Why I still love the League Cup

Every year, usually around the second and third rounds, we all revisit the debate about the present and future worth of the Football League Cup. It's definitely the third trophy in terms of prestige, but I believe it remains relevant.

In fact, I'm a huge fan of the League Cup, currently sponsored by my friends at Carling. On Wednesday I'll be at Aston Villa's third round tie at home to Cardiff City, hoping that Martin O'Neill treats the tournament with the respect it deserves, having succumbed to QPR and Leicester City in recent attempts.

On both occasions O'Neill sent out under-strength teams which should still have beaten the opposition, but it was the lacklustre demeanour of the side which cost Villa the matches and highlighted the attitude of many clubs towards the Carling Cup.

But I think it's under-appreciated. It is, after all, a piece of silverware which most clubs are unlikely to win elsewhere - clubs like Villa have a better chance here because Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, despite giving their all in the matches themselves, rest most first team players.

For many fans, the prospect of a final at Wembley and a cup in the cabinet is more important than their clubs seem to realise. In 1994, Villa gave me the best pair of football afternoons of my life, turning around a 3-1 deficit against Tranmere to set up a phenomenal final victory over Manchested United. Two years later, I was at Wembley again as Villa beat Leeds United in the final.

To me, that matters. Villa, like many other clubs, will probably never win the league again. An FA Cup win is also unlikely given the fact that we haven't won it since 1957. So unless we want to live in a world where coming fourth is the only target, the League Cup should retain more importance.

The winners also qualify for the Europa League and, while Villa treat that with contempt too, that is still a success of which to be proud for most teams. Of course the Europa League is suffering from dwindling prestige too, but that's another post altogether.