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

Liverpool's fixtures in the next few weeks (courtesy BBC)

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.

#2 Prize Money is peanuts compared to Player Wages

All players in the picture aboce earn more in a week than the prize money the club gets from winning the League Cup

The League Cup winners in England receive prize money of just £100,000. In contrast, Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney gets paid £300,000 per week.

This shows how insignificant the League Cup is for big clubs as such an amount will not help them in any way. The only reason why clubs participate in the tournament is to get some sort of silverware for the club’s trophy cabinet.

Clubs who participate in the Champions League get €1 million for each group stage match win and €500,000 for each group stage match draw. So it is obvious why top clubs don’t give much importance to the tournament.

#3 Managers generally field a second team

Arsenal’s team that played Southampton included many reserve players

The managers of big clubs generally do not take this tournament very seriously. They give more importance to League matches and European fixtures as these tournaments will fetch more prize money.

Moreover, it’s the position of a team in the league that determines if they qualify for European tournaments. With immense competition in the Premier League now, managers cannot afford to take any league game lightly and therefore they save their best players for the Premier League and Champions League.

For example, Chelsea started players like John Obi Mikel, Mohamed Salah, Kurt Zouma and Loic Remy who rarely, or in some cases never, started a league game. They rested players like John Terry, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas.

#4 Extra Time leads to Player Fatigue

It is hard enough that the League Cup is played midweek, but the matters are made worse if the matches go into extra time.

Even though most teams do not generally use their first team players, some of them are used in these games. When these matches go to extra time, the players have to play an extra 30 minutes of football.

This is an injury risk in the first place, even if no one is injured. Some of these players have to play a league game three days later. This gives them very little time to get back to full match fitness and give their best in the next game.

Look at what happened between Liverpool and Middlesbrough. The game went into extra time and then we witnessed the longest penalty shootout in the history of the tournament. Key players like Raheem Sterling, Javi Manquillo and Adam Lallana had to play the full 120 minutes of the game.

Liverpool play Everton next in a very important Merseyside derby for both clubs. Having played for so long, it is very doubtful if these players can give their best against Everton if they start.

#5 Injuries

Lucas suffered an injury against Chelsea in a League Cup game which kept him out for several months

Due to the congestion of fixtures players, do not get enough rest between games. As professional footballers their physical condition is very important. Most managers rest many of their top players and rotate the squad, but sometimes the fixture demands the inclusion of certain players in the squad. This has often led to injuries.

The very best example that can be given is that of Lucas Leiva. Lucas was Liverpool’s player of the season in 2010/11. That season he made the most number of tackles in Europe.

Lucas had started the next season brilliantly under Kenny Dalglish. The Reds played Chelsea on Novermber 20 and then Manchester City on Novermber 27. Two days later they had to play Chelsea in an away fixture in the League Cup. Dalglish had to rest many of his key players to try and avoid injuries, but he had to play Lucas Leiva.

The Brazilian tore the ligaments on his knee in the game and was out of action for nearly eight months. After he made his return to the squad he was injured once again and was out for few more months. Even though Lucas has recovered from the injury after a long period away from the pitch, he has never found the form that he had before the injury.