Welcome back to Peculiar Side of Sports. Every so often something in sports perplexes me, and I just hate not knowing something. So, I do what any normal, sane sports fan does – I search ad nausea for the answer by any means necessary. The good news is that I take all my hard work and relay the results to you.
Without further ado, I give you today’s Peculiar Side of Sports.
The Football League Cup replaced its predecessor, the Southern Professional Floodlit Cup. The latter was a competition between London clubs, the SouthEast and the Midlands. The Cup lasted just a few years. At its inception, 10 clubs competed, and in its last year in 1960, 18 clubs vied for the trophy. In 1960, it was replaced by the current Football League Cup.
As teams began installing floodlights to their stadia, it made playing mid-week nighttime games possible. However, some teams refused to participate and the greater workload this would mean for their players. Things changed when clubs were guaranteed a spot in UEFA Cup (now Europa League) competition, which began in 1971.
To this day, England (and France) still offer a spot for their League Cup winner. Some believe, which I tend to agree with, that the Europa berth is the only reason still keeping this competition afloat.
The League Cup is open to all 92 members of the Premier League and football league. Each round is decided by a one-match competition, with the exception of the semi-final (2 matches). Historically, there have been many changes in how each round was decided. Since 1967, final matches were played at Wembley Stadium, with the exception being the six years where it was being remade. Between 2001 and 2007, finals were played at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Prior to 1998, any final match that ended in a draw was replayed. Since changes made in 1998, finals are now decided by penalty kicks.
There is a trophy given to the best player in the final match – Alan Hardaker Trophy. Alan Hardaker was the former secretary of the Football League, and is credited as the man responsible for the concept of the League Cup. The trophy’s winner is selected by the panel at Sky Sports.
A few interesting tidbits:
- Liverpool have won the most League Cups – 8
- Both Geoff Hurst and Ian Rush have scored 49 goals
- Frankie Bunn scored 6 goals for Oldham in 1989 in a single match
- Liverpool beat Fulham, 10-nil, in 1986
- West Ham beat Bury, 10-nil, in 1983
- Swansea had the biggest final win, 5-nil vs. Bradford in 2013
- Ashley Chambers, 15 years old, played for Leicester City vs. Blackpool in 2005
Here are the sponsors of the Cup over the years:
- Until 1982, the League Cup had no sponsor
- 1982-1986 – Milk Cup
- Littlewoods Challenge Cup
- Rumbelows Cup
- Coca-Cola Cup
- Worthington Cup
- Carling Cup
- Capital One Cup
If interested, read my article on the history of the formation of the History of the Football Association.
