League Cup isn’t won with league form

THE final of the Premier Sports Cup, AKA the League Cup, is tomorrow so it’s time for a quick history lesson...

The competition has its beginnings in the Second World War when the league and the Scottish Cup were suspended and teams were put in regional divisions.

To replace the Scottish Cup, the authorities brought in a cup competition for teams in the Southern League called the Southern League Cup.

This ran for six seasons, eventually merging with its north-eastern equivalent for the 1945-46 season, with the nationwide competition proving very popular. Indeed, a crowd of 135,000 packed into Hampden for the 1945-46 final when Aberdeen beat Rangers 3-2.

One year later, in season 1946-47, the Scottish League Cup was inaugurated and the same two teams reached the final, although this time the crowd of 82,700 saw the Dons lose 4-0 to Rangers.

Since then, the competition has been the first of the major Scottish trophies to be decided each season.

Over the 75 years or so of the cup’s existence, Glasgow’s big two lead the way in the list of winners, with Rangers on 27 and Celtic on 19. They are followed by

In 1971, Celtic had won all four games and Thistle only one.. but Jags were four goals up at half-time

Aberdeen (6), Hearts (4), Hibs (3), Dundee (3), East Fife (3) and Dundee United (2).

Then come the teams with a single win in the competition, like Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Partick Thistle, St Mirren, St Johnstone, Raith Rovers, Livingston and Ross County.

So, what of this weekend’s final at Hampden? If we take Premiership form into account, then Celtic would appear a good bet to beat Hibs.

The Hoops have won 12 of their 17 games, scoring 37 goals in the process while losing only 10. The figures for Hibs, by contrast, are six won, 21 goals scored and 19 lost. Oh, and they have also lost their manager in the last fortnight.

Stats, though, do not always tell the whole story.

When Celtic played Partick Thistle in the final of the League Cup on October 3, 1971, the league campaign had only just got underway but Celtic had won all of their first four matches, while the Jags had only won one.

On that afternoon at Hampden, though, Thistle went four goals up by half-time and then held out.

Was I involved? Indeed, I was, coming on as a substitute for Jimmy Johnstone.

It was a humbling afternoon.