5 reasons why the Capital One Cup is a big waste of time for top clubs
The third round of the Capital One Cup finished with some upsets and some very interesting matches. It saw Swansea knock Everton out by winning the game 3-0 while Arsenal lost at home to Southampton. But the most interesting game was between Liverpool and Middlesbrough which saw the game end after 30 kicks in the penalty shootout. But none of these results match the upset that happened in the previous round when Manchester United were knocked out by MK Dons with a scoreline of 4-0. Even though the cup ties have given us some interesting matches over the years, many consider it a waste of time due to many reasons. Here is a look at 5 reasons why the tournament is a waste of time. Did you know that the treble includes the League title, Champions League and FA Cup – and not the League Cup?
#1 Fixture Congestion
The League Cup games are always a midweek fixture. This is a problem for the teams who participate in Europe since this piles up the number of games the team has to play in the span of a few days.
For example; take the case of Liverpool. On October 19, they travel to London to play QPR in a Premier League match. Then on October 22 they host Real Madrid at home in a very tough Champions League game. Three days later, they play Hull City at Anfield and then again they play at home on 28 October against Swansea in a League Cup game.
Liverpool then travel to Newcastle on November 1 and then fly to Madrid for their toughest group stage fixture on November 4. This is followed by a home game against Chelsea on November 8. So basically, Liverpool play seven games in 20 days!
If the League Cup was not in the picture, then Liverpool would have got some much needed rest before their upcoming tough games against Real Madrid and Chelsea.