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FIZZING WITH ANTICIPATION

There has long been a notion that the League Cup, in its many sponsorship guises, can be a “springboard” for future success. No other trophy has ever achieved springboard status, not even the Emirates Cup. It seems the idea was born around the time José Mourinho’s Chelsea were on the rise, fuelled by Roman Abramovich’s totally legitimate takeover, winning the Carling Cup in 2005 and then rocketing to back-to-back Premier League titles. Many of that Blues squad have since spoken about the three-handled Georgian silver cup as if it were some gateway drug to glory. And that Chelsea team went on some trips. You wouldn’t understand, man. We saw five trophies in two years, man.

If we were to continue the analogy, then Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team are sitting alone in the bar, still stone-cold sober, having not had a whiff of success since the FA Cup six years ago when their starting lineup included Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney and Nicolas Pépé. None of the players who featured in that 2020 final are still at the club, with Bukayo Saka – an 18-year-old unused substitute on the day – the only survivor from the matchday squad. It feels rather apt Arsenal are now staring at the Fizzy Cup as their potential trophy-drought quencher, given the Gunners have lost more finals in the competition than anyone else, last tasting victory in 1993, before any of their players were even born. It seems distinctly weird that Arsène Wenger won seven FA Cups but never a League Cup. No springboards there.

In the present day, it has taken four seasons for Arteta’s brave boys to finally ascend to Premier League title favourites, so anyone thinking Manchester City will give them an easy ride at Wembley on Sunday has probably had too many frothy Worthingtons. Pep Guardiola may be shuffling closer to the exit door, with his team a pale imitation of the trophy juggernauts that stormed to four successive Capital One Cups (how’s that for a springboard?), but City know how to win these pots. With those rumours swirling regarding a possible summer departure, this may be Guardiola’s last chance for a trophy in English football! The Catalan appeared irritable in midweek, sighing that “everyone wants to fire me” when a reporter dared to broach the topic of his City future. Maybe it’s the thought of only winning the League Cup in his final season at City that is getting Pep down. But what’s worse than only winning the League Cup?

Whoever triumphs, the outcome of Sunday’s final is unlikely to have much sway in the outcome of the title race, despite numerous momentum-based claims to the contrary. In reality, the cups stand alone. Just look at Arteta and that six-year wait for a second pot. The sad truth is that, while a nice springtime spectacle, this cup for most football fans is little more than a distraction from the real quiz of trying to cope without any Arsenal or Manchester City players in our Fantasy Football teams for an entire weekend.

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Join Tim de Lisle at 8pm (GMT) for Premier League updates on Bournemouth 0-0 Manchester United.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“These tough decisions come with the job. It is a sporting decision to stick with Jarell Quansah, Tino Livramento and with Djed Spence, who can all play for us in the right full-back position. I know it’s a big name. I think he’s a huge talent and has a big career but I feel that I know what [he] can give us and decided to stick to the players who were in camp with us” – Trent Alexander-Arnold looks like he will have a summer in front of the TV watching the Geopolitics World Cup after Thomas Tuchel left him out of his 35-man (subs, please check!) England squad.  

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

Am I alone or are there 1,056 others who see the irony in Xavi Simons declaring that, for Spurs, ‘every game is a cup final for us’ having just exited their third and final cup competition of the season?” – Glyn Berrington.

The way Barry deadpanned ‘Of the six teams that advanced to this season’s Round of Arsenal, only two (including Arsenal) made it into the quarter-finals’ puts me in mind of the old joke about 2010-11 Manchester City having ‘all the best players in the league (and Craig Bellamy)’. Fabulous stuff” – Rowan Sweeney.

If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day is … Rowan Sweeney. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.

RECOMMENDED LISTENING

Yee-haw! Max Rushden and Barry Glendenning went to the SXSW festival in Texas last week. With only a few months to go before the GWC, the pair were joined live on stage by the Big Website’s US soccer editor, Alexander Abnos, and Ted Lasso star, Brendan Hunt. Listen here.  

(BIGGER) ENGLAND SQUAD, IN FULL

The full list for the Wembley friendlies against Uruguay, Friday 27 March, and Japan, Tuesday 31 March.

Goalkeepers Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Manchester City), Aaron Ramsdale (Newcastle), Jason Steele (Brighton).

Defenders Dan Burn (Newcastle), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham), John Stones (Manchester City), Fikayo Tomori (Milan).

Midfielders Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), James Garner (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace), Morris Dancing Fiver (Retro Big Website).

Forwards Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona, on loan from Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham).

NEWS, BITS AND BOBS

There was – finally! – some relief for English sides in Europe last night as Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest progressed to the last eight of Bigger Vase, while Crystal Palace edged through in Tin Pot.

Entering a football stadium without a ticket is now a criminal offence, with fans who tailgate to be given banning orders of up to five years and £1,000 fines as per new government legislation.

Mohamed Salah will miss Liverpool’s trip to Brighton due to unspecified muscle-knack that has also made him a doubt for the FA Cup quarter-final trip to Manchester City.

The Premier League is poised to amend its new spending rules before they are even introduced, to give clubs greater flexibility in the transfer market. So look forward to better results in Europe, people!

It’s hard to imagine Michael Carrick ever getting angry but the Manchester United interim coach admitted to getting a bit “aggressive” in the dressing room after his only defeat as the club’s manager so far, at Newcastle. “There’s a time and a place,” for such displays of emotion, he seethed.

And speaking of getting antsy, Chelsea’s LinkedIn Liam has revealed the club have found and punished the pesky mole leaking their team news. “We know where it’s come from and we’ve dealt with the situation,” he simmered.

STILL WANT MORE?

Millwall securing a long-term lease at The Den from Lewisham Council is a major cause to celebrate for the club and its fans, cheers Barney Ronay.

Why have there been so many goals in the Bigger Cup knockout stages? Jonathan Wilson investigates.

Want some things to look out for in the Premier League and Milk Cup final this weekend? We’ve got you covered.

With Burnley and Wolves all but down, who will join them in the Championship? Harry Paterson takes a deep dive.

And our colleagues in the USA USA USA have explained the news MLS sprint season. Remember, it’s a marathon not a – oh, wait.

MEMORY LANE

24 March 1985: Chris Woods, Dave Watson, Paul Haylock and Steve Bruce celebrate with the (actual) Milk Cup after their 1-0 win over Sunderland in the Wembley final.

FAREWELL, CHUCK