cup is similar in that way. Wigan in 2013 and Portsmouth in 2008 only surprise wins in like 30 years. Europe took away the shine from domestic cup competitions many years ago.

Birmingham beat Arsenal in 2011

 

[Samid]

Why does everything have to be scrapped? What's the point of the FA cup? Champions League? Premier League? What's the point of football? What's the point of anything?

 

[Josep Dowling]

It’s become the trophy where the team with the best second squad wins, hence the likes of City and Chelsea have won it so many times recently. It needs to be scrapped and given the congestion this season it should have been scraped at least for this year.

 

[Samid]

It’s become the trophy where the team with the best second squad wins, hence the likes of City and Chelsea have won it so many times recently. It needs to be scrapped and given the congestion this season it should have been scraped at least for this year.

They've won it once in 13 years. We've won it thrice in the same period.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Being a betting man, I am quite pleased that this competition exists, as it allows quite unique opportunities to place bets due to all the rotation and differences in motivation between the sides.

However, other than that - what the hell is the point of this competition? There are no other countries that I know of that have two domestic cup competitions.

Furthermore, the competition has the exact same format as the FA Cup, with the difference being that there is even more rotation going on here. So, apart from giving smaller clubs one more opportunity to have a great run, like Burton have had recently and Bradford relatively recently, I do not see any point to this.

Also, despite being considered as a second-rate competition by the clubs, they still dominate it. The latest minnows to have won it were Swansea in 2013.

So, my question to you is whether you even care if your club wins the competition and whether you think it should be scraped. I would also appreciate insight by anyone on why this competition actually exists.

It doesn’t have the same format as the FA Cup. It’s only for league teams, and you have a 2 leg semi final (obviously not this year).

I like it, it’s nice to have a cup final in the middle of the season, rather than everything at the end.

It’s not as prestigious as the FA Cup, but it’s a good cup to win, and don’t see why we need to go round scrapping things.

Yes I celebrate when Utd win it, it’s a cup. Why wouldn’t you.

 

[Chief123]

Being a betting man, I am quite pleased that this competition exists, as it allows quite unique opportunities to place bets due to all the rotation and differences in motivation between the sides.

However, other than that - what the hell is the point of this competition? There are no other countries that I know of that have two domestic cup competitions.

Furthermore, the competition has the exact same format as the FA Cup, with the difference being that there is even more rotation going on here. So, apart from giving smaller clubs one more opportunity to have a great run, like Burton have had recently and Bradford relatively recently, I do not see any point to this.

Also, despite being considered as a second-rate competition by the clubs, they still dominate it. The latest minnows to have won it were Swansea in 2013.

So, my question to you is whether you even care if your club wins the competition and whether you think it should be scraped. I would also appreciate insight by anyone on why this competition actually exists.

It’s a cup that allows Man City to fill their cabinet with a bit of history.

 

[DixieDean]

I've been saying this for years. It's pointless shite. We already have one domestic cup, we don't need two. Give the European spot to a much more deserving 7th placed league side. And pay lower leagues extra cash to compensate for the lack of revene.

I'm sure the reason it exists is that TV companies want more football on the telly. These people need to learn that sometimes less is more.

On the same note, I also think it would be better for football if the PL reduced to 18 teams. It would allow some breathing room in the schedule and even a short winter break after Xmas.

Obviously, this last point is not going to happen as turkeys don't vote for Xmas.

 

[bosnian_red]

Any team in European competition shouldn't be in the league cup. Ok with it existing, but should be a thing for everyone else.

 

[Irwin99]

It's the least prestigious trophy (other than charity/community shield) but it's nice to win something. I remember the 05-06 season which was a real drag at times but winning the league cup was a boost and it felt good, especially as the squad was in transition. The next season was 06-07 was some of the best football i've ever seen from a United team. Stuff like a league cup win can be a small consolation or a a sign of progress so it has it's uses.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Honestly, couldn't agree more. To me it is just as worthless as the Community shield, although at least that serves to kick off the new season.

Personally if you're in the PL - there should be the League, the FA cup and the race for European places. There is no need for an extra cup & it also devalues the FA cup. I'm pretty sure other leagues in Europe don't do this - it's extra workload for players for a competition that no one really cares about.

If the broadcasting companies don't want to lose the games, what would be more interesting, and actually draw in more viewers in my opinion, would be if they made it into more of a 'Milk' cup where you have rules on selection like in the Olympics where the majority of the squad has be U23 if you are a PL team. It makes it more viable for lower league teams to cause upsets, it's better for developing homegrown talent and it's also a hell of a lot more interesting. I'd much rather watch a team with lots of players like Laird, Mengi, Puigmal plus some of the first team like Mata, Lingard and anyone needing fitness take on Luton than watch us play the starting XI that slogged through the game until the big guns came on the other day.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

It’s become the trophy where the team with the best second squad wins, hence the likes of City and Chelsea have won it so many times recently. It needs to be scrapped and given the congestion this season it should have been scraped at least for this year.

City plays strong side in it though. Ever since the first season Pep has gone for the cups strongly.
We won it under Mourinho going for it strongly as Mourinho always does.

It is a nice cup to win. I like having two cups around. It gives more room for error and you can still win a cup.
The only reason to remove it is for having too many games. Although clubs always rotate in the first rounds anyway.
It gives chances for younger players and squad players to fight for a first team place.

 

[VorZakone]

Scrap it. Most countries have 1 cup. I really don't see why this one exists. Surely there are other ways to support smaller clubs financially?

 

[Canuckred64]

The original concept was good, it gave lower league teams a chance of a long cup run. Rotherham were in the final the first year and Rochdale made the final the next. Even the clubs who won the first 4 or 5 cups finished in the bottom half of the old first division.

I think with the big money available to the top teams in the Premier, its become next to impossible for lower league teams to do well in the competition. Its been awhile since a team that finished outside the top four won it. Keep the Cup but stop teams who play in Europe from playing in it, or least make them play only players under 21.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

The original concept was good, it gave lower league teams a chance of a long cup run. Rotherham were in the final the first year and Rochdale made the final the next. Even the clubs who won the first 4 or 5 cups finished in the bottom half of the old first division.

I think with the big money available to the top teams in the Premier, its become next to impossible for lower league teams to do well in the competition. Its been awhile since a team that finished outside the top four won it. Keep the Cup but stop teams who play in Europe from playing in it, or least make them play only players under 21.

Lower teams need to go for it more and play strongest side. Since they rotate often as well no wonder they struggle. I think we had a few upsets over the year. Birmingham beating Arsenal I can clearly remember. Swansea won it too.
Many smaller teams have reached far like Bradford etc.

 

[Botim]

Up until last year, they had a Coupe de la Ligue in France as well, but they scrapped it to reduce fixture congestion.

Can see a similar thing happen to the EFL cup eventually. If they do get rid of it, I would hope for teams to start appreciating the FA cup again. Has lost some of its magic recently...

 

[Ludens the Red]

The original concept was good, it gave lower league teams a chance of a long cup run. Rotherham were in the final the first year and Rochdale made the final the next. Even the clubs who won the first 4 or 5 cups finished in the bottom half of the old first division.

I think with the big money available to the top teams in the Premier, its become next to impossible for lower league teams to do well in the competition. Its been awhile since a team that finished outside the top four won it. Keep the Cup but stop teams who play in Europe from playing in it, or least make them play only players under 21.

The thing is Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, United and Spurs have all tended to use very weakened teams up until and unless they get to a semi/ face a top team. Look at the sides Klopp puts out in it. Wenger and Fergie were the same for most of the years. It’s only Pep and Man City who have taken this extreme approach to the league cup. I mean they played Burton Albion in a semi final a few years back and sent out their strongest available team. It’s absurd.

As for the thread, theres no need to cancel it and it won’t be cancelled. It’s a money maker and an extra date on the Wembley calendar. Most Premier league clubs will play 1/2 extra games because of the league cup. It’s a very short competition compared to the FA Cup. Also an opportunity to unearth some youngsters.

 

[starman]

More point than ever considering the revenue some of their lower league clubs would have got for having their game against a PL club televised

 

[WeePat]

When we got knocked out the other day, I was annoyed for a second, then just felt a bit of relief that our schedule just got a little less messy.

 

[SirAF]

I like it but the two-legged semifinal ties need scrapped.

Agreed.

 

[K Stand Knut]

Up until last year, they had a Coupe de la Ligue in France as well, but they scrapped it to reduce fixture congestion.

Can see a similar thing happen to the EFL cup eventually. If they do get rid of it, I would hope for teams to start appreciating the FA cup again. Has lost some of its magic recently...

Lost it’s magic in 2000.

Apparently

 

[rcoobc]

I really thought they'd scrap it this year

I think the 7/8 European teams should enter from the last 16 stage rather than last 32 stage (saves one game)

And the semi finalists should get a bye in the third round of the FA Cup (saves one game)

But yeah pretty pointless

 

[Sandikan]

What's the point of anything that doesn't specifically benefit United?

 

[rcoobc]

I mean you can make the argument that they are literally trying to make it more competitive for the youngsters;

- under 23 premier League
- UEFA youth League
- premier League international cup

So why would they scrap the League cup when they are trying to get more competitive matches for the youngsters

 

[VeevaVee]

I think it should be scrapped, this season more than ever. Or at least exclude all the teams who are playing in Europe that season.

I like the second idea actually. Gives smaller teams a chance to win something.