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Why the Carabao Cup is not a "Tin Pot" Trophy
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Why the Carabao Cup is not a "Tin Pot" Trophy

23/09/24 08:53

Is the Carabao Cup a Serious Cup Competition?

With the remaining sides in European competition set to open their seasons domestic cup account in midweek, it’s time to talk about the Carabao Cup

Over the last few years, there has been a growing stigma around the Carabao Cup, a sponsored alias for the formerly named EFL Cup.

In the last five years, there seems to have been a mutual agreement between various fan bases that the historic trophy is nothing more than a “tin pot” cup, with victory in the competition being viewed as nothing more than an incidental success at most. When compared to the FA Cup, fans only give one answer when asked which is their favorite tournament.

But to what extent is this true? Sure, European football participants don’t take part in the competition until the third round, but in more ways than not, their task is made considerably harder by dropping in at this later stage.

So what is the history of the Carabao Cup? How does it differ to its more illustrious cousin the FA Cup? And is it a more challenging trophy to win?

Reputation of the Carabao Cup

It has become clear in recent years that the EFL Cup matters more to certain clubs than others. Pep Guardiola’s dominant Manchester City won four cup’s on the bounce between 2018 and 2021, and it became obvious that their fanbase did not significantly value the trophy after they beat Tottenham in 2021.

However, other clubs value the cup massively due to its elusive reputation, with it frequently being shared between the big five clubs. Famously, the EFL Cup, at the time known as the Carling Cup, was Tottenham’s last piece of competitive silverware, and has been the butt of many (dusty) trophy cabinet jokes.

As a result, both Spurs fans and players would be overjoyed if they were to navigate their way to the trophy, and social media would be awash with both praise for their players, and comments from rival fans telling them to simmer down until they win a real competition.

In a way, Manchester City’s dominance became the reason for fans nonchalance towards the trophy, as while they were winning Premier League’s, FA Cup’s, and eventually a Champions League, rival fans would automatically discredit a successful Carabao Cup campaign with comments such as “easy draw” or “no competition.

In the past however, this has not always been the case.

Shock Winners and Giant Killings in the Carabao Cup

While the competition's recent history has lent very little slack to smaller club success, the trophy has a history of surprise winners and shock victories, even as late as the 2010’s.

Leicester City, Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers all won it within five years of each other, in 2000. 2003 and 2005, and then of course came Tottenham’s victory, at the time also considered a shock.

Birmingham City then upset Arsenal in the 2011 final thanks to some classic last minute cup drama, before by far the most outlandish of any recent finals took place in 2013.

League Two Bradford City had plotted their way to their first major cup final in over a century, and had knocked out Arsenal and Aston Villa in the process, to take on Swansea in the Showpiece game at Wembley.

Swansea themselves had pulled off similar shocks, beating Liverpool in the fourth round and then beating Chelsea over the course of the two legged semi-final. It ended up being a one sided final, as Swansea romped to a 5-0 win, but it shows that the phrase “the magic of the cup” doesn’t just apply to the FA Cup.

The Carabao Cup has also surprised its fair share of early giant killings, notwithstanding the incidents mentioned above. Manchester United lost 4-0 to MK Dons in the 2014/15 third round, while Liverpool were taken out by Northampton Town in 2010.

There are a host of other examples that go back further than many will remember, but once again, it seems the Carabao Cup is on par with the FA Cup when taking shock winners and giant-slayers into account.

Carabao Cup Format

As mentioned earlier, Premier League sides in European competitions don’t enter the draw until the third round, allowing to bypass a couple of potential lower league banana skins, whilst also shortening their campaign down to five rounds.

However, for those who finish below 7th in the most recent Premier League campaign, a second round entry beckons, leaving more room for an upset.

While the top Premier League teams have fewer rounds to play, making it more than likely that one of them reaches the final, the Carabao Cup has something that the FA Cup doesn’t up its sleeve: a two-legged semi-final.

So, if one of the big guns reaches the semi-final, the second leg is like playing an entire extra round of matches, effectively making even the Premier League Champions play the equivalent of six rounds, the same number of rounds as they would play in the FA Cup.

This makes the challenge of winning the EFL Cup on par with the task of winning the FA Cup, the apparently far superior trophy.

And when considering the difficulty of the opposition across both competitions, there can only be one winner.

Carabao Cup Quality of Opposition

Despite being heralded as the premier English cup competition, the FA Cup actually seems to supply fewer high quality matches than the Carabao Cup.

This is because (the hint is given in the name “EFL Trophy”) in the latter, only teams in England's top four leagues can participate, whereas in the FA Cup, teams all the way down to level 10 have the potential to make all the way to the third round proper.

A good example of this comes from taking a close look at the winners of both trophies last season. Liverpool traveled to Wembley to face Chelsea in the final of the Carabao Cup, and emerged victorious thanks to a 118th minute Virgil Van Dijk header.

But to get there, Liverpool had to walk a challenging path, facing Championship side Leicester in the third round, and then Premier League outfits Bournemouth, West Ham and Fulham before meeting Chelsea in the final. Adding up the total of the divisions (Premier League: 1, Championship: 2 etc.) these opposition were in, the total comes to 7 (including the second leg against Fulham).

Now to the FA Cup winners Manchester United. While in no doubt that winning the competition is an impressive feat no matter the opposition, the quality of the opponent certainly plays a part legitimizing a club as true champions of the tournament.

Over the course of the winning run, United beat Wigan Athletic, Newport County, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Coventry, before meeting rivals Manchester City in the final, beating them 2-1.

Adding together the divisions of the opponents throughout the course of the campaign, the total comes to 12, indicating that it was a significantly easier path despite meeting an era defining Manchester City side in the final.

So after thorough investigation, it seems that the Carabao Cup is a more legitimate competition than some English football fans make it out to be. Combining quality of opposition, a giant killing history, the value of the trophy to some clubs more than others and a challenging format even for the biggest sides, the Carabao Cup is certainly on par with, if not more difficult to win than the FA Cup.

It is certainly a competition worth paying attention to, and for whoever wins, it will certainly be a notable achievement. Whether City walk the competition again, or another monumental shock occurs, the Carabao Cup looks set to be as fascinating, intriguing and intense as ever.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Harry Pascoe

Lead Writer

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