Carling Cup Betting
The Carling Cup is yet another great British footballing feast that entertains the TV masses and proves a rich source of online betting activity during its nine month run amongst the virtual betting community. Numerous online bookmakers offer competitive odds on the outcome of individual matches and the teams they believe will still be challenging for the title in its latter stages. What's more, they also offer a myriad of prices on all manner of eventualities from the sublime, to the ridiculous to the cor blimey, including how many corners conceded, yellow and red cards brandishes by the referees, off-sides called by the officials, number worn on the back of the goalscorer and so on and so forth. The more outlandish or obscure the bet, the better for punter and bookie one way or another. Free bets entitlements can also be used in conjunction with bookmakers' Carling Cup betting markets for the most part too, which again increases the amount of money wagered on the tournament year on year.
The Carling Cup is contested annually between professional football clubs serving in the English domestic leagues, and gets under way in the middle of August, culminating in the final - held at the home of English football, Wembley Stadium - the following May. In its late summer infancy, teams from the lower divisions of the football league (and therein teams familiar with the Coca Cola League Football Betting scene) duke it out for the opportunity to face Coca Cola Championship, and eventually Barclays Premiership opposition as the rounds progress. Think of it like the FA Cup, only without the glamour and global appeal and you'll be on the right tracks.
Carling Cup Betting Provides Online Thrills And Spills
Which is effectively at the epicentre of its PR shortcomings. Formally known as anything and everything from the Milk Cup (1981 - 1986), Littlewoods Challenge Cup (1986 - 1990), Rumbelows Cup (1990 - 1992), Coca Cola Cup (1992 - 1998), Worthington Cup (1998 - 2003) and finally the Carling Cup (2003 - to date), it's fair to say the football league cup (as it's always referred to in a non-commercial sense) lives in the momentous shadow cast by the world-renown FA Cup, and therefore never really receives the credit it deserves. One of the main attractions of FA Cup Betting is the way it regularly captures the public's attentions - football fanatics or otherwise - by pitching semi-professionally run, part-time teams (and in some cases glorified pub sides) against the English footballing royalty; garnering coverage of these seeming David versus Goliath clashes that's beamed across the planet, as no other countries offer the same potential draws where the minnows of the game can slug it out with the soccer elite.
The Carling Cup doesn't afford participants or spectators this fairytale scenario, and therefore doesn't necessarily generate as much enthusiasm amongst the would-be Carling Cup betting community, probably due it's format not pandering to the classic British thirst for the underdog spirit to be depicted on the big screen, as none-League sides have no part to play in what's essentially remains as the Football League Cup, irrespective of which corporate sponsors' ribbons are attached to it. Although the views of the editor do not represent the opinions of the company. Note that nifty little disclaimer in there to cover our backs. You see whilst the FA Cup had some 762 football teams requesting entry into what stands as the oldest cup competition in the world in 2008/09, the Carling Cup is limited to the 72 clubs that comprise the English Football League and the 20 that make up the Premiership. And that's your lot, take it or leave it.
Free Bets Fans Can Wager On What Contentious Carling Cup Teams Ferguson And Wenger Will Field
Anyway, to put some positive spin on the whole Carling Cup betting thing, let's take a look at exactly what it says it does on the tin, and draw our own conclusions. Played as part of a knockout competition over the one leg (the semi-finals, over the two legs), ultimately at stake is an invite to mix it with Europe's elite in the following season's UEFA Europa League. Again, something that goes under the many different guises over the year including the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the European Cup Winner's Cup and the UEFA Cup, but has now settled on its new moniker.
Like everything linked to the beautiful game these days, the Carling Cup has seen its own share of controversy, never better illustrated then when the likes of the Premier League's leading lights have fielded much weakened sides at various stages in the competition. Much to the derision of lower league teams and their fans who would have hoped for a possible once in a lifetime glimpse of the Premiership's iconic players. Both Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal's Arsene Wenger have stood accused of cheating the real fans of an otherwise limited opportunity to witness some of the modern game's star turns up close and personal over the past decade as they've elected to send out a collection of perhaps past their best before date senior and thrusting but as yet unheard of academy players in place of the box office favourites.
Suggesting that they are systematically diluting the importance of the Carling Cup amongst the casual observer by their eyebrow-raising selections ahead of games, they counter these claims by insisting that they're simply rotating their squads and giving their younger players a chance to gain experience and shine by way of a defence. Yet to many disbelieving onlookers they're contentious decisions are simply seen as confirming their suspicions that to many Premiership clubs (and Premiership Football Betting followers) the Carling Cup is little more than a needless distraction from the big prizes; namely the Premier League title, Champions League successes'/qualification or a lucrative FA Cup run that season.
Giant-Killing Prospects Draw In Carling Cup Betting Football Fans
Of course a welcome upshot of this is the underlying fact that respective giant-killing exploits are more likely to occur as a result of Premier League Clubs insistence on *'resting' its high profile players/saving them for meaningful matches. *depending on your viewpoint. Which spells good news for Chairmen and owners of the more cash-strapped Football League clubs - and in turn their manager and fans - as gate receipts/advertising/TV rights for their continued 'road to Wembley' proves financially lucrative, often flooding the club coffers and arguably keeping some outfits afloat for another season; such is the chronic lack of funds further down the English league stratus. Every cloud, silver lining, etc.
Route To Wembley Appeals To Free Bets Fans
In order of appearance, this is how a typical Carling Cup season would pan out; The First Round would see teams from Leagues One and Two and The Championship compete against one another for the right to possible meet the big boys of the Premier League in Round Two. Which providing Premiership teams aren't challenging for honours in the UEFA Champions League or Europa League, will occur by design rather tan accident. Extra time and penalty shoot-outs are called upon if it's all square after the normal 90 minute encounter, as is the case with the previous round of fixtures. Again, the same rule of thumb applies to teams deadlocked after the series of Carling Cup Third Round games, which is the juncture at which clubs locked in UEFA Champions League and Europa League enter the fray.
The Fifth Round - or the Quarter Finals as such - follows the same match protocol, and the self same turn of events to decide a winner should teams be sharing the spoils after the 90 minutes of normal time have elapsed. The four Quarter Final victors face up to each other in the Semi Finals, and are decided over the two legs (both home and away team stadiums). Extra time is played if there's nothing to pick between the sides after the allotted 90 minutes, with an aggregate score used to decide the winner prior to instigation of this. If it's still level after extra time, the away goals rule is applied, while the last resort remains the dreaded, Lottery-like penalty shoot-out.
In terms of definitive Carling Cup successes over the years, and Liverpool FC hold the title of lifting the trophy more than any other team in its history; a total of 7 times. The Merseyside team have also appeared in more Carling Cup Finals (or Football League Finals per se) than any other club, currently standing at 10. Having something of a love affair with the competition, Liverpool also record the most tournament wins for an individual player (Ian Rush, 5 times) as well as two of its former players – Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish – boasting the most Final appearances as players with 5 apiece. However the highest goalscorer ever in the competition remains England 1966 hero, Geoff Hurst, with his impressive haul of 49 during his career.
