We have to accept that we are not going to be Champions this year – yes, even you Peaches. With the loss to MC in the Carling, just the FA Cup and the Champions League remain to make this a winning season and although I am convinced we will get to Munich the FAC is the easier target.

The first 35 mins of the  second half of the MU game was our best since Xmas, the aggression, application and potency was back. We can and have discussed why we lost momentum and without opening the subject again we must hope lessons have been learned.

However, Mr Wenger can be a curmudgeonly chap when his decisions are questioned and it would be no surprise to see Oxlade Chamberlain start from the bench despite his fine performance a week ago.

There is a question mark over how seriously Mr Wenger will take the FA Cup but my hope is that he takes it very seriously; whether Van Persie starts will indicate just how he prioritizes the Cup. With Bolton on Wednesday – only a 3 day break – will he play our star man twice? My guess is No. I think he will play Park and bring on RvP only if needed,

My Team

I would like to see Park, he looked better in his brief cameo on Sunday and at some point he has to sink or swim. Having already scored a beauty in the CC, let’s see him get another or ship him out a.s.a.p. along with Chamakh.

More of the same, please

Hopefully, Arteta is back to fitness which will allow Rosicky to continue and Ramsey to have a break – he needs one. The back 5 pick themselves though I worry for Djourou who if un-injured must be reeling after his humiliation on Sunday; to be subbed at half-time (a rarity for AW) for a lad barely out of Youth football must be a humbling experience for a full International, even if he is playing out of position

A little about Villa. Nice team, no-one I know dislikes them, offensive manager who is struggling in the wake of O’Neill’s (relative) success. They are getting back into form and have a potent, pacy attack.

We will concede so it is imperative our strikers are efficient. As senior attacker (in my team) it is important Theo steps up and takes responsibility. Versus MU he was poor and gave little offensively or defensively – we need more from him and at a time when his contract comes up for negotiation Theo has to give reason for a wage hike. Right now, most fans would recommend a long rest in the sun (preferably a few seasons!).

Today’s Gooner:  This week’s topic of hilarity has rightly been the High Court trial of  Harry “Del Boy” Redknapp. The rabble down the road are very proud of their man and it is a source of pride that one of their own has made it to the High Court rather than the youth offenders prison. But once again our neighbours have been trumped – we have a celebrity Gooner with a far more impressive history of blagging: Mr Ronnie Biggs.  Biggs is a huge Arsenal fan as can be seen from the pic. I cannot say I have any liking for him and certainly no respect for a man with a history of violent crime but he is a Gooner and our tribe encompasses all types.

“‘Arry – ‘ee’s 2 Bob……”

Arsenal need to win today. The schisms which were so damaging prior to the good run have re-opened and the malcontents are getting vocal. I trust the players understand those booing are a tiny minority of the Arsenal fan base, but I doubt they do. We need to get behind the team, to give vocal support when things go wrong, criticism has it’s place but not within the Emirates. This is Our House.

COYRRG

Written by Big Raddy

The two most successful clubs in English football come head to head in a real mouth watering FA Cup fourth round tie tomorrow.

Liverpool enjoyed booking their place in the Carling Cup final on Wednesday night, beating Manchester City 3-2 on aggregate, in a real passionate semi-final performance at Anfield. The Reds will be hoping to demolish the other side of the City, when they look to face Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United tomorrow afternoon.

United on the other hand, will also be going into this game on the back of a win. The Red Devils were victorious against Arsenal last weekend, keeping themselves lodged firmly behind City’s back in the Premier League title race.

Liverpool will be likely to make a few changes, following their spectacular display against City. Andy Carroll could come into the side, with Craig Bellamy making way; the Welshman may need to be rested after recently playing two games in four days. Maxi Rodriguez might also return into the squad after being an unused substitute on Wednesday night. Jay Spearing is still afflicting a hamstring strain but will be monitored before the match and Luis Suarez is a certain absentee, going into the sixth of his eight match ban.

Ferguson’s side have quite a few injury concerns, star striker Wayne Rooney is suffering with an ankle injury, leaving three candidates, Danny Wellbeck, Dimitar Berbatov or Javier Hernandez in role to take his place. There are slight worries in midfield with both Ashley Young and Nani struggling to find fitness following ankle knocks. Rio Ferdinand, Phil Jones and long term absentee, Nemanja Vidic are all out at the back, making both Chris Smalling and Johnny Evans most likely to continue their partnership in defence.

With this being the first time the teams have met since the Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra saga back in October, both managers have pleaded for players and fans to keep calm and authoritative, keeping all grievances to yourself and getting on with the game.

In my opinion as a Liverpool fan, I feel that the heroics of Wednesday night should give us a great boost as we go into this game. With all the injury concerns United have, this gives us a great advantage. Of course, you cannot underestimate any United side, no matter how many dilemmas they find themselves in, especially with this being such a big game for them too, but with a home advantage and the fans producing another wonderful atmosphere, there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to get through into the last sixteen. Matches like these are never easy ones to predict, when there is so much at stake for both sides. I think the overall winner tomorrow will really depend on the team with the edge or the slight stroke of luck.

What do you think?

My Predictions:

Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United

Scorers for Liverpool: Gerrard, Maxi 

Scorers for Man Utd: Berbatov

This weekend the biggest knockout only competition in English football continues. The FA Cup 4^th round is here. There are some big and interesting matches on this weekend. This weekend we are also lucky to have a couple of the matches on Friday and a couple on Sunday with the majority on the Saturday. Lets have a look at what matches the 4^th round is going to bring us.

Lets start with debatable the biggest match in English football. Liverpool have been drawn against their long time rivals Man United. The match will be an early kick out at Anfield. Matches between these 2 are always heated and often incredible important. This year the heat has been turned up even more with the Suarez and Evra racism incident from back in October resulting in Suarez getting a £40,000 pound fine and a 7 game ban. Man United kick out there other main rivals Man City in a controversial game in the 3^rd round. So have not had much luck with the draws so far. If they beat Liverpool then they shouldn’t be worried by anyone and will surely have to be favorites for the trophy. This match however is not one that you can predict as form dones’t count when these to face up to each other and I cant see either of them fielding weakened teams. To tight to call.

The 2^nd big match of the draw was a West London derby with Chelsea going to Loftus road to face QPR. This is another match that was dogged by racism problems earlier in the season and has been given a early lunchtime kick off. A week after the Liverpool United match Terry said some things that he shouldn’t have to Anton Ferdinand on the pitch. Making the temperature of these 2 sets of fans through the roof. Chelsea should be going all out to win this match and this trophy because realistically this is the only silverware they can win this year. I think that Chelsea should be able to overpower QPR and win this one.

The last big match of the 4^th round is Arsenal at home to Aston Villa. Both teams are in a bit of a down at the moment and will be looking to the FA Cup to pick it up. Both teams have also got some former Premiership favorites returning to the action. Robbie Keane has gone on loan to Villa and the majestic Thierry Henry has returned to his beloved Arsenal on a 6 week loan. Both players have already shown that they’ve still got what it takes. Both teams will probably play some sort of variation of their 1^st teams. They are both in desperate need of a trophy. Arsenal more than anyone will be doing all they can to win. I think Arsenal’s home advantage should give them the edge to win this one.

There are 3 other all premiership matches of Everton vs Fulham, Bolton vs Swansea and West Brom vs Norwich. There is even a Northeast derby with Sunderland vs Middlesbrough. 16 Premiership teams are left in the completion. There is only 1 all Championship match being Millwall vs Southampton. 10 Championship sides will be looking to progress and put themselves on show in the 5^th round.  Stevenage vs Notts County is the only all League One match. Swindon are the only League Two team left and they face Leicester away. The full draw is below.

Watford vs Tottenham

Everton vs Fulham

QPR vs Chelsea

Liverpool vs Man Utd

Blackpool vs Sheffield Wed

Bolton vs Swansea

Derby vs Stoke

Hull vs Crawley Toen

Leicester vs Swindon

Millwall vs Southampton

Sheffield Utd vs Birmingham

Stevenage vs Notts County

West Brom vs Norwich

Brighton vs Newcastle

Sunderland vs Middlesbrough

Arsenal vs Aston Villa

Who do you think will progress?

HOW MANY APPEALS have we seen from Premier League clubs this season against dubious dismissals? Off the top of my head I can think of Gary Cahill v Spurs, Nenad Milijas v Arsenal, Chris Herd v West Brom, Jack Rodwell v Liverpool, Connor Sammon v United and more recently Vincent Kompany also v United. So why have there been so many outrageous decisions from English referees who are branded by some as the best in world football?
Why is it that we can make the correct decision there and then sitting on our sofa, watching the game, yet the man in the black and white uniform holding a whistle can’t seem to make the right call despite standing just a few yards away from the action? It’s a weird one. I don’t think I’ve noticed a similar string of appeals in such a short space of time in previous seasons; which is a big indication to me that something has changed pretty drastically in the way referees go about officiating the game.

Perhaps the Referee’s Union have agreed that officals should stamp down hard on players lunging in with ‘desperate’ tackles, but it appears to be killing the game a bit: because some of the sending offs I’ve seen are outrageous as the tackles being made a perfectly timed and the ball is won fairly. Take Kompany’s dismissal against Manchester United in the FA Cup 3rd Round. Yes, he slides in on Nani with two feet, but the challenge is inch perfect and you can even see the expression on the Portugese winger’s face, almost saying “Okay, that was good.” And he doesn’t complain for one second because he knows he’s been dispossessed fair and square. If he even had the slightest of feelings that it was a foul, he’d be screaming at the ref, waving an imaginary card in the air.
How do I know this? Well he’s been known to take opportunities when they arise by whatever means possible…

Chris Foy only reaches for his pocket when Rooney begins yelling at him as soon as he’s noticed that Kompany has gone in with two feet; but it’s not even a foul, let alone a red card and that is what is so unbelievable.

Premier League referees are obviously under the spotlight at the minute and it is becoming a little embarrassing for the Union with every red card rescinded after an appeal. Gary Cahill was one example, while Connor Sammon, Chris Herd and Jack Rodwell were also successful with their appeals.
As a matter of urgency, whatever was done to change the style of refereeing in the Premier League must be undone. The issue has to be addressed soon, as the questionable sending offs are costing teams a great deal of points and, in addition, our country’s ever-growing reputation for quality referees could be at risk; having seen Howard Webb officiate both the World Cup and Champions League finals in quick succession.
At this crucial stage of the season half way in, no one can afford to go down to 10 men needlessly and drop points thinking ‘what if’ at the end of the day.

2011 is over and in December we sure had lots of football with everyone trying to send off the year as best as they can. There were some great footballing moments. Lets have a look at how the year finished and what happened in December.

Premiership

The month of December was a strange month in the Premier league. So many of the top teams lost matches and dropped points. The month started off with all the big boys winning. Blackburn got a big win at Swansea with Yakubu scoring 4. Wigan had a massive away win at West Brom. All the top teams were looking good and winning mostly. Liverpool did lose at Fulham and Tottenham lost at Stoke.

Then came a big potential title affecting game between Chelsea and Man City. City went ahead very early before Chelsea came back and won the game giving City their 1^st loss of the season and opening up the title race. Chelsea then lost their way at Wigan where Wigan got a very late winner and a huge point for them.

When Arsenal visited Man City everyone was hoping that they could make City drop points but Silva made sure City got the win by scoring the only goal of the game. Liverpool were starting to get back into some sort of form beating QPR and then had a big away win at Villa who then started to slip down the table for the rest of the month.

Martin O’Neill was brought in as the new Sunderland manager to replaced the recently departed Bruce at the start of December and in his 1^st 5 matches they won 2, lost 2 and drawn 1.

In a huge regulation 6 pointer and what could have been the loser gets fired match for the managers. Blackburn lost at home to Bolton. A big win for Bolton.  Steve Kean did manage to keep his job though.

City went back to winning ways before all the big teams dropped points except United. City drew away with West Brom, Liverpool drew at home with Blackburn while Chelsea had back to back draws away at Tottenham and home to Fulham. Then Arsenal drew with Wolves. Meanwhile United had back to back 5-0 wins against Fulham and Wigan.

In the finally games of the month Liverpool convincingly beat Newcastle and continue their push for a Champions league place. Tottenham drew at Swansea and then on the last day of the year there were some unbelievable results. Man United were beaten at home by Blackburn in a great for the neutrals match. Chelsea didn’t manage to take advantage of the United lost and lost aswell in very poor fashion. Villa taking them apart at Stamford Bridge.

The last thing to say is that Van Persie didn’t quite get Alan Shearers record of 36 goals in a calendar year but he did beat Thiery Henry’s Arsenal record of 34 goals in a year. Van Persie managed to get 35 goals and the only goal of the game when Arsenal beat QPR.

Champions League

The Champions League finished at the beginning of December and there were some shocks. In group A Man City had to beat Bayern Munich at home and hope Villarreal could managed to beat or at least hold Napoli to a draw. City did manage to beat a sub strengthen Munich team 2-0 but Napoli also managed to beat Villarreal 2-0. This meant that City are out of the Champions League and by finishing 3^rd now enter the Europa League.

In Group C all Man Utd needed to do was to draw with FC Basel away and they would qualify. However unbelievably United lost. Meaning Basel took their place in the knockout stages. United now also have to make do with the Europa League. So shockingly both Manchester clubs have failed early on in their search for the top prize in club football.

Chelsea had to beat Valencia at home if they were to qualify from Group E. Which they did. They beat Valencia 3-0 to win the group due to Bayer Leverkusen drawing with Genk. This meant Chelsea were seeded in the knockout draw.

In Group F Arsenal had already qualified and as group winners. So in their match against Olympiacos they fielded a young inexperienced team. The players might have got valuable experience but they did not get the win. They lost 3-1 but it didn’t matter coz they were already a seeded team in the knockout stage.

So now only 2 English teams are left in the Champions League. How far can they go.

For more info go to

http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/index.html

For Champions League Knock out stage draw go to

http://sweetengland.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/champions-league-english-teams-draw/

Europa League

In the Europa League there were 4 English team going for broke to qualify for the knockout stages. In Group A Tottenham needed to beat Shamrock Rovers away by a least 4 goals and hope that PAOK beat Rubin by at least a goal. Tottenham beat Shamrock 4-0 but Rubin managed to battle back from being a goal and a player down to draw and get the vital point to go through and to kick Tottenham out.

Stoke were in Group E and had already qualified for the last 32 of the Europa league. However their last game away at Besiktas would determine who would win the group. This was the toughest group match for Stoke and the result showed. They lost 3-1 despite going ahead, it was going down to 10 men that cost them. So Stoke are through to the Europa league draw as an unseeded team.

In Group H Birmingham needed to win their last game by at least a few goals and hope that either one of Club Brugge or Braga lost by a few goals as well. Birmingham did win their game but only 1-0. However Brugge and Braga drew so Birmingham are out even though they did give a very good unexpected go.

Fulham are in Group K and even though they couldn’t win the group all they needed to do was to beat OB at home and will qualify for the knockout stage. This wasn’t an easy as they thought. Fulham went 2-0 up and looked good for the win before OB came back into the game and then getting a last minute goal to take them through and kick Fulham out.

Meaning Stoke now join the 2 Manchester clubs in the Europa league last 32.

For more info go to

http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/index.html

For Europa League Knock out stage draw go to

http://sweetengland.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/europa-league-english-teams-draw/

The FA Cup

The 2^nd round was played at the being of December. With all the teams desperately hoping to win their games and be part of the 3^rd round where they could have dream matches against the Premiership teams who enter the tournament at the 3^rd round stage. There were a few surprise’s in this round with all of them being away results. Wrexham beat Brentford, Swindon beat Colchester. Then in replays Sainsburys beat Grimsby and Fleetwood Town beat Yeovil Town both also away. The 3^rd round happens in January.

What was your favorite football result of December?

Today we salute the 1976 FA Cup winners Southampton FC, who would rise to the occasion and in another example of a David vs. Goliath match, without the bible of course. In front of a crowd of 100K, United would put a massive amount of pressure on the Saints’ keeper Ian Turner. An early crossed shot by midfielder Steve Coppell saw Turner bobble the ball, a sure goal, only to be saved when two Red Devils hesitated to put the ball home. Gordon Hill went on the attack at what looked like a smashing lob, until Turner snatched the ball away and denied Hill and United what looked to be the go ahead goal. This gave the Saints a small kick in the pants they needed, as they regrouped and were able to finish out the first half with out going down a goal or more to United

“ Why do the goals all seem to come when you’ve nipped off to the loo? ”- Jasper Carrott, singer, in his song Cup Final, on the ’76 SFC FA Cup goal

It was Southampton who would come out in the second half but couldn’t find the back of the net as Mick Channon and David Peach came close. However, it was Man U who squandered the best chance of the match so far, when Sammy McIlroy’s header hit the woodwork. A close call for the Saints led to each club attacking several times, but managing not to put the ball in the back of the old onion bag. It wasn’t until the game was thought to be heading to extra time, when Bobby Stokes took off past the defense and scored. MU thought he was offside, but it was later shown through the replay that Stokes had timed his run perfectly, and on that run was able to place the ball extremely well into an unreachable corner of the net past United keeper Alex Stepney. It was this day that the Saints went marching into Wembley, beat the giants known as Manchester United, and rode that double tide back to Southampton with a trophy in the front of their bus, and medals around their neck. This of course, and a nod from the Queen herself. A huge shock in the world of football and a first piece of silverware for Southampton.

We hate Nottingham Forest
We hate Liverpool too
We hate Manchester Utd
But Southampton we love you

Southampton FC v. Manchester United 1976 FA Cup Final

Southampton Return Home After Winning the FA Cup

(aet)

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Photos © Richard Washbrooke/Fotosports International

Saturday’s excursion to Middlesbrough would end up being the final of such trips to teams of higher-standing at least for this season.

From a Shrewsbury perspective, it was a cruel way to go out when the effort and endeavour displayed gave rise to the prominent idea that at the very least, Shrewsbury should have had the opportunity to return the favour of a welcome in the name of The FA Cup with Budweiser Third Round (or Ninth Round depending on individual preference). Alas it was not to be as Middlesbrough were victorious by a solitary strike from the boot of Dutch forward Marvin Emnes.

The goal itself was certainly preventable. Scored in front of the away end, it seemed to be one of those moments that drags on too much. An emotional reaction of course but what rankled was that goalkeeper Chris Neal must have felt that his teammates in front of him could’ve dealt with the danger. That was to their collective downfall as Emnes showed strength before prodding the ball into the net. Why it rankles is that upon the next cross entering the goal area in an almost identical position, Neal leapt and parried the ball away to a more comfortable setting.

It is not to mark Neal as the reason behind the result. His goalkeeping exploits after that moment were much more assured and he made some very good saves to prevent Middlesbrough from truly killing off the contest. When all analysis is done into individual performances, the actual reason as to why Shrewsbury can focus all their attention on league matters (something they desperately need to do with results if automatic promotion is to be achieved) and not be looking forward to hosting a Championship club that longs to return to that oh-so-glamorous of lands (Premier League to give the actual name) is the gap between those nearer the top of the English football pyramid and those not. Technical attributes are an important element but what this game reinforced was the point that it is the tactical mindset and the appropriate positioning that makes that all important difference.

Terry Gornell’s performance would prove to be the focal point of frustration as like he did against Northampton, he ran into spaces but appeared to not know quite what to do when there. It is not to his detriment. He is still young and he will improve judging by his natural characteristics but it was his lack of positional sense and that of some of his colleagues that saw Shrewsbury fail. The point comes in the substitution when Gornell was replaced. James Collins came on and caused an immediate problem to the Middlesbrough defence. They had become used to Gornell and fellow forward Martin Morgan’s movement back into channels and expected to be met by a similar threat. With the initiative required, Collins stayed forward in the centre much more and it was this that helped Shrewsbury create more chances in the latter stages of the game.

It would’ve been more interesting if Collins had been introduced some 15 or so minutes earlier but it was not to be the case on this occasion. The same applies to Jon Taylor’s introduction from the bench as well. His running into central areas caught Middlesbrough unaware in some moments but it was those moments where Middlesbrough’s technical edge showed.

It is not to be too detrimental to any individual players’ effort. That would be cruel. It is more the fact that sometimes a player just falls into a pattern. There is always talk of the great players being ones who can do the unexpected and maybe it is this eulogised power that divides the haves and have-nots of the game. Shrewsbury can be proud that they were far from disgraced and can hopefully turn such an experience into greater improvements in future scenarios. The key is always to react accordingly to such setbacks. In reality, Middlesbrough were expected to be victorious and the Salopians were expected to return to Shropshire with defeat ringing in their ears no matter how much pride could be derived from it. The result simply fitted into the current natural order of English football. Therefore, it’s only inevitable that it would be routinely ignored by the greater population desperately seeking some upset to boost the want for there to be some “romance of the cup”.

Besides had Shrewsbury progressed at the expense of the Riverside dwellers then the Fourth Round wouldn’t have one of its “derby” games to get excited about. Sunderland versus Middlesbrough appeals to the market more than Sunderland versus Shrewsbury. Home games are bankers after all when the gap between the teams is large in the English footballing pyramid of power.

With this weekend’s focus turned to the FA Cup, I figured I’d go back and visit possibly the best FA Cup upset in history. Let’s go back to 1972, with Hereford United v. Newcastle Utd. in a 3rd Round Replay. Newcastle came into the tournament in the third round, while Hereford United had to enter by beating Cheltenham Town, a replay with King’s Lynn, and finally Northampton Town. After a 2-2 draw at St. James Park (the match was postponed a few times due to inclement weather, namely rain), Southern League’s own “The Bulls” hosted the Magpies at Edgar Street. With a little over 14,000 seats sold, the front office sold extra tickets, and the actual tally of spectaors is not know. Let’s just say it was over capacity. Check the people who climbed high in the trees to see this replay, most likely one of the best matches to ever take place at the grounds. With all the rain that had been falling, the pitch was in utter shambles. It did not get any better as match time grew near, and once the two clubs took to the pitch, it never got better.

Newcastle may or may not have been running their mouth about the match, and Malcolm MacDonald was to have allegedly said that he would be scoring an upwards of ten goals at the replay at Edgar Street. That is not confirmed. What is confirmed is that the traveling back and forth by Newcastle United due to the weather was definitely a factor in how they played against the Lilywhites that day. Both teams went for it early in the match, but could not score a goal. Late in the first half, MacDonald looked to be on the way, or at least 1/10th of the way when he finally scored. The goal, however, was called back, and due to a harsh foul Newcastle got a free kick. A tough few minutes ensued for Hereford, with an errant clearance that resulted in two Magpie shots rebounding off the wood work. The next few chances for both teams were exciting, as each club had goals taken away by the woodwork, or in Hereford’s case, saved by great goal keeping from Fred Potter. MacDonald and Newcastle turned up the heat. Despite an open goal miss by Mac, much to the chagrin of the Newcastle supporters and to the relief of Hereford’s, the pressure continued. Newcastle would finally go ahead with a goal by MacDonald in the 82nd minute. Hereford were not down and out. A substitute by player/manager Colin Addison of midfielder Ricky George for Roger Griffiths (who had played 80 long, painful minutes with a broken leg on the mess of a pitch) proved to be a move he would not regret. His fresh legs and cardio would be a turning point in the short minutes left in the match. He took part in setting up a Ronnie Radford 30 yard shot that went right to the back of the old onion bag at the 85th minute, three minutes after Newcastle’s opening goal. A young, green, John Motson was calling the match and exclaimed that the ball “flew into the top corner of McFaul’s net!”. A voice that would become synonymous with football for years to come. Of course this goal would force the match into extra time, where Ricky George would become the hero by scoring in the 103rd minute, and a gutsy Hereford squad would hold on to win the match. What followed after, was nothing short of madness. A massive pitch invasion on the small ground that was replayed on the telly for quite some time. It just goes to show you that no matter how big or small your club is, anything can happen on the pitch during the FA Cup. In 1972, Hereford United were giant killers, their motto of “Our greatest glory lies not in never having fallen, but in rising when we fall” rang true. The colorful history of English football and the beautiful game was alive and well then, and it still is now.

(aet)

Coming a long way from the 1889 founding of Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, Wimbledon FC would finally make it to top flight football and get promoted to the first division in the 1985-86 season. After hanging around in non-league play for the better part of eleven years, a virtually unheard of side moved up to the big league and faced a modern day football giant in the FA Cup, the great Liverpool FC. Liverpool had seemingly dominated the world of football. With on pitch scientists like player/ manager Kenny Dalglish, plus tacticians such as Peter Beardsley, Steve Nicol, Alan Hansen, John Barnes, and Steve McMahon, the Reds were looking to do their second domestic double in just three years (beating Merseyside rivals Everton two years prior 3-1, and also the year after 3-2 in extra time). This particular Liverpool team had dominated everyone home and abroad, and were on a tear as one of the greatest Liverpool teams put together. Indeed it was an incredible football team. Who were Wimbledon FC? A group of rag tag, rough and tumble, scrappy players led by a menacing 6’2″ Welsh midfielder Vinnie Jones (who came from Wealdstone F.C. to Wimbledon). Dubbed the Crazy Gang because of the nature of pranks pulled throughout the season (founded by Wally Downes, who had been a staple at WFC since their plundering non league and lower division presence), no player was safe from the insanity, not even the gaffer. The practical jokes on each other boosted morale and kept the team together, while their unorthodox training techniques which included military tactics went right along with the pub punch ups, suit slashing, and other assorted tricks while they were off the pitch to round it all out.

“ If we can sell Newcastle Brown to Japan, and if Wimbledon can make it to the First Division, there is surely no achievement beyond our reach ”- Margaret Thatcher

Compared to Wimbeldon’s unorganzied and physical style of play, Liverpool’s calculated and tactical offense was predicted to smash Wimbledon. Their tactics can be summed up from Vinnie Jones, who claimed he would “rip off Dalglish’s ear and spit in the hole”. As match time approached, and the teams lined up in the tunnel, The Crazy Gang lived up to their name, intimidating and shaking Liverpool to the core (with shouts of “in the hole”, a direct reference to the Dalglish remark, which shook up King Kenny so much he conferred with an FA official about it on the walk to the pitch). It didn’t stop there, when shortly after the opening whistle Jones went in late on a challenge on the toughest Liverpool player, Steve McMahon. Slow to get up, this set the pace of the match, as Wimbledon showed the mighty LFC that they meant business. Jones would later admit that this was a planned move, a move to actually strike a psychological chord with the Reds. It worked. Led of course by Jones, and the black belt karate chopper John Fashanu the Dons terrorized the Reds in a way that they have never experienced on the pitch. Although LFC were on a high equaling Leeds’ 29 games unbeaten and just lifted their 17th championship trophy, the lads from Plough Road had scrapped their way up to face the giants at Wembley, and had them shook. Despite the Wombles rough play, their lapse in defense let Peter Beadsley push through, even while getting pummeled, to chip it over keeper Dave Beasant and put the Reds up 1 to nil. The play was called back, however, on an apparent foul on Beardsley, without playing advantage (referee Brian Hill claimed he may have blew the whistle a bit quickly in hindsight). This took a bit of wind out of Liverpool’s sails. Shortly before the half, as a result of a free kick from Dennis Wise, a Lawrie Sanchez header put the Wombles up 1 to nil. Bobby Gould’s scrappy side was up at the half against the team favored to win by four or five goals easy.

The second half started out with controversy, when in the 61st minute, Clive Goodyear took down John Aldridge in the area and was awarded a penalty. The result was the first ever penalty save in FA Cup history by keeper and captain Dave Beasant. Nobody could save the Reds now, not even John Barnes. The ex-Watford star had dazzled fans with his dribbling and precise finishing all season. Clearly frustrated with the marking and tackling of Wimbledon (along with the double teaming of him by Clive Goodyear and Dennis Wise), he could not execute his usual gun slinging and get the ball in the back of the net. As final whistle blew, commentator John Motson proclaimed: “The Crazy Gang have beaten the Culure Club, Wimbledon have destroyed Liverpool’s dream of the double”, and Wimbledon’s weird and wonderful world was there for the whole football public to see. The day that WFC won the FA Cup from Liverpool was the single, greatest moment in the club’s history. However, it wouldn’t last, as most of the players would move on to bigger and better clubs, and in just three short years the team would lose Plough Lane (forced to share a stadium with Crystal Palace) and start their eventual plummet from top of the world back to lower division football. A move to Milton Keynes split up their supporters, so much that they [the supporters] formed a new club, AFC Wimbledon. A sad tale of another football club succumbing to the financial woes and pressure of keeping up with clubs with unlimited funds to keep their roster stacked with productive players, proper stadiums to accommodate the club, and a draw to generate the necessary income to stay afloat. However, on May 14th, 1988, The Crazy Gang of Wimbledon held the trophy high, a feat though impossible for them by everyone except themselves.

(aet)

What will 2012 have in store for 3 our Clubs?

Chesterfield

When the 2010/11 Season came to an end in May the whole of Chesterfield town was celebrating the new Champions of League Two!

With a new campaign in League One to look forward to and the Club having a decent pre-Season, things were looking good. The only worrying aspect was the Club’s lack of activity in the transfer market, especially after selling top scorer Craig Davies to Barnsley. With no replacement coming in, goals could be scarce.

Life in League One began with a loss to Tranmere, and a heavy defeat at Milton Keynes soon followed; it was obvious it was going to be a tough Season. Manager John Sheridan, in a bid to turn their fortunes round, brought in a few Players on loan who immediately made an impact. 3 back-to-back wins and Chesterfield were up to 11^th! Unfortunately that was followed by a succession of defeats, which all started to take their toll. Add that with F.A Cup and Carling Cup exits in the First Round, the Season has so far been pretty poor.

The Club have battled away, but without much luck and currently sit bottom of League One. The glimmer of hope is reaching the Northern Area Final of the Johnstone Paint Trophy where they will face Oldham Athletic over 2 legs. The winner on aggregate will then go on to play the winner of the Southern Area at Wembley.

It is not all doom and gloom there are still plenty of games left in the League, with only 6 points needed to get out of the relegation zone! And with a chance of silverware up for grabs, Chesterfield have it all to play for in 2012!

Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest ended the 2010/11 Season in the Championship play-offs where they faced Swansea City, for a place in the Final, but they were beaten by the Welsh side over 2 legs.  It was hoped that the Club would take the positive aspects from the Season, strengthen the squad and build on a fairly successful campaign to go one better next time around!

For Forest, it went a bit pear-shaped! Billy Davies was sacked by the Club to be replaced by Steve McClaren, which was seen as a step forward by the Club. McClaren brought in a couple of decent Players so all looked good for the Season ahead.

Unfortunately it didn’t start as well as expected.  After drawing their opening 2 games, followed by a defeat, the Club eventually got their first win against Doncaster. This inconsistency continued for several weeks and the fans were becoming annoyed. There were rumours that McClaren was unhappy and would be leaving the Club due to lack of funds for new Players, which he strongly denied for a time.

After 10 games in charge, ending in a 3-1 Home defeat against Birmingham City, McClaren left his post as Nottingham Forest Manager, leaving the Club hovering over the bottom 3 with just 8 points.

A swift change of personnel saw Steve Cotterill come in to steady the ship and he had an immediate effect as Forest won his first game in charge and it looked like things were improving. The team slowly crept up the League and it appeared the bad times were over.  By the end of November the Club had returned to their losing ways, picking up just 1 point from 21. And at the end of 2011 Forest were firmly rooted in the bottom 3.

2012 has begun with Forest beating Ipswich Away 3-1. They will be looking to continue in that vein for the rest of the Season to get back into the safety zone and maybe with a good run, challenge for a play-off place come the Season end!

Aston Villa           

For Aston Villa, the end of the 2010/11 Season was welcomed. A poor Season led by Gerard Houlier and after his heart scare towards the end of the campaign, the writing was on the wall for his time a Villa Park.

Several names were mentioned as to who would be the new boss, but few were expecting the surprise that was awaiting them! In came Alex McLeish from local rivals Birmingham City. Just what the Chairman was thinking, no one knows!

It was going to be tough to convince the Villa faithful that this was the man to take the Club forward. For Villa, the Season started OK; a couple of wins and several draws ensured that they, along with Manchester City, were the only unbeaten sides in the Premier League. That was until they faced each other in October. Unfortunately for Villa, it was City who won the match 4-1.

The Season so far for Villa has been one of too many draws.  They are now in mid-table mediocrity, 8 points clear of the relegation zone and 7 points off a potential Europa Cup spot.  After a great win against Chelsea on New Years Eve, 2012 started with a whimper as Villa lost 2-0 to Swansea City.

McLeish has appealed to the frustrated fans for calm, stating that he will turn the situation around. Whether he has that time remains to be seen. Many supporters have been against his appointment since day one. The second half of the Season is going to be tough.

As the Third Round of the F.A. Cup aproaches and with Bristol Rovers sacking their Manager, Paul Buckle, this is a good opportunity for Villa to seize this opportunity and give the supporters something to cheer about.

…And maybe 3menandatrophy will be supporting one of their own on the way to Wembley.

The Autumn is over and winter has come. The leaves are all down and the snow has started. November brought us some good sporting moments and matches. So lets have a look back at what happened in November.

Football

In the Premiership the 2 Manchester clubs continue to take out team after team with both teams only dropping 2 points. City dropping theirs at Liverpool and United at home to Newcastle. Chelsea continued to struggle at home and when their rivals Liverpool turned up nothing changed. Liverpool beating them 2-1. Newcastle finally lost their 1^st match when they went to visit City. Blackburn still struggled only picking up 1 point in a great to watch match against relegation rivals Wigan. Wigan also had a big win against Sunderland bringing Sunderland closer and closer to the regulation battle. While Bolton had an amazing win and took revenge for last years FA Cup semi final against Stoke smashing them 5-0. Before going back to losing ways.

In the Champions league the 4 English teams had mixed fortunes. Man City beat Villarreal before the deciding match against Napoli, which City came away as losers and their chances of progressing now in the hands of others. City need to beat Munich and Napoli need to drop points at Villarreal if they are to qualify. Man Utd beat Otelul Galati and then draw with Benfica meaning that either Untied or Basel would be going through with Benfica. United are ahead by a point so just need a draw too go through. Chelsea disappointingly drew with Genk away. Then they lost to Leverkusen. This meant that Chelsea had gone from being in control of the group to need to win against Valencia to qualify. Lastly Arsenal drew Marseille and beat Dortmund at home meaning that they have now qualified and not only that, they are group winners.

In the Europa League the English team are striving to get through to the knockout stage. Tottenham was looking very strong at their half way stage. However they have lost 2 in a row and now have problems. They lost to Rubin 1-0 away and then lost 2-1 at home to PAOK and now have to beat Shamrock by 3 goals and hope PAOK beat Rubin 3-0. Otherwise Tottenham are out. Stoke beat Tel-Aviv away and drew with Dynamo Kiev meaning that have already qualified for the knockout stage for the 1^st time in their history. If they beat Besiktas then they will be group winners.

Birmingham were surprising a few people in how well they were doing in Europe however it looks like the hope is subsiding. They drew at home with Club Brugge before being beaten by Braga away. Birmingham are very unlikely to qualify now unless then beat Maribor by 4 goals and Club Brugge beat Braga by 3 goals. Fulham got revenge against Wisla beating them 4-1 at home and then lost to FC Twente. Fulham now know that as long as Wisla don’t beat FC Twente who are likely to field a weakened team due already being group winners. However if Wisla do beat Twente then Fulham have to beat OB to qualify which they have a good chance of doing. For more info on European football go to http://www.uefa.com

The Carling Cup quarter finals occurred at the end of the month. Man City went to Arsenal and were played off the park. Arsenal didn’t field their best side where as City fielded a strong team. Almost their best. The Arsenal youngster’s gave everything and played very well and were at least equal if not better than some of the best players in the world for City. City only had 1 shot on target all game. However that 1 shot ended up in the back of the net. Meaning that City dumped Arsenal out of the Carling Cup 1-0. Chelsea also fielding a 2^nd string team against Liverpool who put out a half full strength team came away with nothing. Liverpool had a convincing 2-0 win.

Cardiff faced Blackburn with the high flying Championship team looking to continue their good run of form this season. They will be mainly looking at their push for promotion. Blackburn will also be worried about the league and not to be concerned by the Cup. This shown when they meet because Blackburn were never really looked much of a threat to Cardiff with Cardiff winning by a comfortable 2-0.

The last match in the quarters was Man United against Crystal Palace. You would think that United wouldn’t have had much trouble against Palace even though they would field a 2^nd string team. They did but it wasn’t a weak team. However Palace came at them and when Ambrose scored that great goal United were on the back foot and even though they came back into it. Palace managed to get a 2nd goal in extra time and the win to make it an all Championship Semi final and guaranteeing a Championship team in the final. The Semis will be City vs Liverpool and Palace vs Cardiff.

The FA Cup started this month with all the teams trying to push for wins and bigger prize money and bigger prizes of the hope of playing against bigger teams and getting bigger pay days. With the non league teams wanting and hoping of a good cup run and attracting new sponsors. Fleetwood Town beating Wycombe Wanderers and Stourbridge beating Plymouth Argyle being 2 of the shocking results.

Rugby

In the Aviva Premiership Harlequins continued to push past anyone that came near them beating Bath and Newcastle. With Saints also getting 2 victories including beating Saracens. Tigers, Warriors and Irish all winning 1 and drawing 1. Wasps were the only team to loss twice.

In the Heineken cup Harlequins beat Connacht at home and Gloucester away. Gloucester also losing to Toulouse away. London Irish narrowly lost to Edinburgh at home and then again to Cardiff away. Bath started with a loss in Glasgow before beating Montpellier. While Leicester won both their games 1stly beating Aironi away and then Ulster at home. Lastly Saracens convincing beat Benetton Treviso before losing to Biarritz.

The Amlin Challenge Cup is next. Worcester lost their opening game to Stade Francais Paris at home before going away and destroying Banca Monte Crociati. Newcastle beat both Lyon and Petrarca Padova. Wasps had 2 big wins smashing Bordeaux away and hammering Femi-CZ VEA Rovigo at home. Exeter Chiefs narrowly lost to Perpignan away before humiliating Cavalieri Prato at home. Finally Sale lost to Brive away before walking over Rugby Club La Vila. For more info on European Rugby go to http://www.ercrugby.com

Formula 1

The Formula 1 season is now over with the long four month winter break now in full swing. However in November the final 2 races happened. We had the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the final race in Brazilin. In Abu Dhabi Hamilton took full advantage of the Vettel’s puncture and subsequent retirement to go on to win the race. Button came in on the Podium in 3^rd. In the final race in Brazil Hamilton had to retire due to a gearbox failure. Button one again finished 3^rd. For more info about the end of the season read http://sweetengland.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/formula-1-final-3rd-of-the-season/

Rally

It’s worth mentioning that Matthew Wilson finished 5^th in the British Grand prix and taking advantage of 3 of the big boys retiring and Ogier struggling. He did well finishing 8m57s03 behind the winner Latvala. He was 1m45s behind the Northern Irishman Kris Meeke who had an amazing finish to the season finishing 5^th and 4^th in the last 2 races. Wilson finished 7^th again for the 3^rd year running showing that he is good driver. He is still showing promise but if he is to become a World Champion he needs to start taking bigger steps towards the top and get that 1^st career win. He has not had as high a race finish as last year but is consistently getting more points per race and generally finishing each race higher.

For more on the WRC go to http://www.wrc.com/

What did you enjoy most this month?

Alfreton today is a new chapter.

we Imps are riders at the gates of dawn

with a manager that takes no prisoners.

be loud be proud

and remember one and all

you can do anything you want in this life

as long as you WANT it hard enough.

Take it one game at a time

and Believe 

The Banks Bouncing back.

Having guided second division Saints to victory at Wembley in the 1976 FA Cup Final against the mighty Manchester United, steered his side to division one promotion two years later and helped the club to achieve their highest ever top division finish (2^nd place in 1984), McMenemy is rightly inscribed in Saints folklore.

McMenemy guided Southampton to the FA Cup at Wembley in 1976 (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Born in Gateshead in 1936, McMenemy now 75, started his footballing career with Newcastle United.  However, he did not make a first team appearance for the club and moved to Gateshead in the late 1950’s. Injury meant his playing career ended prematurely, which opened the door to an earlier move into management than expected.

After spells at Bishop Auckland and a coaching role at Sheffield Wednesday, Doncaster Rovers became McMenemy’s next port of call. He won the Fourth Division Championship with the Donny in 1969 and sampled similar success a couple years later with Grimsby Town.

McMenemy made the move to the south coast in 1973, bringing the late Alan Ball and England international Kevin Keegan to the club, before leaving in 1985. He then moved to Wearside becoming Sunderland manager, though, it turned out to be an ill-fated spell as McMenemy left the club just weeks before The Black Cats were relegated into the third tier of English football for the first time in their history.

McMenemy ended a three year exile from football and was appointed as assistant manager in Graham Taylor’s England set-up in 1990 but resigned when England failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

In 1993, McMenemy returned to The Dell as Director of Football and rekindled his relationship with Ball, who was then Saints manager. The partnership clearly worked as the club finished tenth in the Premiership. However, the arrival of new chairman Rupert Lowe in 1997 disrupted the settled regime and McMenemy felt he was unable to work at the club and soon departed.

In 2006, after Lowe was ousted as chairman, McMenemy returned to the club for a third time as a non-executive director. Currently, though, McMenemy is no longer connected with the club.

In this exclusive interview with Stuart Appleby, Lawrie talks about his career with Southampton before he was guest speaker at a charity concert ‘Music from the movies, theatre and the proms’ in support of Help for Heroes.

Q) Would you class the FA Cup triumph in 1976 as your best achievement in football?

“It’s one of the major honours and a lot of great managers, better managers than me, have wanted to win the FA Cup but didn’t. It was always the pinnacle and the main thing to win. Since my day the Champions League has taken over a little bit at club level but ask any manager and he would like to have an FA Cup win on his CV. At Saints, we also got to the final of the League Cup but Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough won that one. Though, the one he wanted to win all the time and he never did was the FA Cup so yes for me that would be the pinnacle.”

Q) Guiding Southampton to their highest ever league finish in 1984 and only narrowly losing out on the title to Liverpool was a fantastic achievement. That must give you great satisfaction?

“Coming second in the league was something special. Although I think it’s possible for a club like Southampton these days to win the cup again (even though you need a lot of luck to win the cup), to come second in the top flight now for Southampton would be near on impossible to be fair. Fighting against the big clubs with the mighty finances is difficult, but you never know. They are the highlights because Southampton had never been to the final of either cup before, we’d never been as high as second and we played in Europe, looking back it was a great period.”

Q) You’ve worked with some great players over the years. Alan Ball, an England World Cup winner and one of the outstanding midfielders in the history of football was instrumental in Saints promotion in 1978, tell me about the relationship you had with Alan?

“When I signed Alan we’d won the cup and the task was to get promoted and that’s what I said to him. That was his main job to help the team get promoted and he did. The bonus for him as well was that we got to at Wembley again in the 1979 League Cup Final. People like him and Mick Channon (then an England player) was used to playing at Wembley when we won the cup but people like Peter Osgood and Peter Rodrigues in 1976 had thought that they’d had their day at that level. In 1979, I don’t think Alan expected to play at Wembley again. On the day he lifted his game and he loved every minute so that was his reward for helping us get promoted and that was the main thing and we did.”

England World Cup winner, Everton, Arsenal and Southampton legend, the late Alan Ball (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Q) The form Southampton have shown so far this season must be really pleasing for you?

“Well I’m not connected with the club anymore but I go to the games with friends and you’ve got to admire the start that they have had. I think people have got to remember that when we got relegated a couple of years ago it was not because of football it was a result of administration. The club did well when Alan Pardew managed to get a team together of championship players and they were kept together in the third division (League Two).  As a result promotion wasn’t unexpected but the impetus of promotion and success has propelled us through the first few games. The championship is not new to most of these players and I think that’s the secret. They’re back where they were before and are capable of doing it.

“I think the one or two additions to the squad have been good. I mean (Jack) Cork is a good signing at that level and the crowd will keep coming in to support. Last year, the average attendance was about 23,000 and this year it’s nearly 25,000 and the fans keep coming in. If we get back to the Premier League, we’ll fill the ground, it’s as simple as that. I think feet on the ground, realistically. If we’re in the top six around Christmas time you’ve got a fair chance of being there at the end.”

Q) Raising money for Help the Heroes is a great cause and it must give you great pleasure to be involved with the charity?

“Everybody realises it’s a great cause and if I can help them a little bit then great. I’ve a lot of admiration for the armed forces. I’ve got little connection but I did do National Service. Many people had to go and I had no option. I had a couple of years in service and there wasn’t any wars going on but we were trained as if we had to go so I have a little idea about what some of the youngsters go through. Later on, I was asked to go to Afghanistan and Kabul in 2002 by the Football Association (FA) on behalf of the government and all the governments in Europe. They wanted to put a football match on with the forces versus Afghanistan. Myself and Gary Mabbett went along with some referees from the FA on one of them big supporter planes and it was an experience I can tell you. In the ground there were 40,000 people. The game let the people know they could play football again because it had been banned.

“I also saw how the troops were having to live and I think it’s a very, very difficult situation for anybody but I’m full of admiration for these young lads. Teenagers and others are giving up their lives in a lot of cases. We’ve seen many pictures of the lads who’ve lost limbs, arms and legs, which ten, twenty years ago you would have never been able to do anything about but thanks to the medical people in the world and the facilities they can lead a better life than they would have done. You see the strength of a lot of these lads who are coming back and after treatment are then doing stuff like bike rides as far away as Paris from here to help the fund and that’s there way of showing how determined they are. Our way of appreciating what they’re prepared to give up is donating to the cause.”

Q) Do you think there is a connection between football and people who serve in the armed forces?

“Without a doubt because football is all about team spirit in the dressing room, on the field and around the club and that’s what the armed forces are all about. The national service did me the world of good, you go through not having a clue, you go through very hard training, not expecting anything like that. At the end of the two years a lot of boys came out as men. A lot of lads have been in longer in some cases but they have seen real action. The team spirit helps them enormously and that’s what happens in football.”

To find out how to donate to Help for Heroes please visit their website.

To listen to the full audio interview with Lawrie, click on the link below:

Many clubs don’t see winning this cup as a priority.

This week the 3^rd round of the League Cup took place with many of the competing sides opting to play youth or fringe players instead of putting out a full strength team – a common trend in recent years. With clubs prioritising their league form over a run in the cup, many people have began to question the necessity of the League Cup, and whether it a distraction that clubs could do without.

One of the main problems with the League Cup is the lack of incentive, especially for Premier League clubs, to progress to the latter stages of the competition. Firstly, the prize money for the competition falls well below that of other domestic competitions. The winner of the League Cup is awarded £100,000, an amount of money which some top Premier League players earn in a week. The prize money for winning the FA Cup on the other hand is around £1.8million, a much larger sum. It is not just the FA Cup which offers a better financial incentive for clubs to succeed however.

The importance of the domestic leagues and the financial reward for succeeding in them is probably the main reason behind many managers seeing the League Cup as an unnecessary distraction. The prize money for winning the Premier League last season was around £16million, with each place in the league being worth £800,000. Although there are very few teams capable of challenging for the league title, these figures do show a major problem which the League Cup is competing with. If a club finishes 12^th in the Premier League – a respectable position but far from an exciting season for the fans – the club will receive £6.4million as prize money alone. This is not even taking into account the £14.6million of equal share money paid to each club for being in the league, plus £480,000-£499,734 per game in which the club is shown live on TV (guaranteed 10 per season), £10.1million in overseas TV money and £2million in sponsorship and licensing. This shows that due to the Premier League being so financially rewarding, it is far more beneficial for a club to solely focus on maintaining their Premier League status by avoiding relegation, than it is for the team to win the League Cup. This is a major factor as to why many of the lower Premier League sides are knocked out in the early stages. It is not just Premier League clubs who have to prioritise their position in the league over the League Cup, many clubs from the Football League are either trying to secure promotion or fight against relegation, for a reward which is more beneficial to the club than winning the competition. More lucrative financial rewards in other competitions are not the only problem which the League Cup suffers from, the scheduling of matches is also a big concern for clubs.

The original idea behind creating the League Cup was so English football clubs with newly installed floodlights in the early 1960s could make use of them in a cup competition played in mid-week.  Whilst this may have been a good idea at the time (although there were many opponents to the competition then), the congestion of fixtures nowadays means that clubs can no longer play a full strength team in every competition. Take last week for example; there were Champions League fixtures for Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, along with Europa League matches for Fulham, Stoke, Tottenham and Birmingham. All of these clubs then had to play league matches at the weekend, before League Cup fixtures on Tuesday and Wednesday and league fixtures this coming weekend. A hectic schedule which forces changes to the clubs starting XI’s through injury and fatigue. Whilst the current scheduling of the competition is far from perfect, it is probably still the most efficient with only 7 rounds, no replays and teams involved in European competition not entering until the third round.

Whilst there are problems with the League Cup which mean many clubs do not see winning the competition as a priority, it is still a valuable competition for several reasons. The competition allows clubs to give their youth and fringe players experience of playing competitive fixtures. This gives these players a platform from which they can impress their manager and try to push for a place in the first team squad. It also gives fans the opportunity to watch a match at a reduced price (many clubs reduce ticket prices and have family offers for League Cup fixtures).  For many clubs, the League Cup also offers a genuine chance of success. As top teams play weakened teams, the chance for Football League clubs to succeed against Premier League opposition is increased, as well as giving Premier League clubs outside of the top 6 a chance of winning a trophy, as Birmingham City, Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers have proven in the past.

It is also important to remember that whilst clubs see the League Cup as a distraction, similar criticisms have been directed towards the FA Cup and Europa League in recent years. Both competitions have seen clubs field weakened teams as they see their league status (or in some cases Champions League qualification) as a priority. Yes, the League Cup may not be a priority for many clubs, but it is still a valuable competition.