In the forty-six years since its inception the Football League Cup has flirted its way through some six sponsors, helping sell more than the odd pint of milk, coke, lager and bitter to the British Public along the way. You may never experience quite the same stirring in the blood as when you hear the Champions League anthem on European nights (although I?m sure they?re singing ?LASAGNE!?), but for the Liverpool supporter with good memories of the eighties, the League Cup will always be regarded with more than a little fondness. ?If the FA Cup is football?s Ascot, then the League Cup is its Derby Day? were the bold words of Football League visionary Alan Hardaker back in 1960, quite forgetting that the real daddy was and always will be the Grand National.

At the time he envisaged major reforms for the game, a ?pattern of football? resulting in a restructured divisional set-up, leading to less games. The clamour for revenue was to be heard even then, and Hardaker sugared the pill with a proposed new midweek knockout competition. His grand scheme was rejected, but the cup idea found favour? and now we know who to blame for fixture congestion.

The new trophy bore Hardaker?s name from the off, but it took some eighteen years before Liverpool were to take it seriously enough to warrant reaching the final. Brian Clough?s Nottingham Forest were to prevail in a replay but interest had been piqued at Anfield, and three seasons later they returned to Wembley (before a trip to Villa Park) to triumph over West Ham ? a prone Sammy Lee remains fixed in the mind?s eye. From then on it was love, and Liverpool were not to lose a match in the competition for another three seasons.

A quick glance through the post-match celebration photos from 1981-84 reveals just how much delight the team took in winning the trophy back then; a trophy was a trophy after all, and with a day out at Wembley thrown in no-one was complaining ? especially not when Manchester United and Everton were among the sacrificial lambs. Not that you?ll find any long faces in any of the souvenir shots from the League Cup-winning schools of ?95, 2001 and 2003 - far from it. But in the intervening years, a shift in priorities had taken root at the major clubs, in no small part down to the kind of fixture congestion that Hardaker had sought to avoid. The Champions League was among us, and the financial incentives that came with it saw the League Cup devalued to a kind of FA Cup for reserve teams.

So what then is the attraction in an era when even Reading will trot out a largely second-string eleven, preferring instead to concentrate their playing resources on Premiership survival? What would induce a fan to travel to Birmingham on a wet Wednesday night to see the ?reserves? turn out before making the long trip back home and to bed at 3am on a school-night? The answer of course depends entirely on the quality of the reserves on view. Even two short years ago a trip to most of the Red?s early ties in the campaign that ended in defeat to Chelsea wouldn?t appear too tempting on the face of it. Your twenty-odd quid got you a goal from the perennially numberless Salif Diao at Milwall, or a chance to see the once great Pellegrino stumble in the January mud at Vicarage Road while your feet slowly froze.

The emerging youngbloods of 2004 gave everyone their money?s worth down at White Hart Lane however, as Pongolle, Raven et al dumped a full-strength Spurs side out on penalties - though as much as the likes of Potter impressed, it was hard to convince yourself that you were watching the future of the club. The following season?s campaign hardly relit the fire, as all those present at Selhurst Park could well attest. Crouch struggled with a visible lack of confidence, while those of us hoping to see something like the Morientes we thought we?d bought sighed in dismay at the sight of a three-time Champions League-winner muscled out of the game by championship defenders.

This season?s vintage seems, so far at least, to offer better value for your money by far. Anyone struggling to get tickets to the latest Premiership gig would be well advised their hands on a Carling Cup ticket if at all they can, and once they?re through the turnstiles they?ll see that the second string isn?t quite so secondary anymore. This can only be a good thing ? it is of course a reflection of a much-improved squad, with greater quality in depth. But it also gives a surer indication of what the future holds. Any supporter watching from the stands at St. Andrews would have been treated to the sight of a legend wearing the captain?s armband, although Fowler would be the first to admit he didn?t enjoy the best of evenings in the Midlands. There was a glimpse of younger local talent too, in the shape of a competent Lee Peltier, and even the encouraging sight of Zenden finding a surer touch in central midfield. He may need to show more of it in the wake of Sissoko?s latest misfortune.

Full comedy value was provided on the night by an enthusiastic Craig Bellamy; opportunity knocked, but the lines were fluffed. He won?t have enjoyed the consequent press claims that his penalty miss was possibly the worst on record ? harsh, perhaps, but only he can know quite how he managed to send the keeper the wrong way along with the ball, too. El Gaffer, it would appear, has the answer, and the diagnosis is anxiety. The sight of Bellamy head in hands, face contorted by disbelief is a familiar one already this season, and it seems reasonable to conclude that worry is the root cause of his all his woes. The thought of a flourishing partnership between Kuyt and Crouch can hardly be of help. Kuyt again proved irreplaceable during his short spell, his work-rate and endeavour exemplary once more. Benitez is not exactly celebrated for the warmth he displays publicly towards his players, but you suspect the teacher has his pets, and it seems Kuyt has taken his place at the top of the class alongside Sissoko.

One glimpse of the future outshone all. And if the future is bright, the future is Agger. If he is a player with a bright prospects, then it?s sobering to imagine just how good he could become in the fullness of time, so great is his influence already. As a partnership, Agger and Paletta look sound, but there?s no doubting who the senior partner in this firm is. And whilst the young Argentine displays a tackle and a willingness to get forward for set-pieces that bodes well (you get the feeling he won?t still be waiting for a fourth goal when his 400th appearance comes round), he may yet be found lacking in terms of positional sense for a wee while yet. No such problem for young master Daniel, however, whose place in the front row of the class with Dirk and Momo seems assured, just as soon as old man Hyypia?s knees finally succumb. And a gold star, too.

Seeing a player of such tender years play with such intelligence, awareness and composure was heartening and well worth every penny of my fifteen quid. ?Composure? is destined to become the watchword with big Dan, but you can add ?leadership qualities? to the list of compliments that will surely come his way. Not only did he (along with Warnock) set the example for the rest of the defence, but he also found time to take Paletta aside for the odd word when needed. Clearly Benitez? trust in him is great, and when the captain?s armband eventually needs a new arm around which to wrap itself, then the number five would be overlooked at the club?s peril. Other than a couple of wayward long balls and one speculative second-half punt at goal (and no-one who saw what he did to West Ham would begrudge him that), not one foot did he put wrong. All that, and a goal too.

Call it Rumbelows, Littlewoods or what you will, League Cups are nice to win. But generally they?re nicer when they come with a healthy balanced diet of ?real? trophies, too? God forbid they should ever be a highlight of the season, to be celebrated manically a la Man United last year. There hasn?t been one along in a couple of years now, but there should be another one just around the corner at some point, and if we ever get four at once again, then there?s a good chance one of them just might be lifted by Agger.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 11th, 2006 at 8:48 am and is filed under Liverpool. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.