Of course, Tottenham won last year’s cup with Juande Ramos at the helm, but the manager Ramos reconstructed his side through the off season and now he is gone, while Tottenham languish at the bottom of the table. This year, a new manager Harry Redknapp guides Spurs into Wembley, fresh off guiding his old club to a Cup win there last year, as Portsmouth won the FA Cup.
Only Three League Champions
In the Premier League era, only three League/Carling/whatever else Cup champions have gone on to win the Premier League. Manchester United did the feat twice, and Chelsea once. Six others have managed top-four places and thus guaranteed Champions League qualification.
Although no League Cup winner in the Premier League era has ever been relegated the following season, Aston Villa flirted with going down after their 1994 triumph, finishing 18th in a then 22 team Premier League. Leicester City, winners in 2000 scraped a 13th spot after their win, but were still clear of a relegation battle.
No Repetition
In the competition’s long history – the first final was played in 1961, won by Aston Villa – only two teams have repeated as champions. Nottingham Forest have the distinction of having been the first double winners in 1978-79, plus they did the double again in 1989-90. Interestingly, Forest also lost the cup final in 1980. Liverpool are the only other team, keeping their hands on the cup for four straight years from 1981-84.
Only two teams, Arsenal and Middlesbrough, have lost two consecutive finals, while the Gunners, Manchester United, Leicester City and Chelsea, have appeared in consecutive finals and experienced both ecstasy and despair in those years.
Possible Reasons
The League Cup has, especially recently, been viewed as either a chance to blood youngsters or to some, a nuisance on the schedule. This means that lower league and lower table opposition have the chance to capitalize on some weakened teams.
In the 2008-09 rendition, Arsenal fielded one of the youngest squads ever assembled for a first team fixture, with an average age of between 18- and 19-years-old. The youthful gunners were eventually deposed in the Quarterfinals, but not before embarrassing Championship side Sheffield United 6-0 and beating Premier League side Wigan as well.
Other top level sides have followed this practice in one way or another, leading to wonky results such as Liverpool and Chelsea dropping out to lower league opponents.
When teams employ this strategy, it is likely not even close to the same squad on the pitch the following year.
Then there's the "magic of the cup". Lower league teams will view a Premier League scalp as a massive prize in their history and often seem to elevate their game against top competition. How else to explain last season's EPL doormat Derby County almost knocking Manchester United out this year? They were the only team to score on United in 15 games. And they did it twice in that span!
So while FA Cup winners often go on to greater glory from winning England’s most prestigious trophy, Carling Cup winners at least get a nice medal and 15 minutes of fame. Good luck to Tottenham and Manchester United then.
