League Cup vs FA Cup

[Sapphire]

I can't remember a discussion over this topic in the past, and I was wondering which competition do y'all feel is the superior: the FA cup or the league cup? Which would you rather United win and why?

I've never considered winning the league cup an important achievement in past seasons, perhaps because for the past few years we've been in serious contention to win the league and to at least stick around in Europe for awhile. However, I've always liked the FA cup particularly due to its history and its inclusiveness of multiple leagues.

Now that our season's success is hinging on the league and FA cups, I'd like your thoughts on how you think about and evaluate these competitions. Thanks.

[StrikerCW]

No question the FA Cup is MUCH more important than the league cup in terms of prestige. But the League Cup is very important in terms of helping to grow the youth on the team.

[Mac_Howard]

I've never considered winning the league cup an important achievement in past seasons, perhaps because for the past few years we've been in serious contention to win the league

It's amazing how important a cup suddenly becomes if it's the only trophy you stand a chance of winning :)

[listen_up_fergie]

It's amazing how important a cup suddenly becomes if it's the only trophy you stand a chance of winning :)

The FA Cup has always been a big deal for us - the League Cup much less so.

I think we should definitely try and win both. We're already in the semis of the League Cup and we've only got two more games to go - the second leg against Blackburn and the final against Wigan :p.
The FA Cup should always be one of our priorities and hopefully we'll go on to reach the finals as we have done in the past two seasons.

[Teso Dos Bichos]

FA Cup without question.

[Jayhawk]

I hope we win the League Cup, of course. But when they put me in charge of English football, one of the things I will try to instigate is taking the Premiership clubs out of it. It's at best a consolation prize, and the schedule is overcrowded already.

[MtP07]

FA Cup

[Motterman]

I don't care at all about the League Cup.

That being said, if you happen to find yourselves in a final of any cup, you'd like to win it. Last year, it was more about beating Chelsea than getting to the finals of this competition. I couldn't have cared less about that. It was all about putting a dent in Chelsea's league form by beating them - period.

In contrast, the FA Cup has a long and storied prestigious history, and I would love to win it every year.

[Achtung]

Consider that the FA Cup is the oldest football competition of any kind in the world. In fact the FA Cup was generally considered more important than the league until about the 1920s. The final is still one of the most-watched finals in the world, an amazing achievement in this age of internationals in club competitons. The stories of huge matches, upsets, and memorable performances by specific players fill the history of the FA Cup. Though few fans would still consider it as important as the league, its still by far the biggest domestic cup competition.

The league cup seemed like a better idea at the time, with clubs having installed lighting at their stadiums, it would allow them to take advantage of the ability to play more evening games. But as the importance of European matches grew, the league cup failed to attract much attention from the top clubs. In fact early on, many top teams simply didn't enter the competition. Of course at the same time, the fact that the top teams currently play reserve-level squads for the early rounds means that smaller clubs have a better chance to progress. So teams like Boro, Blackburn, Leicester, and Villa have won in recent years, teams that ordinarily might not have had much of a chance to win a trophy, and have gotten to the UEFA Cup that way, which is always helpful financially. I could see it possibly going the way of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in time if the bigger clubs put pressure on, but at the same time its a competition that has its own importance.

[Jayhawk]

Think of it thus: the FA Cup matters. The League Cup only matters if your club makes the semi-final round.

[Sapphire]

Thanks for the input. I think we have a common consensus view on this issue, which is actually a little strange -- nice, but strange.