James Milton: Seeing Manchester City hog the EFL Cup may have piqued rivals' interest

Parents of young children will be aware of the phenomenon whereby a long-forgotten toy becomes enormously attractive to your child the moment another kid starts playing with it.

Obviously there is nothing infantile about the world of professional football, as demonstrated by the 66-year-old Richard Keys's recent tirades against players who cut holes in their socks.

But might there be an element of playroom politics behind the fluctuating status of the EFL Cup, the final of which takes place at Wembley on Sunday?

The League Cup had become distinctly unloved in the early years of the 21st century, widely regarded as a blot on the schedule by managers, players and supporters of Premier League and EFL clubs.

As an Arsenal fan, my fondness for the competition was sorely tested by a shambolic defeat against Birmingham in the 2011 final and a humiliating quarter-final loss to League Two Bradford two years later.

The Bantams were then thumped 5-0 by Swansea in the final but the following season, 2013-14, marked the start of Manchester City's dominant sequence of six EFL Cup triumphs in eight years.

Pep Guardiola led the Citizens to four successive League Cups between 2018 and 2021 and the sight of Pep having so much fun with the EFL Cup seemed to stir the interest of his peers.

Sunday's finalists Liverpool and Chelsea also met in the 2022 final while last term there was plenty of pre-match hype over the clash between Manchester United, in their first campaign under Erik ten Hag, and Newcastle, who were bidding for a first domestic trophy since Roy Hodgson was in short trousers.

The massed ranks of the Toon Army left Wembley disappointed after a 2-0 defeat to the Red Devils and Sunday's game is also a significant one for both finalists.

Chelsea, languishing in tenth place in the Premier League after a campaign marred by injuries and inconsistency, are hoping that Mauricio Pochettino can emulate Ten Hag by lifting the EFL Cup in his first season in charge.

For Liverpool, the final is an important milestone on Jurgen Klopp's farewell tour. The Reds are top of the Premier League, favourites for the Europa League and through to the fifth round of the FA Cup, in which they host Championship side Southampton on Wednesday.

The, admittedly modest, renaissance of the EFL Cup is encouraging and, again, Guardiola deserves credit for the respect he has shown the competition.

City's appetite for League Cup success provided a reminder to other clubs that winning trophies is quite nice and you shouldn't be too snobbish about which bits of silverware you manage to get your hands on.

Perhaps the lustre of the EFL Cup will increase in an impatient social-media age when any teams failing to win the quadruple are derided as bottlers, chokers and banter merchants while West Ham fans are disgruntled with boss David Moyes because they haven't won a European final for eight months.

Maybe the penny has dropped that the hunt for trophies is a zero-sum game – when one club win a competition, all the others lose it – so it makes sense to have a decent crack at the low-hanging fruit of the League Cup.  

Naturally, though, the cup winners' celebrations at Wembley on Sunday must remain proportionate to the occasion otherwise Keysie will have another reason to throw his toys out of the pram.

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