Thomas Frank wants smaller clubs to get help as Spurs prepare to take on Newcastle United | OneFootball

Spurs manager Thomas Frank has appealed for help to be given to smaller clubs.

The Tottenham boss speaking ahead of facing Newcastle United.

Thomas Frank talking specifically about the League Cup.

The Spurs managing wanting a significant change made to the competition.

The League Cup has been running since 1960 and in its 65+ year history it has one quirk that sets it apart, which is two-legged semi-finals, playing home and away.

Birmingham won the League Cup in 2011 and then Swansea in 2013.

However, since then the only teams that have won the competition are Man City(x6), Newcastle United, Man U(x2), Chelsea and Liverpool(x2).

Spurs manager Thomas Frank thinks smaller clubs would benefit from only having a one match semi-final:

“There should only be one semi-final (in the League Cup).

“I said that before at Brentford.

“That is why I am very happy to say it again.

“For the smaller clubs, if you want to beat a bigger club, it’s much easier to play only one game.

“So if we really want someone to break out and it’s not the same boring teams that are winning, of course except for Spurs, then we need to skip one semi-final.

“For everyone else that plays so many games, it should only be one.

“So if it is about money then someone needs to fix it.

“If it is the Premier League paying money to the EFL, because as far as I understand it’s because of that, so someone fix it. It should be very easy.”

Thomas Frank then reminded that he lost a (one leg…) League Cup quarter-final only ten months ago, as Newcastle United cruised through 3-1 against Frank’s Brentford:

“That is a long time ago…

“I remember we lost.”

My conclusions

Well, Spurs fans certainly wish Thomas Frank’s ‘smaller clubs’ plan had been in force last season, as they won their League Cup semi-final first left 1-0 at home to Liverpool in January, only to then get hammered 4-0 at Anfield.

I think the fact is that the ‘bigger’ clubs appear to have taken the League Cup far more seriously in recent times, as a valuable trophy to win, especially when Man City were winning the Premier League so often.

No doubt when the competition organisers were planning the League Cup back in the day, they thought the two leg semi-finals would make it a bit different, make it stand out.

I must admit I like the quirkiness of the two leg semi-finals, maybe in part due to the fact that Newcastle United have got through both of the League Cup semi-finals they have reached these past three years. Though there again, United beat Arsenal home and away earlier this year in the competition and did the same to Southampton two years earlier.

Since the League Cup was formed in 1960/61, not only have the semi-finals always been played over two legs, the final was also a two leg affair for the first six years.

I also remember back in the late 1970s and into the 1980s, my formative years were scarred by numerous two leg exits to teams outside the top tier in the second round of the League Cup, the round when Newcastle United entered (and usually exited!) the competition.