Bradford City boss has his say on Carabao Cup team changes

Blackburn’s 4-0 win over Hartlepool at Ewood Park was the only success for a side from the second tier facing lower-division opposition.

The Bantams were among 10 teams from the bottom two leagues to pick off a Championship scalp.

But was it a freak week for the underdogs with so many giving the bigger boys a bloody nose? Or simply an indication that the highest-placed teams at this stage of the competition are simply not bothered?

A look at the team changes made by the Championship clubs in the first round suggests the latter.

Three sides – Wigan, Luton and Sunderland – swapped round their entire starting line-up from the previous league game. All three got beaten by Fleetwood, Newport and Sheffield Wednesday respectively.

Jon Dahl Tomasson’s Blackburn were among another three to make 10 changes. Norwich and West Brom did the same and all progressed, though the Canaries and the Baggies came through all-Championship ties.

Only Sheffield United, who were beaten at the Hawthorns, and Bristol City, winners over Coventry, switched less than half their side as they made five changes apiece.

In all, there were 157 different names in the 19 Championship starting line-ups compared with the previous weekend – an average of over eight per team.

The League Cup traditionally gets a bad press – though not in BD8 after the history-making heroics of a decade ago.

Mark Hughes, looking forward to squaring off against one of his former clubs in the next round, remains a supporter of a competition he won three times as a player, the last with Blackburn in 2002.

While some Premier League clubs may treat the cup with disdain, he is not a fan of the argument that such apathy should spread to the next level.

“For ourselves, just winning a tie is significant for us,” said the City boss, “whereas maybe Championship teams look at it and think winning an early round isn’t at the same level of significance because it’s not going to add too much to their coffers.

“It’s more about game time and how many games they are actually going to play in the season.

“But I go back to what I said before we played Hull, there are not many competitions where you have a realistic chance of progressing in and the League Cup’s one of them.

“Why would you not give it your best shot?

Andy Cook, who came into City's line-up, challenges Hull's Jacob Greaves

“I’ve always tried to treat cup competitions with the respect they deserve and I’ve been okay in terms of getting to the latter stages of FA Cups and League Cups.

“In early season games, it’s still about getting some rhythm to your play. You only get that by playing week in, week out and having a repetition of work that allows you to improve.

“Why would you pass up an opportunity to have a little bit of continuity in your selection?”

City’s selection against the Tigers backed that up – the three changes from the Barrow loss were hardly weakening the first 11.

Andy Cook and Jake Young earned their starts with goals as substitutes at Holker Street and on-loan Crystal Palace winger Scott Banks was thrown in just 24 hours after touching down with his new team-mates in West Yorkshire.

Hull boss Shota Arveladze had named a side with seven differences from their goalless draw with Preston three days earlier.

Hughes also dismisses the school of thought that a cup run can get in the way of the league because of the extra fixtures.

City’s goal this season is obviously promotion but he does not view Carabao progress as something to distract from that.

“I’ve always tried to stay in cup competitions for as long as I can because I think a good cup run helps your league form anyway. It’s not a hindrance in my view.”

Judging by their team sheets and the outcomes, Championship clubs clearly see it differently.

Hughes added: “I’m sure they will argue that’s not the case but it does seem it.

“It’s not normal for so many lower-league teams to win against higher opposition.

“I don’t anticipate it will be the norm in the future. It’s possibly a one off.

“But it is still an indicator that maybe the focus of teams above where we are is different to ours.

“It’s not a negative for me as long as you feel you have enough personnel and the correct level of personnel to be competitive.”