The Carling Cup - in a league of its own?

Even when it comes to what would seem to be an unambiguous issue of whether a trophy is worth winning, the two longest-standing managerial rivals in the Premier League disagree. Arsene Wenger claims that a League Cup win would not end his Arsenal trophy drought, whereas Sir Alex Ferguson has described the trophy (which has come to Old Trafford four times under his stewardship) as “a pot worth winning”. The competition has had its detractors, but it still remains a part of the English game after half a century, having kicked off on 26th September 1960.I wonder could Jimmy Magee rhyme off the results of the first two matches played, 50 years ago as of next Saturday? I can, because I have a computer and books in front of me which tell me that Bristol Rovers beat Fulham 2-1 and West Ham Utd beat Charlton Athletic 3-1 to set the ball rolling on a competition which still has a certain appeal to even the biggest clubs across the water, as winning the League Cup carries a prize of Europa League qualification. The latter (Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and UEFA Cup) has had less names than the former (Milk Cup, Littlewoods Cup, Rumbelows Cup, Coca-Cola Cup, Worthington Cup, Carling Cup). Indeed, the switch from milk and soft drinks to alcohol sponsorship reminds me of the typically witty comment by our own Tom Humphries regarding the worries emanating from some quarters regarding Guinness being associated with the race for the Liam McCarthy Cup: “Drinking won’t end when we have the ‘Eat Your Greens’ All-Ireland hurling championship!”Looking back on the origins of the League Cup is yet another stark reminder of the changes in soccer in the past half-century. Nowadays, even in GAA grounds floodlights are no longer considered a big deal, but it was only during the late 1950s that the majority of English clubs equipped their grounds with them. With English teams reluctant to get involved in European competitions (one way or the other, air travel was only for the well-heeled and not for working class fans of football), the floodlights opened up the opportunity to exploit weekday evenings throughout the winter. Therefore, the League Cup was introduced in the 1960/61 season specifically as a midweek floodlit tournament. In the early years of the competition, many of the top teams declined to take part.Arguably, it reached a low point over the turn of the Millennium when it was commonly nicknamed the ‘Worthless Cup’ (a play on ‘Worthington’). Eventually, the leading lights (no pun intended) came on board and there was a time, a few decades ago, when the League Cup was considered not that far below the FA Cup in prestige and there was no question of fielding weakened teams. I recall being in Anfield in February 1978 for a thrilling semi-final first leg where Liam Brady excelled for an emerging Arsenal side against a great (and full-strength) Liverpool side. Of course, the modern trend is to field a weaker side in the competition, making the opportunity for ‘giant-killing’ of the larger clubs more likely. Many of the top English sides - main ‘offenders’, the aforementioned Messrs Ferguson and Wenger at Manchester United and Arsenal respectively - have used the competition to give young players valuable big-game experience, before reverting to many of the seasoned pros if the lucrative stages, especially a Wembley final, are reached.Some noteworthy records follow:Most tournament wins (team): 7, LiverpoolMost final appearances (team): 10, LiverpoolMost tournament wins (individual): 5, Ian Rush (Liverpool)Most final appearances: (individual): 6, Ian Rush for Liverpool and Emile Heskey for Leicester City (three), Liverpool (two) and Aston Villa (one)Highest goalscorer (career): 49, Geoff Hurst (West Ham Utd) and Ian Rush (Liverpool)Highest goalscorer (season): 12, Clive Allen (Spurs) in 1986/87Most goals scored in a match (individual): 6, Frankie Bunn, Oldham Athletic v. Scarborough, 1989Youngest goalscorer in the final: Norman Whiteside, 17 years 324 days, for Manchester United, 1983Of course, in the almost immorally-rich world of modern soccer, a plum draw and resultant gate receipts for a poor-and-getting-poorer club against a rich-and-gettng-richer club (irrespective of how much of a ‘shadow’ team they field) can almost make a struggling club financially. Indeed, I recall Chris Turner saying almost 20 years ago when he managed Peterborough in a League Cup quarter-final: “I told the players we need to win so that I can have the cash to buy some new ones!” Around the time I attended the memorable Liverpool v. Arsenal game in 1978, footballers were relatively-speaking very well paid, but far from assured of being ‘set up for life’. I recently stumbled on a quote from that era by psychologist Maurice Yaffe: “Although some footballers are in the super-tax class, it is worth pointing out that they are still, according to the Registrar-General’s classification of occupations, listed in Class 4 alongside bank detectives, butlers, furriers, market gardeners, publicans and toy designers.” The League Cup may be a Class 4 trophy at this juncture but you can bet that the likes of Arsene Wenger, Roy Hodgson and Roberto Mancini all consider it worth lifting next spring in Wembley Stadium. The Carling Cup - probably the best Class 4 trophy in the world!