The first batch of third round Carling Cup ties take place on Tuesday and once again football fans will prepare themselves for wholesale changes and big names being taken out of the firing line (without any off field antics to prompt their exclusion).
The former Milk, Coca Cola and Worthington Cup has taken on many guises over the years while its popularity and importance has slowly diminished. There once was a time when smaller teams saw it as an opportunity to grab some silverware like Oxford in 1986, and Middlesbrough and Leicester in more recent times. Now sides not even challenging for the title, or overburdened with regular football, give much regard to the competition, a scenario firmly emphasised by Chris Hughton’s decision to make 11 changes to his Newcastle side for their second round clash with Accrington Stanley. Tongue not in cheek, supporters of the North West minnows had their opportunity to heartily yell the immortal “who are ya?” at the majority of the Magpies starters.
So what can be done to restore some pride to this ailing beast of a competition? How can the Football League stir up interest once more? Slashing ticket prices does not seem to have worked; perhaps a free hot dog for each spectator would do the trick, although it seems unlikely.
What is clear though is that fans are voting with their feet and of course we must consider the economic climate, but there is not the incentive to attend League Cup games and if you look at some of the crowds from the second round, it makes for worrying reading.
Matches at Premier League grounds St Andrew’s, Craven Cottage and Ewood Park had supporter levels tallied respectively at lower than 10,000. Ties at Sunderland, Wolves and Stoke just about scraped over that milestone, but credit where it’s due both Everton and West Ham did have crowds into the twenty thousands. Nevertheless, the Carling Cup needs a major shake up and sport.co.uk takes a look at why it’s time to accept this as a trophy for the kids, and make it an under-21 competition.
It’s Gunner work
If ever there were an example as to the benefits of fielding the kids in this competition then it’s Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal. Let’s face it, if you had a European, Premier League and Carling Cup game in the space of a week then it does not take a genius to realise which one will be compromised. It would be fair to assume this will be the case come Wednesday, even though the Gunners do face bitter rivals Spurs.
But flashback two years and the likes of Walcott, Fabregas, Diaby, and Denilson were all part of the League Cup team and all three played in the final against Chelsea in 2008. The youngsters persisted with Wenger’s total football approach and were only undone by two Didier Drogba efforts and a full strength Chelsea side. The opportunities and the responsibility afforded to his younger players throughout his tenure has allowed Wenger to keep Arsenal in the top four on a shoestring budget and should be a model that all managers work to. Nobody expects experience to be dropped for youth in the Champions League, but in the Carling Cup it surely is a must.
25 man squad
The new ruling brought in by the Premier League means that clubs have to include up to 8 home grown players- with the loophole being that anyone under the age 21 does not have to be a part.
The thought is that it will encourage teams to place in faith in youth instead of loaning them to the lower leagues and replacing them with an overpaid foreign star. If the top flight rulers want clubs to nurture youth and in turn help foster the future stars of English football, then teams need an incentive. Handing the competition over to the under 21s gives them a chance to make history and gives their managers an excuse to play weakened sides.
It will also give the fringe youth players a purpose- rather than simply being there to make up the numbers.
Under-21 Credibility
A delusion we have in this country is that the under-21s can be of no benefit in the overall scheme of the England first team or so it seems. As soon as a player had a few decent games he is fast tracked to the first team, granted of course players like Rooney who are expectations to this rule and deserve to be there.
Other countries allow players to develop and smoothly progress through the levels, so that they do not reach the first team before they are ready, which could well of been the case for Theo Walcott.
There are not calls for players to be promoted to the first team after only playing a handful of games or national tabloids calling the manager a donkey because he didn’t pick a youngster after one decent game. Of course players like Andy Carroll, Jack Rodwell and Jack Wilshere will be part of the future but they need to develop in the present and this is where the League Cup can come into play- this is the club transition to the first and FA Cup teams. Fans will get to see their talked about youngsters and they will be happy to see them developing in International U21 teams. Let’s not forget two of the players who did their time in Stuart Pearce’s side- Milner and Hart- and see just how integral they are going to be in England’s future. The FA want to restructure the whole of England, well have more faith in youth, make the rewards greater and success will surely follow.
How will it work?
There will undoubtedly be many a fan thinking that this change would again only be beneficial to the bigger clubs. Only Premiership and perhaps Championship teams could cope with any restrictions placed upon them with a change in format; however this would not be the case. All clubs would be able to field some senior players and the amount will be seeded on your league with two extra players being afforded depending on league status. So Premier League clubs can have two, Championship four and so on. This should help even out the competition and increase the likelihood of upsets which for the neutral and television companies are wonderful, and for the winning lower league team are priceless.
Limiting the number of senior players allowed should also stop top flight teams playing the kids until the latter stages and then bringing in the big boys to steer them to the final.
We love the magic of the FA Cup and the Roy of the Rovers type stories, and although a re-vamp of the League Cup would probably never make it as special - giving everyone a fair chance can do no harm.
To the future
So the decision will once again lie with the powers that be and it will take a big call to shake up one of the major trophies. However the FA Cup will remain untouched and so the traditionalists can rest easy. The majority of the footballing world sees this as a second rate competition and now is the time for everyone to accept this and hand it over to the second strings. Every now and again something changes in football that gives it a new lease of life; 30 years ago who would have imagined the backpass rule would become widely accepted or that not every game on a Saturday would kick off at 3.00pm. Whether this is the solution is debatable but we need the excitement back somehow or else the cup that has had some many names may soon be known as the extinct cup.
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