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The Carling League Cup

Working class hero Homer Simpson once said about gambling that ‘It's like those little chocolate sprinkles you put on top of ice cream, it makes a good thing taste even better', and who are we to argue? So to make the good thing of the Carling League Cup taste even better, here is a guide to the competition, together with some hints on how to bet on it.

The League Cup Competition

Unlike the FA Cup, the League Cup is open to sponsorship, meaning that over the years it has come under many different guises, including the Worthington Cup, The Coca-Cola Cup, The Rumbelows Cup, The Littlewoods Cup, The Milk Cup, and currently the Carling Cup.

Originally called The Football League Cup, it was the idea of at that time Football League secretary Alan Hardaker, who suggested that a two-legged knockout football tournament would be more financially beneficial to the poorer, lower league clubs as it would guarantee revenue, unlike the FA Cup, in which all smaller football clubs are hoping for the luck of a home draw.

This idea was met with dismay within the ranks of the Football Association, many calling the competition a waste of time, yet from the start the competition proved the doubters wrong. In its inaugural year, the 1960-61 season, Second Division Rotherham United finished runners-up to Aston Villa.

In the following year, Rochdale became the first fourth division club to reach a major final in the FA's history. They lost to second division Norwich City, which meant that this was the first trophy to be contested without a first division side in the final.

The 1981-82 football season was the first time an outside sponsor was involved in the League Cup, and the cup was named the Milk Cup for five years. A number of other different sponsorships followed and it has now been known as the Carling League Cup since the 2003-04 football season.

Structure of the Carling League Cup Competition

The tournament is open to all 92 football league teams who play in the Premiership, Championship, and the First and Second Divisions.

In the first round of the Carling League Cup the Premiership teams are exempt from the draw, and teams that are playing European football do not enter the competition until the third round.

The idea of two-legged ties has been dropped within the last few years, and now all games, up to the semi-final, are to be decided on the night. This means that 30 minutes of additional extra-time is played in the event of scores being tied at 90 minutes, and if no winner can be found after extra-time, a penalty shoot-out will decide the match.

The Carling League Cup semi-final is now a two-legged affair, with the aggregate score deciding who goes through. If the scores are tied then the team who has scored the most away goals goes through as the winner. If the number of away goals is also even, extra-time and then penalties will ensue.

The final is no longer open to replays, and is now also decided on the day, with extra-time and penalties if needed.

The ties are all played on a Tuesday or Wednesday, and with evening kick-offs at 7.45pm. The competition runs from the end of August with this season's final on Sunday 26^th February 2006.

The League Cup - Previous Winners

Most Wins

7 - Liverpool

5 - Aston Villa

4 - Nottingham Forest

3 - Leicester City, Tottenham

2 - Norwich City, Chelsea, Manchester City, Wolves, Arsenal

1 - Birmingham City, WBA, QPR, Leeds United, Swindon Town, Oxford United, Luton Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke City, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Middlesbrough

The results of the last five League Cup Finals are:

• 2005-06 Manchester United 4 - 0 Wigan Athletic
• 2004-05 Chelsea 3 - 2 Liverpool
• 2003-04 Middlesbrough 2 - 1 Bolton
• 2002-03 Liverpool 2 - 0 Manchester United
• 2001-02 Blackburn Rovers 2 - 1 Tottenham

Betting on the League Cup

Here are some hints and tips for betting on the Carling League Cup competition:

• Avoid the big boys

Despite being seen as the FA Cup's less illustrious sister, the Carling League Cup has had more unexpected results in the past decade than the FA Cup has. With eight different winners in the past ten years, the Carling Cup looks to have the pedigree to produce a shock or two.

The major surprise is that Manchester United hasn't lifted the trophy since it was called the Rumbelows Cup in the 91-92 season. Along with Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Tottenham as recent winners, there have been a few surprises with Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Leicester and Aston Villa all victorious, safeguarding an early season route into Europe.

Many of the so-called big clubs disregard the early stages of the Carling League Cup, mainly due to their Premiership and European football competition commitments, and therefore field weaker teams in the early rounds of the League Cup. This can quite often be taken advantage of by the lesser Premiership and Championship teams to cause some upsets, and by the punter in order to make a few pounds.

In the last ten years of the League Cup competition only Liverpool and Chelsea have won the tournament out of the big four (which also includes Manchester Utd and Arsenal), meaning that there is the opportunity for an unfancied team to get their hands on the League Cup.

• Each-way betting on the Carling League Cup

It has been said that first is everything, no one remembers who came second. Well, in the betting world that is not strictly true. Many bookies offer each-way betting, which means that you will receive a payout if your team reaches the final, and in some cases even the semi-final. Recent years would suggest that this is a good way to pick up an unexpected Carling League Cup winner.

In the past ten years there have been a range of winners, and even the odd team not playing in the top flight going all the way to the final. Runners-up include Manchester Utd, Bolton, Birmingham, Middlesbrough, Leeds, and Tranmere, adding weight to the unpredictable notion of the Carling League Cup, and the potential for a speculative punt on an unfancied team.

• First and last goal scorer.

With approximately eight top-flight English football sides involved in European competitions per season, flying the flag on four footballing fronts is a big thing to ask from these teams, and their squads. Many see the Carling Cup, especially in the early rounds, as a chore and on the bottom of the list when it comes to their priorities.

Even if a top Premiership side reaches the latter parts of the competition they will still play their second string, all the way up to the final if they can. This means the goals will have to come from elsewhere.

The Carling League Cup tournament gives these Premiership teams a chance to blood some youngsters, with the out of favour and reserve team strikers itching to make their mark. Come match day, there will be opportunity to make a profit backing these young and often unheard of strikers, and with many bookies offering the opportunity to bet on any player to score first, last, and even at anytime within the 90 minutes, it pays to keep an eye on the teams starting line-up, and to bet accordingly.

If you are new to betting and want to place a bet on the Carling League Cup be sure to check out our Football - How To Bet section for some betting hints and tips.

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