Minimal

In defence of the Inter-two-bob Cup

I see Newcastle have expressed an interest in the Intertoto Cup for next season. Contrary to how the majority of clubs’ fans in England would feel about this, I’m actually quite pleased. Along with pretty much everyone else in the country, I used to think the competition was a fairly worthless pre-season energy sapper. Ever since Newcastle’s involvement last season, however, I’ve totally changed my opinion of it.

In theory, Newcastle’s run in said cup was the worst case scenario. We got all the way through the competition, only to lose out on away goals in our half’s final. This has always been seen as the greatest risk involved with the competition — no reward for plenty of endeavour. Those pre-season competitive matches, however, got us off to a cracking start in the Premiership. While all other clubs were just getting out of first gear, we were already firing on all cylinders. Not only that, but we kept it up throughout the season, dispelling the myth of the early games causing excessive tiredness.

Sadly, not every club sees it this way. It looks like next season will see no English participation at all. With the Toon looking more and more likely to qualify for the Champions League, the back door to European competition will remain firmly shut. Given that there’s not even a World Cup or European Championship to stretch the elite players this coming summer, I can’t help feeling the likes of Villa and Leeds are missing out, especially Leeds. You would’ve thought they’d do anything to bolster their finances right now!

Or maybe they’re just afraid they’ll meet Barca. ;)