:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61097265/453674592.jpg.0.jpg)
Here are three things we learned about Leeds crashing out of the League Cup to Preston on Tuesday.
1. Leeds are not invincible
So Leeds United aren’t going to go undefeated in all competitions. No big deal.
That was awful. If we're going to have an awful performance I am glad it was in the league cup, but that performance had no redeeming features.
— Mighty Whites Pod (@mightywhitespod) August 28, 2018
Get it wide, cross poorly, repeat until game ends.
Not end of world to be out of the cup though. #lufc #MOT
Leeds laid an egg against Preston on Tuesday, and maybe that will get a stinker out of the teams’s system before the match against Middlesbrough tonight. While there have been a couple significant additions to the squad, notably Barry Douglas at left back, these are the same players that limped to a mediocre finish last year. Marcelo Bielsa’s coaching has revolutionized this team, but this team hasn’t suddenly been replaced by the Arsenal team of 2002-03.
2. The League Cup is still meaningless
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/12759531/Screenshot__18_.png)
Since 2008, only two non “top six” sides have won the League Cup, and one them, Birmingham City, was even relegated the year they won. League Cup success is meaningless when it comes to determining if a team is going to be promoted.
League Cup exists of Promoted Teams
| 2018 | Cardiff | Out 2nd Round |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Cardiff | Out 2nd Round |
| 2018 | Fulham | Out 2nd Round |
| 2018 | Wolverhampton | Out 4th Round |
| 2017 | Newcastle | Out 5th Round |
| 2017 | Brighton | Out 3rd Round |
| 2017 | Huddersfield Town | Out 1st Round |
| 2016 | Burnley | Out 1st Round |
| 2016 | Middlesbrough | Out 5th Round |
| 2016 | Hull City | Out 5th Round |
| 2015 | Bournemouth | Out 5th Round |
| 2015 | Watford | Out 2nd Round |
| 2015 | Norwich City | Out 3rd Round* |
| 2014 | Leicester City | Out 5th Round |
| 2014 | Burnley | Out 4th Round |
| 2014 | QPR | Out 2nd Round |
| 2013 | Cardiff | Out 1st Round |
| 2013 | Hull City | Out 2nd Round |
| 2013 | Crystal Palace | Out 2nd Round |
| 2012 | Reading | Out 1st Round |
| 2012 | QPR | Out 5th Round |
| 2012 | West Ham United | Out 1st Round |
Looking at the past seven years of teams promoted from the Championship to the Premier League, no trend develops when it comes to what round the team has gone out and how they’ve done in the Championship.
In fact the result that has been most common is going out in the second match played in the competition, just like Leeds did this year.
3. The EFL needs to get it’s stuff together. It’s 2018, we should be able to watch every game on TV or online
Right now, in the United States, you can stream matches from the Chinese Super League on ESPN+, but you can’t view almost all of the early round League Cup matches anywhere but the ground, as even the EFL teams with the ability to stream live league matches can’t show them to customers abroad.
Of course in England, the fear is that if the matches are shown live, that it will impact the attendance of the matches, and that the grounds will be empty.
Clubs often get criticised for not taking the #CarabaoCup seriously. But it seems to be rubbing off on fans too. Last night’s attendances really poor. Worst ever for #HullCity’s KCOM Stadium, just 1,934 at #Wycombe, and the only crowd over 15,000 coming at #lufc
— Paul Brown (@pbsportswriter) August 29, 2018
The argument against showing all of the matches is that it would hurt attendance doesn’t hold much weight when the grounds are already pretty much empty.
The clubs put out their second or third teams, and don’t seem to care that much about the result. No one is showing up at the grounds anyway, and it doesn’t seem like the lack of TV coverage is keeping fans coming to the grounds. Might as well make them available to stream or watch online at least.