Carabao Cup farce is another insult to loyal fans
Holding the draw at 4.15am and in China shows huge contempt for your main audience, writes Daniel Schofield
One Twitter follower in Beijing appears more important than a fan in Barnsley
Many years from now when the latest batch of dusty Government archives are declassified, I am convinced there will lie proof that staging the Carabao Cup third-round draw at 4.15am was part of a wider sociological experiment to determine exactly how far football supporters could be mistreated and disrespected.
You can imagine the team of researchers brainstorming late into the night until one finally pipes up, “Guys, guys, I’ve got it – we will stage the third-round draw of the League Cup in Beijing and time it so it is in the middle of the night in the UK. Is that taking it too far?”
It certainly sounds more plausible than the mealy-mouthed statement released by the EFL on Monday that stated: “Our decision to go to China is part of a strategic plan to grow the EFL internationally and specifically boost profile and exposure in Asian markets. A number of potentially significant meetings are being held around the draw that we envisage will deliver a benefit to all 72 clubs of the EFL.”
And what, pray, will those be? Live streaming Barnet v Stevenage in Malaysia? Allowing Chinese punters to undertake a virtual stadium tour of Kenilworth Road or Priestfield? “And if you look to the right, you will see an uncovered away end which was described as a temporary stand more than 10 years ago.”
Shaun Harvey, the EFL chief executive, had previously talked up the importance of Carabao as a sponsor. So, what prestige does Carabao confer? Well, it is Thailand’s secondbiggest-selling energy drink. It translates as Red Buffalo, which sounds awfully familiar.
And, yet, by bending over backwards to accommodate the manufacturer of so-called energy pop, Harvey and his cohorts seem oblivious to how much they are undermining what is supposed to be their flagship competition. How do you expect Premier League clubs to take it seriously. Most already don’t.
The FA Cup’s credibility was fatally shot to pieces the moment the Football Association allowed Manchester United to take part in the World Club Championship in order to land the 2006 World Cup. How did that turn out again?
Don’t be surprised if, in a couple of seasons, the Premier League moves to end its involvement in the League Cup to free up space in its calendar for mid-season tours of the Far East and thus denying a crucial financial lifeline of a third-round home tie to many struggling Football League clubs.
The timing and location chosen for the draw are, in themselves, insignificant, but they are indicative of the sheer contempt authorities have for domestic supporters. To them, a single Twitter follower in Beijing is far more important than a match-attending punter in Barnsley.
Witness also Assem Allam’s desperate attempt to rebrand Hull City AFC to Hull Tigers or Vincent Tan changing Cardiff City’s colours to red. All in the name of tapping into that all-important Far Eastern market.
There can be no other industry in which the paying public could be denigrated to such an extent. Attitudes have barely shifted since the 1970s, despite football’s ever-changing demographic.
And yet the authorities keep getting away with it, mainly because they can. Any other consumer group would have voted with their feet long ago.
In football, loyalty trumps rational thought and, like an abused dog, supporters are unable to tear themselves away from what they love.