RabidAl Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 We’ve a couple of interesting League Cup Semis to look forward to this year, but it’s a pretty stale format that lacks identity - especially when compared to the Scottish Cup. I'd be interested to see a format along the lines of the original Champions’ League, with two semi-final groups of 4 teams and the winners progressing to the final. If you had 4 teams per group and playing each other just once each, you’d keep the cup-tie feel of the competition. So you’d guarantee each of the 8 semi-finalists 3 matches: one home semi-final, one away, and you could have the last round of the semis at neutral venues (which we already do anyway). That’d be 12 League Cup semi-final matches each season, with the 8 clubs involved benefiting from more interest and revenue than you get at the moment. It would make the last 16 matches much more interesting, as they’d have the added incentive of the winners going straight into the semis. The other earlier rounds of the cup would also be more interesting as the wee clubs could see that they’d have a much more realistic chance of reaching the semi-final groups (and 3 guaranteed games against good opposition with bigger fanbases) than they do of reaching the current semi finals, of either cup. Any ‘dead rubbers’ (ahem) in the final round of the semi groups could either be cancelled or just played as a friendly. You’d also only need to find one more fixture date, because the semi-final groups would basically be the current quarters and semis rolled into one; you could have them scheduled each January, for example, possibly on a consecutive Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday to add to the focus and intensity of the competition… Any good?? What would improve the competition and get more folk interested? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meddabhoy Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Tbh I think they should just do away with league cup and go the way the Spanish Italians etc do and have the one cup and through everyone in from round one 2 legs all the way with no seeding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booker-T Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Tbh I think they should just do away with league cup and go the way the Spanish Italians etc do and have the one cup and through everyone in from round one 2 legs all the way with no seeding Kill the duplicate cup and give us 2 legs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meddabhoy Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 1 leg then lol......just don't see the point in 2 cups especially when you can't find a sponser and don't like the seeding of the league cup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drs Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Anyone who thinks groups are the way ahead in the League Cup is clearly too young to remember how group stages all but killed the competition in the early 80s. Thank feck for the Skol Cup at the time that did it the right way, groups are gone - even the Champions League is seeing the group stages stink the place up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Weve a couple of interesting League Cup Semis to look forward to this year, but its a pretty stale format that lacks identity - especially when compared to the Scottish Cup. I'd be interested to see a format along the lines of the original Champions League, with two semi-final groups of 4 teams and the winners progressing to the final. If you had 4 teams per group and playing each other just once each, youd keep the cup-tie feel of the competition. So youd guarantee each of the 8 semi-finalists 3 matches: one home semi-final, one away, and you could have the last round of the semis at neutral venues (which we already do anyway). Thatd be 12 League Cup semi-final matches each season, with the 8 clubs involved benefiting from more interest and revenue than you get at the moment. It would make the last 16 matches much more interesting, as theyd have the added incentive of the winners going straight into the semis. The other earlier rounds of the cup would also be more interesting as the wee clubs could see that theyd have a much more realistic chance of reaching the semi-final groups (and 3 guaranteed games against good opposition with bigger fanbases) than they do of reaching the current semi finals, of either cup. Any dead rubbers (ahem) in the final round of the semi groups could either be cancelled or just played as a friendly. Youd also only need to find one more fixture date, because the semi-final groups would basically be the current quarters and semis rolled into one; you could have them scheduled each January, for example, possibly on a consecutive Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday to add to the focus and intensity of the competition Any good?? What would improve the competition and get more folk interested? You obviously think about this kind of thing a lot. But you always come up with formats that would be disasterous. It looks like you have no experience of how football has been organised in the past and want to repeat mistakes made years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeLurker Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I'd make it for the top 16 the previous season only. The other 26 could play the Challenge Cup with a bye for the second tier clubs initially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Leyenda Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 They should have played the semi-finals on the weekend of 29/30 nov when they were playing the Scottish Cup, and instead played the Scottish cup ties at the end of January. We could then have had the final this month. Bizarre that we've both a long wait between the last rounds of both cups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I agree that the hiatus in the Scottish Cup isn't helpful. But they wouldn't play the LC Final in January, potential weather being the most obvious reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elixir Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 The League Cup should go back to being done and dusted before Christmas. The fourth round of the Scottish Cup should also revert back to its traditional slot after the New Year. But of course, the people running our game are utter cretins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyle Lanley Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 The League Cup should go back to being done and dusted before Christmas. The fourth round of the Scottish Cup should also revert back to its traditional slot after the New Year. But of course, the people running our game are utter cretins. ^^^^ This c**t kens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 The League Cup should go back to being done and dusted before Christmas. I think most fans would say the same - even myself, as an ideal. How would you actually achieve it, though? You don't want a December final, for various reasons, and November is difficult in the extreme due to UEFA & FIFA dates. They only went over to the current date format because of the expansion in the Champions League, and nothing has changed recently on that front except the freeing-up of 1 midweek in August (but the corresponding loss of 1 midweek in November every 2yrs). You would probably have to try to find a way to get the QFs, currently played on the free midweek at the end of October, played a month earlier so that you could play the SFs in October and the Final in November. There's no way you could turn around the SFs and a Final after the current QFs. EDIT: Infact throughout the 1990s the QFs were generally played in early/mid September, the SFs in mid/late October, and the Final in late November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhoy who invented weetabix Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 When I were a lad (cue Hovis music) the League/Skol cup final was played the last weekend in October Two main reasons that isnt feasible now is the vastly increased international fixtures and same with club european fixtures, you would realistically need four blank midweeks between August and end of October so this and similar proposals are a non starter sadly, pity as I enjoyed the older format from the 80's and 90"s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Yep, that's the issue - under the current system there are only 3 blank midweeks before December!! (In early August, late September, late October). Of course, there would be nothing stopping them playing earlier rounds on weekends... but, the problem there is that you end-up with more league games on midweek (lower crowds; potential impact on ST sales), and combined with international breaks the clubs eliminated early-on would have a stop-start autumn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AberDon Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Tbh I think they should just do away with league cup and go the way the Spanish Italians etc do and have the one cup and through everyone in from round one 2 legs all the way with no seeding Two legs would be shite, just protects the bigger clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Leyenda Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I agree that the hiatus in the Scottish Cup isn't helpful. But they wouldn't play the LC Final in January, potential weather being the most obvious reason. If they can play Hampden semi-finals in January, then they can play a final in January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elixir Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I think most fans would say the same - even myself, as an ideal. How would you actually achieve it, though? You don't want a December final, for various reasons, and November is difficult in the extreme due to UEFA & FIFA dates. They only went over to the current date format because of the expansion in the Champions League, and nothing has changed recently on that front except the freeing-up of 1 midweek in August (but the corresponding loss of 1 midweek in November every 2yrs). You would probably have to try to find a way to get the QFs, currently played on the free midweek at the end of October, played a month earlier so that you could play the SFs in October and the Final in November. There's no way you could turn around the SFs and a Final after the current QFs. EDIT: Infact throughout the 1990s the QFs were generally played in early/mid September, the SFs in mid/late October, and the Final in late November. Just run it the same way it used to be run. It really isn't difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Except it is. There aren't enough free midweeks to run it the way it was before 2000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elixir Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Except it is. There aren't enough free midweeks to run it the way it was before 2000. Why? It's not as if there are several Scottish clubs still in Europe in November/December ffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 If there is even 1 (e.g. Celtic in CL/EL group) then the competition would be delayed. It's irrelevant in any case as UEFA rules prevent league or cup matchdays being scheduled for their dates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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