With the Carabao Cup action in full force this week, I thought it was time to discuss what I feel would be the best way to restructure the domestic cup competitions for English football. Let me preface this blog by stating there is absolutely no way the Football Association (FA) would ever consider implementing these changes. There is simply too much money involved at the moment, and they are not in the business of reducing revenue. I get it. But as it stands now, Liverpool are about to play a match against Norwich City in a competition where a five-match winning streak would result in silverware. And no one seems to care. Liverpool will likely field a combination of youth team players with experienced squad players looking for minutes while the regular starters get some rest ahead of another Premier League clash on Saturday. Don’t get me wrong, I am never disappointed to see Liverpool Football Club play competitive matches throughout the season. When you see the lineup get released later this afternoon, there will undoubtedly be players on the bench whom the casual fan has never heard of. How can the supporters be expected to take this competition seriously when the clubs don’t? If I had the power to change it, two simple changes could fix the English domestic cups and make them relevant once again.
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FIX #1 – Remove Premier League clubs from the League Cup
The fixture list is simply too congested, with seven Premier League clubs already playing mid-week matches in European competitions throughout the fall. If Liverpool defeat Norwich City and advance to the fourth round, they will end up having two matches per week for nearly two straight months with an early October international break sandwiched in there. That’s a lot of football, possibly too much. The League Cup is comprised of every club in the top four tiers of English football. Most Premier League clubs get a bye into the second round, and the seven clubs that had qualified for European competition get an additional bye into the knockout tournament as part of the last thirty-two clubs. Take a look at the lineups of those clubs this week and let me know how many players you’ve actually seen play this season. Even though most of the competition debutantes will face stiff competition against other Premier League clubs, not many will start their best eleven players. Advancing to the round of sixteen in a competition with silverware at stake is simply not as important as getting three points in a match that is 1/38 (or 2.63%) of an entire season. Think about that for a moment. Why even bother playing? I know that there is money to be earned for the club, and this competition does provide for those Cinderella moments when a smaller club gets a rare chance for glory at Wembley Stadium. Even though I always love seeing Liverpool play matches, I think I might prefer seeing the best eleven Liverpool footballers on the pitch in a competition that everyone is desperate to win.
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Instead of forcing these clubs to add more fixtures based on the success of their reserve players, let’s eliminate them from the equation altogether. Why not remove the Premier League clubs and let the lower league teams fight it out? When I brought this idea up to a mate recently, he mentioned how the League Cup winner does get a free pass into European competitions the next season. Certainly, the English FA doesn’t want a lower league club representing against some of the continent’s best clubs. The last time that happened was when Wigan Athletic qualified by virtue of winning the 2013 FA Cup just after relegation from the Premier League. They finished dead last in a Europa League group that included unknown clubs from Slovenia and Belgium. It was a disaster that no one wants repeated. So instead of giving the winner a pass into Europe, let’s give them a more valuable incentive. The winner of the competition could earn an automatic spot in the promotion playoffs for their respective league at the end of the season. As you probably know, the top two clubs in the Championship table earn automatic promotion to the Premiership the following season. Clubs that finish in spots three through six will then have a mini-knockout tournament to become the third promoted club. This process is the same for Leagues One and Two for clubs trying to move up the ladder. Give the winners of the League Cup an automatic spot in that playoff, and I would venture to guess that most teams would prefer that opportunity to get promoted as opposed to playing a few matches on the continent against clubs that most fans have never heard of. The seventh spot for European competition should simply go to the club that finishes highest in the Premier League table, like it does most years when one of the big clubs that have already earned a spot ends up winning the cups.
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FIX #2 – Eliminate the Random Draw and seed the FA Cup
By eliminating the Premier League clubs from the League Cup, a new buzz for the FA Cup competition will be instantly created. Old school fans always like to talk about the “good old days” when the FA Cup mattered, regaling in stories how the FA Cup Final was treated like our Super Bowl Sunday. Today it is nothing more than an afterthought that many fans ignore if their club hasn’t made the final. But if the FA Cup is the only domestic knockout competition available for the Premier League to win, they just might take it more seriously.
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Once the FA Cup completes the Second Round Proper, the forty-four teams that are still standing are joined by the twenty Premier League clubs with matches beginning in early January. We are left with a scenario where only five victories would lead to a night at Wembley and a chance for silverware. One of the issues that I have with these domestic cups is the notion of the random draw. This element of the competition will sometimes create excitement and buzz in the early stages, like when Liverpool had to play Everton in the third round of the 2018 FA Cup in a special Merseyside Derby. But I’d argue that match would’ve been better in the latter stages of the competition. Inevitably there will be a lower league club that gets a fortunate draw and advances deep into the competition, which will inundate my newsfeed with comments about “the magic of the FA Cup.” But is that what the fans really want? I’m not so sure.
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I propose a system that would eliminate the early powerhouse matchups that always seem to happen. Much like they do for major tennis tournaments, you could group these sixty-four clubs into sixteen four-team seeded pods whose opponents are randomly drawn like they do for the Champions League. Pot A would contain the top sixteen finishers from the previous Premier League season. Continue the process for Pots B, C, and D and treat it like a typical draw. This would separate the best clubs in the league in the early stages of the competition and still give the Davids their shot at bringing down a Goliath. No one wants to see Roger Federer play Rafael Nadal in the second round at Wimbledon, so why would they want to see Manchester City play Liverpool in the Third Round Proper in January?
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As I noted earlier in this article, there is absolutely no way that these changes would be implemented. There is simply too much money at stake. Television contracts will reduce dramatically for a League Cup that won’t have Premier League clubs in it. Although I believe that it may increase the bidding process for the FA Cup TV rights and significantly increase that revenue stream, I still think it would be an overall net financial loss for the FA. Besides, a vote of Premier League clubs on this matter would never get approved. No mid-table club would ever relinquish one of their only two legitimate chances to win silverware for their fans. I am just concerned about the health of the sport, the welfare of my club, and the overall dilution of the greatest sport on the planet. UEFA has already announced a change to the Champions League format starting in 2024 where all qualified clubs will have ten group stage matches instead of six. I look at the current fixture list for Liverpool and wonder when those four extra matches will be squeezed into the fall calendar. Assuming we advance in the League Cup as far as we can, there is really only one available mid-week opening on the calendar. What about the other three additional matches that will need to be scheduled? I guess they will have to start the competition early in August.
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More games equal more revenue, but it also means a potentially more diluted product. It’s a concern that not many people are thinking about yet. But if UEFA can be convinced to make somewhat drastic changes to a competition that has earned them billions over the years, I can dream that the English FA might also. Alas I recognize that is only a dream. Someone please wake me up before kickoff. I’m looking forward to seeing Divock Origi wear the armband this afternoon. Up the Reds!
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YNWA,
Ken Kendra
The opinions expressed in this blog are mine and do not necessarily reflect that of LFC Raleigh or Liverpool Football Club. I am the author of the book “Walking Through The Storm” available on Amazon, Kindle, World Soccer Shop, and other book depository outlets. Follow me on Twitter: @kjkendra11