For years it was derided as the inferior domestic trophy. Yet Sam McGuire explains why the Carabao Cup is such an important springboard to further success.
It is just the Carabao Cup
That is the phrase often muttered whenever the team you support does not win the first piece of silverware of the season.
While rival fans are likely belittling Manchester United’s achievement, fans of the Red Devils have every right to be encouraged by their Wembley triumph. Not just because it is the club’s first trophy since 2017 but because of what it often leads.
It is a competition which has had many guises over the last 30 years but one thing has remained consistent throughout - it is viewed as an inferior trophy.
And yet, over recent years, it has been a precursor to further success. It isn’t just the Carabao Cup. It is success. As we know, success breeds success.
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Liverpool claimed the Carabao Cup last season and ended the season just two positive results away from a historic quadruple. The campaign prior to that, Manchester City completed a Carabao Cup and Premier League title double, also reaching the Champions League final.
In fact, City are the only team over the past nine seasons to have won the Carabao Cup and not followed it up with another trophy in the same campaign, with that being the case during the 2019/20 season.
Now, the case could be made that ever since Swansea City’s success during the 2012/13 season, the Carabao Cup winners have always been one of the best teams in the Premier League. Manchester City have won it six times, while Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea are the only other teams to have claimed the trophy during that period.
When Chelsea won it, they paired it with the Premier League title. Liverpool did the domestic cup double while Manchester United, under Jose Mourinho, went on to claim the Europa League.
This isn’t to say success in this competition guarantees more success but it does appear to give teams a platform for bigger and better things.
Why should this United team be any different?
The Red Devils are only eight points off the top and do have an outside chance of the title (best price 14/1). But if they keep there or thereabouts, who knows what might happen this season? While the Premier League title might be a long shot, they might fancy their chances in both the FA Cup (7/2) and the Europa League (5/2).
You can get 15/1 for United to complete the other two parts of a cup treble.
United have a favourable tie at Old Trafford against West Ham United in the fifth round of the FA Cup. They are one of the favourites for the trophy this season with many of the big teams already out of the competition.
Their reward for knocking La Liga leaders Barcelona out in the last round of the Europa League is a tie against Real Betis. Though the Spanish side have performed well to reach this stage of the tournament, Erik ten Hag’s side will head into the game as firm favourites to progress.
It may just be the Carabao Cup right now but United’s season is far from over. This could be the first of multiple trophies added to the cabinet come the end of the campaign. It won’t be the biggest but it will always be the first of the ten Hag era.
