Giants beware, cup chaos ahead!
Strap: After fourth-tier Grimsby Town rolled over mighty Man U in the Carabao Cup, one thing is clear: cup football is where the real thrill lives
Blurb:
If the FA Cup is a grand old theatre of tradition, the League Cup is its younger, more pragmatic sibling. And as for the Premier League? That’s the new kid on the block
Byline: Rakesh Ganesh
Cup football in England has always been a stage where the script can be ripped to shreds. Unlike the Premiere League, where consistency rewards the powerful, the FA Cup and League Cup thrive on unpredictability. Under the floodlights or in modest lower-league grounds, giants have been humbled and underdogs immortalised – too often, for too long. The most recent example is down-trodden Manchester United’s 0-4 rout by 4-tier club Grimsby Town.
These competitions are not just about silverware, they’re about drama, romance, and those unforgettable nights when minnows rise and titans fall. Let’s dive into the history of Cup Competitions and revisit some of the biggest upsets they have produced.
Looking back
At first glance, the FA Cup and the League Cup may look alike, both welcoming teams from the lower divisions into the mix. But their roots, structures, and prestige couldn’t be more different. The FA Cup, officially the Football Association Challenge Cup, isn’t just another tournament, it’s football history in motion. Born in 1871, it is the oldest national football competition in the world, designed by the FA to bring together the rising clubs of a new era. The first champions? Wanderers FC, a club that no longer exists but whose name is etched forever in history. From those humble beginnings of just 15 entrants, the FA Cup now stretches across hundreds of teams from England and Wales, with 44 clubs having etched their names onto the trophy.
The League Cup, meanwhile, arrived nearly a century later, in 1960, with a very different purpose. Created to reinvigorate a sport battling dwindling crowds and finances, it offered clubs another chance at glory and another source of revenue. Aston Villa were the first to lift it, and ever since, the competition has worn many faces – the Milk Cup, Coca-Cola Cup, Worthington Cup, Carling Cup, and now the Carabao Cup. Though younger and often seen as the FA Cup’s “little brother”, it remains a fiercely contested prize, especially for clubs hunting silverware and a European ticket.
The politics of English football
At its core, the League Cup is a mid-season knockout tournament, open exclusively to the 92 fully professional clubs that make up the Premier League and the English Football League. The FA Cup, in contrast, throws open its doors to the entire football pyramid of over 700 clubs, from the elite down to tiny village sides, all dreaming of a run that could etch their name into history.
Why two domestic cups? The answer lies in the politics of English football. The Football Association and the Football League grew as separate bodies, each with its own identity and ambitions. If the FA Cup is a grand old theatre of tradition, the League Cup is its younger, more pragmatic sibling. And as for the Premier League? That’s the new kid on the block, launched in 1992, decades after both cups had already written their first chapters.
What truly captures fans’ imaginations, though, are the so-called giant killings. Lower-league sides, often playing in modest grounds with a fraction of the resources, suddenly find themselves under the bright lights against Premier League powerhouses. For 90 minutes, anything feels possible, and sometimes, the impossible happens. That romance, the underdog’s chance to topple a giant, is why the FA Cup holds unmatched prestige. The League Cup, now known as the Carabao Cup, often serves a different purpose for top clubs – a proving ground for young talent, a chance to rotate squads. But for fans and smaller clubs, lifting it still means glory and a shot at Europe (take Grimsby Town for instance!).
Memorable Moments & Shocking Upsets
Grimsby’s rout of mighty Manchester United (League Cup, 2025)
Just this week, League Two’s Grimsby Town squared off against Manchester United, an encounter that should have been routine for the Premier League giants. But after just 30 minutes, United were shell-shocked. Goals from Charles Vernam and Tyrell Warren had the Mariners 2-0 up and dreaming. United clawed back to force penalties, yet the drama only deepened. The shootout stretched into a marathon, and when Darragh Burns coolly converted to make it 12-11, Bryan Mbeumo’s second penalty cannoned off the crossbar. Grimsby, against every odd, had toppled one of the biggest clubs in world football.
Plymouth Argyle’s shocker against Liverpool (FA Cup, 2025)
A rotated Liverpool side underestimated their Championship opponents, and the Pilgrims seized their moment. Eight minutes after half-time, a handball from Harvey Elliott gifted Plymouth a penalty. Ryan Hardie stepped up and buried it with emphatic precision, sending Home Park into delirium. Liverpool, destined to become Premier League champions later that season, threw everything forward. But goalkeeper Conor Hazard, resolute and inspired, repelled wave after wave. At the final whistle, the bottom club in the Championship had felled one of football’s giants.
Bradford City thrashing of Chelsea (FA Cup, 2015)
On paper, it was a mismatch of titanic proportions. Chelsea, top of the Premier League, versus Bradford City, 49 places below in League One. When Gary Cahill and Ramires fired Chelsea into a 2-0 lead at Stamford Bridge, the script looked sealed. But Bradford hadn’t read it. Jon Stead halved the deficit before Filipe Morais slid in the unlikeliest of equalisers. Andy Halliday’s thumping strike sent the away end into chaos, and then, in the dying minutes, Mark Yeates put the tie beyond doubt. Jose Mourinho’s imperious Chelsea had been humiliated on their own turf.
Oldham upset of Liverpool (FA Cup, 2013)
Boundary Park became a graveyard of giants on this frosty afternoon. Liverpool arrived with star power; Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge but it was Oldham’s journeymen who wrote the story. Matt Smith, towering and unrelenting, rose to nod home the opener. Suarez equalised, yet Smith struck again, capitalising on a goalkeeper’s error to restore the lead. When Reece Wabara’s back-post header made it 3-1, belief turned to reality. Liverpool pulled one back, but Oldham’s grit saw them through. Financial troubles off the pitch, but unbreakable spirit on it, this was cup magic in its rawest form.
BOX – I
English Football Pyramid
- Tier 1: Premier League – 20 Teams
- Tier 2: Championship – 24 Teams
- Tier 3: League One – 24 Teams
- Tier 4: League Two – 24 Teams
BOX – II
- Football Competitions in England
- Top Division: Premier League
- Second Division: EFL Championship
- Cup Competitions: Carabao Cup, FA Cup & FA Community Shield