Five ways to polish a rough diamond - the League Cup

By the way some managers treat the Football League Cup, you'd be mistaken for thinking it's more of a curse than a chance for silverware. Perhaps 15 years ago when the malaise started, it was the teams involved in Europe who started playing reserves and fringe players. Now you'll find such apathy even in the lower leagues, where the riches of promotion are far greater than a few more games against non glamorous teams.

The competition itself was set up by the Football League as an affront to the fledgling European tournaments, and while it truly has it's place as England's secondary cup competition, you try telling Liverpool fans today that it doesn't matter.

Liverpool reserves model next season's kit

But for the other 91 teams involved, maybe enough of them could bang their heads together and come up with some new ways to spice it up. I've thought of five ways, perhaps one will catch on?

Introduce quotas for under-23 players

We get situations amongst some clubs where the second string Carling Cup side may feature several players in their thirties, perhaps only to justify keeping them on the wage bill. Perhaps an rule ensuring at least seven under-23s in the match day squad would make sure that if managers were going to shuffle their decks, at least the stars of tomorrow would get a shot.

Chelsea line up for the pre-match handshake

Regional sections until the quarter-finals

Currently in round one there is a north-south divide that could at best be described as laughable, as on several occasions, teams in the Southern section have been further north than some in the Northern half. Perhaps the draw masters should just draw a line right down the middle and go from there. After that, just keep going until perhaps the last eight. With some clubs in severe financial trouble, and of course fans tightening their belts, would it be better to avoid perhaps Plymouth travelling to Sunderland on a Tuesday night?

Welcome to Watford (Gap)

Earlier kick-offs

This one kind of follows on from the previous... Perhaps another reason to make the most of the local games would be to perhaps kick off at around 6pm? For those fans who work, it would make getting to away games a bit easier - maybe taking a half day, and crucially giving them a chance to get back home at a reasonable hour. It would also encourage more kids to go to games, and apparently children are the future, along with daddy's money spent on fizzy drinks, sweets and the new home kit with their names on the back...

The groundsman didn't have time to prepare for the earlier kick off

Experiment with the rules

The Football League often come across as an organisation stuck in the dark ages, but they do appear to listen when their 72 members speak. If it can get FIFA and their rule makers on board, perhaps they could maybe implement something a little different at the start of each season as a trial. They could attract a lot of punters by trying sin-bins, or even something more outlandish like rush goalies or only the captain allowed to speak to the referees.

Beckham insisted on wearing an eye mask during the shoot-out

Battle of Britain finale

With the League Cup finishing in February, and it's Scottish cousin finishing even quicker (November usually), there could be potential for a play-off between the two winners. Of course that could cause issues with the fixtures lists, but then why not just campaign to FIFA to use an international week for that? Alternate the venue between Hampden and Wembley, and let the winners call themselves the Champions of Britain for all it's worth.

Arshavin wondered why the half-time oranges were deep fried

Of course these ideas are slightly revolutionary, and it would take a concerted campaign, or for the blazers to make a decision.

The League Cup still has a big part to play in English football, and several careers have been launched via the second string teams. Maybe it just needs a minor upgrade...