So as everyone here knows I have strong feelings about people calling these trophies meaningless or Mickey Mouse. It really does bother me as football like any sport is about winning and the prizes are trophies.

Now I get that some trophies are deemed as more important. Certainly winning a Premier League title or the European Cup are the two biggest in the sport but why do people tend to look down on these two domestic trophies like they aren't worth a clubs time?

We consistently see Arsenal Wenger talk of Top 4 as more important than either of these trophies. From a business stand point I get it the financial reward is better to get CL spot than you get for winning either of these cups. But why are some fans buying into that logic aswell? When did it become more important for fans to see their clubs finish in a Top 4 place to reap the financial rewards than it did to see their clubs go to Wembley and potentially win a trophy?

Heck I get frustrated at peopl talking down the Europa League. Now admittedly the structure needs loooing into and I think it should be played on alternate Tues/Weds to the CL but peopl talk of it as it's a competition not worth trying to win. Unlike the League Cup/FA Cup aswell you do get the reward of CL football for winning it.

The more talking down of winning trophies the angrier I get. Is this just modern football? Am I stuck in the past? (Lord knows I'd return to the days of CL, UEFA Cup and Cup Winners Cup if it was an option). I'd honestly rather see Chelsea win the FA Cup than finish top 4.

How does everyone else feel? If you do feel that these trophies aren't important can you explain why?

I agree on the large part.

However it is hard not to get complacent when you become successful as the likes of us and City have. Like you, I would still take an FA Cup over top 4 but those who run the club wouldn't. Sadly the great old trophy is not held in the same high esteem as it used to be now football has become a huge business and is all about the money and CL qualification is seen as the holy grail.

The League Cup has always been the least "desirable" - still great to win and a day out at Wembley but will always get referred to as Mickey Mouse - especially once you're knocked out of it!

It is a real shame but just confirms what modern football has become. Any team that hasn't won a trophy or been to Wembley in ages will bite your arm off for either of the domestic cups and their fans would be ecstatic - just as we all were back in 1997, but once you've won a few it's only natural to look at what are seem as the bigger goals - the PL & CL football and regretably, things will never go back to how they once were.

 

 

I understand that with more success there is also more expectation and that for some fans the so called lesser trophies become less desirable. I just wish that weren't the case but I guess it's a sign of the times. The games gotten richer therefore is it too harsh to say we're dealing with a little snobbery here when it comes to these cups? Kind of like a rich person not thinking picking a tenner up off the floor is worth there time.

It's like i said the other day, who remembers how many Top 4 finishes you make ? Nobody remembers them. But when it comes to cup wins, everybody remembers them. Winning trophies is what you aim for as a player and winning trophies is what you want to see your club achieve.

Back before we became as big as we are now, winning the FA Cup and League would mean everything to a Chelsea fan. Just because we can aim for League championships and European titles, it doesn't mean we should forget the 2 domestic cup competitions. Some of our best moments in our history have come from those cup competitions. I'm very grateful that we have had the squad in recent times to compete for them as often as we do. 

I say make the most of every opportunity, because you never know, there could be time where we don't win much at all again.

14 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

It's like i said the other day, who remembers how many Top 4 finishes you make ? Nobody remembers them.

In all fairness, one might not remember a league season in which a team makes its way to fourth, but they will probably remember the Champions' League run earned by doing that.

Even among ourselves, which is the more vintage 2000 Chelsea fixture? Beating Villa in the FA Cup final or beating a Rivaldo-inspired Barcelona 3-1 in the Champions League?

I remember reading that Gordon Smith stated when Brighton were relegated back in 1983 it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Why? They reached the FA Cup Final for the first and so far,only time in their history and could have won it!

3 hours ago, PloKoon13 said:

In all fairness, one might not remember a league season in which a team makes its way to fourth, but they will probably remember the Champions' League run earned by doing that.

Even among ourselves, which is the more vintage 2000 Chelsea fixture? Beating Villa in the FA Cup final or beating a Rivaldo-inspired Barcelona 3-1 in the Champions League?

I get your point there but that was a Champions League game. Who would remember the league position? I get the position is what lead to us playing that game but I don't think average people remember us finishing 3rd in 1999 but they remember us winning the 1997 FA Cup.

One off games are remembered for different reasons but the history books remember the winners.

As a final note that FA Cup final in 2000 was proper tosh though haha great to win but what a dreadful game 

There's an undercurrent of sneering and condescending behaviour when it comes to the modern football supporter's attitude toward the FA Cup and League Cup.

Understandably, football has changed especially with money being the pinnacle of this change, but I'd like to think most supporters still have pride and passion in wanting to see their team succeed in the FA Cup and League Cup despite it becoming less prestigious.

It gives me the sh*ts when people say they're happy to be knocked out of these competitions or don't care what happens. It just reeks of being a spoilt supporter.

You know what, I still often think about Ivanovic's header in the Europa League final, I don't care what anyone says, that was one of my greatest nights as a Chelsea fan.
 

That's a cup that gets far too much stick as well, I actually like playing different teams (for me, that's what makes early rounds of the FA Cup special also). Who wants to play Barcelona and Munich every season? Far too stressful lol.

 

 

So yeah, big love for the FA, EFL and Europa League from me.  As a matter of fact, I'd rather win the Europa over the league cup, FA Cup....that's a tough one.

Don't get me wrong i love a cup run but with all the sports science these days, The less fixtures you have, The more chance you have of avoiding injuries and the more chance your team will remain fresh for the home stretch and there's one cup which sacrifices all of the above, It's the cup which doesn't have a same sponsor for more than 2 years and that's the league cup.

Look at every other country bar France and it's the league and one domestic cup, I don't see the need for an extra domestic cup so the earlier you get knocked out of it, The better. Now the nonsense of fielding weaker sides in the FA Cup and not caring about getting knocked out of that is not something i stand for. The other factor is, Teams suffer from a hangover after winning a trophy  so early in on the season and with so much time still left, All that partying on the Sunday evening of the final takes it's toll, I remember both times we have won it, We have lost the following game and gone on a bad spell. All the major finals take place at the end of season, How it should be imo.

1 hour ago, Kinkladze1871 said:

Don't get me wrong i love a cup run but with all the sports science these days, The less fixtures you have, The more chance you have of avoiding injuries and the more chance your team will remain fresh for the home stretch and there's one cup which sacrifices all of the above, It's the cup which doesn't have a same sponsor for more than 2 years and that's the league cup.

Look at every other country bar France and it's the league and one domestic cup, I don't see the need for an extra domestic cup so the earlier you get knocked out of it, The better. Now the nonsense of fielding weaker sides in the FA Cup and not caring about getting knocked out of that is not something i stand for. The other factor is, Teams suffer from a hangover after winning a trophy  so early in on the season and with so much time still left, All that partying on the Sunday evening of the final takes it's toll, I remember both times we have won it, We have lost the following game and gone on a bad spell. All the major finals take place at the end of season, How it should be imo.

Did you not really enjoy your recent league cup final wins?

Edited December 3, 20169 yr by Bobbywoodhogan

1 hour ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

Did you not really enjoy your recent league cup final wins?

At the time yes Bobby but three days later we got hammered by Liverpool in the league fixture, Why? Half of our team were probably hungover whereas they were determined to get revenge, We were still favorites for the title then before Leicester and Spurs over took us and our implosion at the end could have been partly down to this tonking. If someone told me i was guaranteed the EFL cup but at the same time our league form would drop off afterwards, I wouldn't take the option of winning. Remember when Arsenal got beat by Birmingham? They went into the final with the quadruple still on and ended up imploding much like ourself, You could argue your win over Spurs slightly affected your performance levels in Mourinho's last title win. The league cup really doesn't hold much value in my opinion, Sad to say but i'm still an FA Cup man.

Edited December 3, 20169 yr by Kinkladze1871

What i'm trying to say is the notion of winning any cup bar the League or the UCL doesn't make it a cup not worth winning, However it's not a cup worth fighting as hard for when it can hinder you due to the 2 leg semi final and then the early cup final which back logs your league fixtures and that proves to never be good, The one thing i agree with Wenger on.

Edited December 3, 20169 yr by Kinkladze1871

Jose's first trophy for us was the humble League Cup, fair to say we got a decent shot in the arm from winning it.

Edited December 4, 20169 yr by Charles Ryder

6 hours ago, Kinkladze1871 said:

Don't get me wrong i love a cup run but with all the sports science these days, The less fixtures you have, The more chance you have of avoiding injuries and the more chance your team will remain fresh for the home stretch and there's one cup which sacrifices all of the above, It's the cup which doesn't have a same sponsor for more than 2 years and that's the league cup.

 

I don't think that is true to be honest. We have won the League cup and League title in the same season twice in recent times. 3 of the 4 Premier League titles we have won all included a cup win. I personally think winning in the cup competitions keeps the confidence flowing.

I was delighted when we won the FA Cup in 1997.

Our last domestic trophy of the 'big three' domestically was in 1970 with the FA Cup and then we won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1970/71.

I am delighted with any trophy Chelsea win.

Yep, winning the FA Cup in 1997 and 2000 and also the League Cup in 1998 was fantastic! It was a great feeling as a supporter to win some silverware back then.

Hell, even winning the Full Members Cup in 1986 and 1990 was great. It was better than not winning anything.