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Let's take a moment to appreciate Stockport's impressive run! Despite a setback against Coventry, the team displayed resilience and determination. Great results bar the match against Coventry. The solid display at the back is a testament to the potential for future success. Keep up the great work!!
@Legend_Sp1rit wrote:Let's take a moment to appreciate Stockport's impressive run! Despite a setback against Coventry, the team displayed resilience and determination. Great results bar the match against Coventry. The solid display at the back is a testament to the potential for future success. Keep up the great work!!
Thanks mate. Yes, Coventry game is the disappointment of the season so far, but having just watched their recent performance at Wembley IRL, perhaps it isn't the most surprising opponent to lose to.
Luckily things went better in the other group game in the BSM trophy - update coming up shortly.
Completely forgot there was such a thing as an EFL Trophy..., that suddenly increases the appeal of doing a L1 or L2 team. A trophy is a trophy and third time is the charm - Stockport lost the two finals it has competed in up until this point.
@Danimal5981 wrote:Completely forgot there was such a thing as an EFL Trophy..., that suddenly increases the appeal of doing a L1 or L2 team. A trophy is a trophy and third time is the charm - Stockport lost the two finals it has competed in up until this point.
Yes, apparently so. Hadn't checked up on this myself, as it's also a tournament that I happen to forget about. To be fair, there ARE also a lot of domestic cups in England. I'm not sure I fully understand why they don't just have the FA Cup and that's it. I think there are two domestic cups in France, but other countries only have one, don't they? DfB-pokal, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia. I'm not sure, but I find it a bit redundant to make the clubs play two, let alone three cups. Especially when complaining about a schedule with little room for recovery.
Yes, runner-ups in 1992 and 1993, hopefully I can make a push for a title here. Could be fun. And even if I miss it this season and win a promotion, I should have another go from a League One position.
- @JustinCase0110 @Danimal5981
Quick bit of history.
Obviously, as the oldest cup competition in the world, the FA Cup is the real deal. It saddens me how it's being relegated so much following pressure from the Premier League. Players used to really value appearing in the final, let alone winning it, and it's sad to see it relegated to such lowly status.
The Football League Cup (as it was originally known; currently the Carabao Cup) was started in season 1960-61 by the...er...Football League as a competitor to the FA Cup, which is of course the possession of the Football Association. A number of top teams did not compete in the competition at the start, which meant that, for a while, the lower division teams stood a chance of winning it. That's why early winners were teams like Swindon Town and Norwich City - Norwich normally residing in the third tier at that time. 'Big' teams only really took notice of it when the winners got access to European football, and only then when that access became the Europa League. Unlike the FA Cup, which still has rounds at weekends, it has always been 'midweek' rounds for this cup. It is only open to football league sides - the 92 teams - whereas the FA Cup is open to all teams in England, including non-league.
The EFL Trophy is much younger (created in the 1980s); created to provide a bit of extra incentive for lower division sides to actually have a chance at winning something. In recent years, they've also opened it up to the academy sides of the bigger teams, although I believe that such teams do not qualify out of the groups. I could be wrong about that, but at the very least, none of the academy sides have ever won it.
So, the Carabao Cup (as currently is) was an attempt by the Football League to compete with the FA, and the EFL Trophy is only aimed at lower-division clubs. That's why there are three domestic cup competitions in England, not including the other two - the non-league FA Trophy and FA Vase, which are only open to non-league clubs.
In this country, we like our cup competitions... 🙂
