It’s still unclear at what point in a team’s season they can decide winning the Carabao Cup is a big deal. Especially when the top six are concerned, it likely comes when they struggle in Europe and realise winning the Premier League is also an unlikely aspiration.
The early rounds of the Carabao cup are usually spent with teams trying to rest as many players as possible and hope for a quiet exit that doesn’t upset too many fans. Of course there have been some great moments like Swansea winning the trophy or Bradford going on that magical run to the final, but it’s usually treated with contempt by most teams.
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Even the organisers seem to notice the interest in England is minimal. They started to move the draw to China while holding it at some crazy time in the morning, it just leads to fans being less interested.
All of this leads to an interesting question, especially when you consider the French equivalent has been discontinued. Will the English sides see this as a way of cancelling the Carabao Cup at some point soon?
A report in The Daily Mail confirmed the decision in France to cancel the league cup, it was only actually launched in 1995. It does suggest this could be linked with the competition failing to find a TV provider to cover the games, but it definitely sets a precedent.
If the Carabao Cup was cancelled, it could actually be a blessing for some younger players on the books at Premier League clubs. Currently the competition is used to introduce younger players to the first team, but losing the first game could mean these players don’t get another chance that season.
If the competition didn’t exist, these players could be more likely to go out on loan with clubs realising there will be limited playing time in store for them.
It’s not even like the cup throws up huge shocks or gives a realistic opportunity for lesser clubs to win something. Since 2000, only four teams have won the competition who haven’t won the league since it became the Premiership in 1992, and one of those teams is Liverpool.
It just needed someone to make the first move and provide an excuse for English clubs to push for the cancelation of the Carabao Cup, this could be it.