Football Orphan: Time to take things seriously in the Carling Cup?

Tonights Carling Cup ties throw up an unusual conundrum for the top teams involved. Liverpool take on Chelsea, while Manchester City will take on Arsenal. Given that it’s at the quarter-final stage do all managers in charge  just go for it with a full team selection? Or do they take the conservative route and plot for greater things in the Premier League. The coach in the most difficult position must be AVB given his teams dismal recent run. In effect, if it goes badly wrong for his team tonight, it’s not beyond the realms of  possibility it could be his last game at the helm.

Arsene Wenger and Kenny Dalglish are under a softer kind of pressure. Regardless of the sticky patches they encounter, they will always have the backing of the supporters. It is impossible to think of a difficult scenario emerging from either exiting the Carling Cup at this stage, even with the heartbreak suffered by the Gunners in this competition last season at the final hurdle.

Roberto Mancini faces a perplexing decision though, it is abundantly clear that the Premier League is top priority, but facing elimination from the Champions League might turn the Carling Cup into a realistic chance at a domestic double. It can also represent a clubs over ambition with the failure to claim any trophies given the quantity of games, as has happened to other teams in the past.

We must have a winner from each tie this evening, including extra time and penalties if necessary. It appears to be down to the players selected to seize the opportunity rather than the coaches selection in my opinion. If a coach waters down the team to give peripheral players a game, it can simply become a question of a player trying to catch his managers eye, or a player not caring too much on a cold winters night competing in the League Cup. I am a traditionalist, I love to see a cup game with no expectations, this is exactly what this tournament offers. In essence, if you are a betting person these games are virtually unbackable. I say, let the lottery begin…..