The football league cup was formed in 1981 and is now known as the Carling Cup. It is played on a knock out basis and only 92 clubs can enter, consisting of 20 from the English premiership, and 72 clubs from the football league. It is a great incentive for any team to win the Carling Cup as it means the team gains a lucrative place in the UEFA Europa League. Since the competition started it has had various names such as:

Milk Cup - years from 1981 to 1986

Littlewoods Challenge Cup – years from 1986 to 1990

Rumbelows Cup – years from 1990 to 1992

Coca Cola Cup – years from 1992 to 1998

Worthington Cup – years from 1998 to 2003

Carling Cup – years from 2003 to present

There are two unique characteristics of the competition. One is that the format of the Carling Cup draw, as there is no quarter final. The second is that it is the only competition that finishes so early on in the season. Take the 2009 to 2010 competition.

Round 1 – 10^TH of August Round 2 – 24^th of August Round 3 – 21^st of September

Round 4 – 26^th of October Round 5 – 30^th of November

Semi-Final (Leg 1) 11^th and 18^th of January 2010

Semi- Final (Leg 2) 18^th and the 25^th of January 2010

The Carling Cup Final is on Sunday the 28^th February 2010, location being Wembley stadium.

The great thing about this competition is that it is seen by the big clubs as a lower priority competition. Many managers of top clubs see it as a perfect opportunity to play weaker sides, giving the up and coming talent a chance to show off their skills in front of a huge crowd and sometimes a television audience. This is when giant killing can occur, where a club in the second division knocks out a very strong club in the English Premiership. This can build to a fantastic Carling Cup final as along the way the large teams can be knocked out of the competition. For example in 1988 Luton Town won the competition by defeating Arsenal. Another more recent example is in 2005 where Grimsby Town knocked out Liverpool.

Below is a list of winners of the Carling Cup in the most recent years

Year 2000 Leicester City                          Year 2001 Liverpool

Year 2002 Middlesbrough                         Year 2003 Liverpool

Year 2004 Middlesbrough                         Year 2005 Chelsea

Year 2006 Manchester United                   Year 2007 Chelsea

Year 2008 Tottenham Hotspur                   Year 2009 Manchester United

Year 2010 Manchester United                    Year 2011 Birmingham City

As you can see the usual teams do win most years but on the other hand teams like Tottenham and Middlesbrough that can defy all odds and win. This again is down to big teams not playing full strength sides but also because of the Carling Cup draw which if you are lucky can give an easy route to the semi’s or even the final. These two reasons can easily account for a smaller team’s success.

This season Manchester United are the current champions and if they win the Carling Cup this year they will become the third team to retain the league cup which started with Nottingham Forest in the 1989/1990 season. Liverpool who were knocked out this year are actually the most successful club being in the final ten times and winning the tournament seven times. However the Carling Cup this year should be very interesting with Manchester United taking their rivals Aston Villa who have been a thorn in the paw of the giants of the Premiership. Aston Villa are a rejuvenated side in the last few years under management Martin O'Neil, who has taken a side used to struggling in the lower half of the Premiership and transformed them into Europa League position contenders, and are even currently battling for the coveted 4th position Champions League spot. It will be undoubtedly a great Carling Cup final and one that is too close to call. There is no home advantage for the two teams however the bookies are backing Manchester United as the favourites. Although never forget that Martin O’Neil in recent years led Leicster and Celtic to many victories in league titles and cups. There is no reason why he cannot do the same for Aston Villa.

This competition although being seen as not that important in the big teams eyes, the Carling Cup is not viewed like that by the media. Sky signed the rights to all these matches in 1997 so it will be shown all over the world in Australia, India, United States and Canada.

Ian Ryan created this article on February 20^th 2010. He is the webmaster at www.footballbettingtips.co.uk and is to  here to educate you about football and the betting opportunities that present themselves in certain competitions.