The League Cup
The League Cup is a knock out cup competition for the 92 league clubs in England.
It carries less prestige than the FA Cup, and is seen by some of the big clubs as an opportunity to give reserve and youth team players first team experience.
It does however offer the winner a route into Europe, via a UEFA Cup slot.
Since 1982, the League Cup has been named after its sponsor, leading it to be refered to by the following names;
- Milk Cup (1981/82 to 1985/86)
- Littlewoods Cup (1986/87 to 1989/90)
- Rumbelows Cup (1990/91 and 1991/92)
- Coca-Cola Cup (1992/93 to 1997/98)
- Worthington Cup (1998/99 to 2002/03)
- Carling Cup (2003/04 to present)
The competition was introduced in the 1960-61 season as a mid-week floodlit tournament.
In the early years, many of the top teams declined to take part, and were only persuaded when UEFA Cup qualification was offered to the winners, and the final was switched from a two-legged home and away affair to a Wembley showpiece.
Because the top teams often field weakened sides in the competition, League Cup giantkillings cause less of a sensation than those in the FA Cup.
There have however been some notable upsets such as, Fourth Division, Chester beating League champions Leeds United 3-0 in 1974-75, and Swindon Town beating Arsenal 3-1 in the 1967 final.
League Cup Winners
| Liverpool |
7 |
| Aston Villa |
5 |
| Chelsea |
4 |
| Nottingham Forest |
4 |
| Tottenham Hotspur |
4 |
| Leicester City |
3 |
| Manchester United |
3 |
| Arsenal |
2 |
| Manchester City |
2 |
| Norwich City |
2 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers |
2 |
| Birmingham City |
1 |
| Blackburn Rovers |
1 |
| Leeds United |
1 |
| Luton Town |
1 |
| Middlesbrough |
1 |
| Oxford United |
1 |
| Queens Park Rangers |
1 |
| Sheffield Wednesday |
1 |
| Stoke City |
1 |
| Swindon Town |
1 |
| West Bromwich Albion |
1 |
League Cup Finals
*Early
Finals were played on a home and away basis
|
| 1961(1) |
Rotherham United |
2 |
Aston Villa |
0 |
| 1961(2) |
Aston Villa |
3 |
Rotherham United |
0 (aet) |
|
Aston Villa won 3-2 on aggregate |
| 1962(1) |
Rochdale |
0 |
Norwich City |
3 |
| 1962(2) |
Norwich City |
1 |
Rochdale |
0 |
|
Norwich City won 4-0 on aggregate |
| 1963(1) |
Birmingham City |
3 |
Aston Villa |
1 |
| 1963(2) |
Aston Villa |
0 |
Birmingham City |
0 |
|
Birmingham City won 3-1 on
aggregate |
| 1964(1) |
Stoke City |
1 |
Leicester City |
1 |
| 1964(2) |
Leicester City |
3 |
Stoke City |
2 |
|
Leicester City won 4-3 on
aggregate |
| 1965(1) |
Chelsea |
3 |
Leicester City |
2 |
| 1965(2) |
Leicester City |
0 |
Chelsea |
0 |
|
Chelsea won 3-2 on aggregate |
| 1966(1) |
West Ham United |
2 |
West Bromwich Albion |
1 |
| 1966(2) |
West Bromwich Albion |
4 |
West Ham United |
1 |
|
West Bromwich Albion won 5-3 on
aggregate |
| * From 1967 the Final was
played as a single match |
| 1967 |
Queens Park Rangers |
3 |
West Bromwich Albion |
2 |
| 1968 |
Leeds United |
1 |
Arsenal |
0 |
| 1969 |
Swindon Town |
3 |
Arsenal |
1 (aet) |
| 1970 |
Manchester City |
2 |
West Bromwich Albion |
1 (aet) |
| 1971 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
2 |
Aston Villa |
0 |
| 1972 |
Stoke City |
2 |
Chelsea |
1 |
| 1973 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
1 |
Norwich City |
0 |
| 1974 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers |
2 |
Manchester City |
1 |
| 1975 |
Aston Villa |
1 |
Norwich City |
0 |
| 1976 |
Manchester City |
2 |
Newcastle United |
1 |
| 1977 |
Aston Villa |
0 |
Everton (aet) |
0 (aet) |
| Replay |
Aston Villa |
1 |
Everton (aet) |
1 (aet) |
| Replay |
Aston Villa |
3 |
Everton (aet) |
2 (aet) |
| 1978 |
Nottingham Forest |
0 |
Liverpool (aet) |
0 |
| Replay |
Nottingham Forest |
1 |
Liverpool |
0 |
| 1979 |
Nottingham Forest |
3 |
Southampton |
2 |
| 1980 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers |
1 |
Nottingham Forest |
0 |
| 1981 |
Liverpool |
1 |
West Ham United |
1 |
| Replay |
Liverpool |
2 |
West Ham United (aet) |
1 (aet) |
| 1982 |
Liverpool |
3 |
Tottenham Hotspur (aet) |
1 (aet) |
| 1983 |
Liverpool |
2 |
Manchester United (aet) |
1 (aet) |
| 1984 |
Liverpool |
0 |
Everton (aet) |
0 (aet) |
| Replay |
Liverpool |
1 |
Everton (aet) |
0 (aet) |
| 1985 |
Norwich City |
1 |
Sunderland |
0 |
| 1986 |
Oxford United |
3 |
Queens Park Rangers |
0 |
| 1987 |
Arsenal |
2 |
Liverpool |
1 |
| 1988 |
Luton Town |
3 |
Arsenal |
2 |
| 1989 |
Nottingham Forest |
3 |
Luton Town |
1 |
| 1990 |
Nottingham Forest |
1 |
Oldham Athletic |
0 |
| 1991 |
Sheffield Wednesday |
1 |
Manchester United |
0 |
| 1992 |
Manchester United |
1 |
Nottingham Forest |
0 |
| 1993 |
Arsenal |
2 |
Sheffield Wednesday |
1 |
| 1994 |
Aston Villa |
3 |
Manchester United |
1 |
| 1995 |
Liverpool |
2 |
Bolton Wanderers |
1 |
| 1996 |
Aston Villa |
3 |
Leeds United |
0 |
| 1997 |
Leicester City |
1 |
Middlesbrough |
1 (aet) |
| Replay |
Leicester City |
1 |
Middlesbrough |
0 (aet) |
| 1998 |
Chelsea |
2 |
Middlesbrough |
0 (aet) |
| 1999 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
1 |
Leicester City |
0 |
| 2000 |
Leicester City |
2 |
Tranmere Rovers |
1 |
| 2001 |
Liverpool |
1 |
Birmingham City |
1 (aet) |
|
Liverpool won 5-4 on penalties
|
| 2002 |
Blackburn Rovers |
2 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
1 |
| 2003 |
Liverpool |
2 |
Manchester United |
0 |
| 2004 |
Middlesbrough |
2 |
Bolton Wanderers |
1 |
| 2005 |
Chelsea |
3 |
Liverpool |
2 (aet) |
| 2006 |
Manchester United |
4 |
Wigan Athletic |
0 |
| 2007 |
Chelsea |
2 |
Arsenal |
1 |
| 2008 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
2 |
Chelsea (aet) |
1 (aet) |
| 2009 |
Manchester United |
0 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
0 |
|
Manchester United won 4-1 on
penalties |
| 2010 |
Manchester United |
2 |
Aston Villa |
1 |
League Cup Records
Final
Most wins : 7, Liverpool
Highest scoreline: Manchester United 4-0 Wigan Athletic (2005-06)
Most appearances (team): 10, Liverpool
Most wins (individual): 5, Ian Rush (Liverpool, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1994-95)
Most defeats in League Cup final: 4,
- Arsenal
- Manchester United
Most appearances without winning: 2
- Bolton Wanderers
- Everton
- West Ham United
Lowest Ranked Winners:
- Queens Park Rangers
- Swindon Town (both Third Division)
All rounds
Biggest win (single match): 10-0,
- West Ham United 10-0 Bury (Second round, second leg, 25/112/1983)
- Liverpool 10-0 Fulham (Second round, first leg, 23/9/1986)
Biggest win (aggregate): by 11 goals,
- Liverpool 13-2 Fulham (10-0 / 3-2, 1986)
- Bury 1-12 West Ham United (1-2 / 0-10, 1983)
- Liverpool 11-0 Exeter City (5-0 / 6-0, 1981)
- Watford 11-0 Darlington (8-0 / 3-0, 1987)
Most career goals: 49,
- Geoff Hurst (West Ham United and Stoke City, 1958 to 1976)
- Ian Rush (Liverpool and Newcastle United, 1980 to 1998)
Most goals in a single match: 6, Frankie Bunn (for Oldham Athletic v. Scarborough, 25/12/1989)
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