Arsenal’s players react after the opening goal from FC Porto. Dec. 10, 2008. AP Photo/Paulo Duarte
It may not be the most prestigious trophy in English football, but the Carling Cup provides fans with plenty of entertainment nonetheless.
With big clubs such as Manchester United and Arsenal routinely using the competition as an opportunity to give up-and-coming and reserve players experience and a chance to impress, the League Cup has a tendency to be more attainable than most.
This coupled with the knockout format and the prize of a place in the Europa League, means there is good reason for those outside the so-called ‘big four’ to have a genuine tilt at the trophy.
The result is often fiercely fought contests between big guns and minnows that see either underdogs or a group of talented youngsters prevail.
With a combined total of 17 goals scored and heavyweights Arsenal and Chelsea eliminated from the competition, the 2009 Quarter Finals were no exception.
The pick of the draw saw a replay of last year’s Final between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, while elsewhere Blackburn hosted Chelsea, Manchester City faced Arsenal, and Aston Villa travelled south to take on Portsmouth.
Stewart Downing was given his first start for Aston Villa and he celebrated it with a goal as the Villains easily accounted for Portsmouth at Fratton Park.
Pompey managed an early goal when Stilian Petrov put through his own net but goals from English quartet Emile Heskey, Downing, Ashley Young and James Milner secured a 4-2 win for Villa with Kanu netting a second for Portsmouth late on.
At Old Trafford a lethargic looking Spurs outfit outplayed United’s young stars but were bested by two well taken goals from 22 year-old Irish international Darron Gibson in what turned out to be the round’s most lacklustre fixture.
On the sky blue side of Manchester, the roles were reversed in a decidedly more exciting encounter.
In a match played at a frenetic pace, a full strength Manchester City team triumphed over Arsene Wenger’s latest crop of talented kids.
Of the starters, only Alexandre Song and Tomas Rosicky can lay claim to a regular place in the Gunner’s first eleven, but that did not stop Arsenal from asking serious questions of City’s expensively assembled defence, particularly in an action-packed first half.
The Citizens’ class and experience came to the fore in the second period though, as they ran out 3-0 winners thanks to goals from Carlos Tevez, Shaun Wright-Phillips and youngster Vladimir Weiss.
Chelsea was also bundled out of the competition at the hands of Blackburn Rovers but only after the two sides were separated by penalties.
Facing a Chelsea side bereft of no fewer than seven first team regulars, Blackburn thrilled their fans at Ewood Park when a 2-2 fulltime scoreline became 3-3 after two halves of extra time.
Goalkeeper Paul Robinson was the hero in the shoot-out, saving spot kicks from Michael Ballack and teenager Gael Kakuta.
While it may not offer the prestige of the Premier League Trophy or the FA Cup, there are unique qualities to the Carling Cup that increasingly endear it to fans.
Whether it represents a rare and realistic shot at a trophy or simply an opportunity to showcase exciting football from some of tomorrow’s stars, the Carling Cup is a reliable source of competitive Cup Football.
Damen Francis
Roar Rookie
Well Mr Freud Tottenham were indeed very poor but to suggest United were the better team is absurd. United were there for the taking and but for poor finishing and amateur defending (Bassong had a 'mare) they would have lost. Anderson was, I agree, the best player on the park. He was extremely effective in breaking up play and ensuring Spurs were unable to lift the tempo of the match. He had little support though and Tottenham dominated long spells of the match and created more chances. Keane has been useless for the majority of the season so no surprises there, and Lennon suffered from the lack of intensity in Spurs' game which meant they were unable to provide him with the ball in decent areas. The change in Lennon's performance after the introduction of Huddlestone proved as much. Also to suggest Bentley is, as you put it, one of "the EPL’s supposed best wingers" is humourous considering there are few who consider him to be among the best wingers at his club at present. The ineffectiveness of the wingers though was superceded by the performances of the fullbacks Corluka and particularly Bale who got forward to good effect and created opportunities spurned by the likes of Keane and Defoe. Mind you, De Laet aside, United's defence was made up of Brown, Vidic and the Neviller - hardly muppets. Finally your point about the quality of Gibson's strikes was not only acknowledged in the article but backs up my argument. Gibson made the most of a rare opportunity to start and his performance was rewarded with a game (and a goal) against West Ham in the league on the weekend. Hard to imagine he would have been at the forefront of SAF's thinking before the CC tie. Anyway I think the CC offers something different and has produced some tremendous matches over the past few seasons. It's good for player development and open football as no-one cares enough to "park the bus."
Freud of Football
Roar Guru
I was skeptical with the title, then I read this; "At Old Trafford a lethargic looking Spurs outfit outplayed United’s young stars but were bested by two well taken goals from 22 year-old Irish international Darron Gibson in what turned out to be the round’s most lacklustre fixture." and sort of chuckled. Is this meant to be a wind-up? United looked comfortable from start to finish, de Laet didn't have a good game and two of the EPL's supposed best wingers couldn't even take advantage, Keane was useless and Defoe looked toothless and together they were village green quality. Spurs weren't even in the game, Anderson was by far best afield and controlled the game and Gibson's strikes were sublime. Where did they outplay them? In cribbage after the game? Scrap the CC altogether or at least let the EPL teams not participate, they've got enough on their plates without this mickey mouse comp.