David Moyes might have just had his greatest idea since bringing Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta to Everton for under just £4 million combined.
The Scotsman has proposed the idea of jazzing up the Carabao Cup and giving it a bit of a re-brand. The EFL Cup was beginning to lose its admirers, with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin declaring it "better for everyone" if the competition was scrapped.
But Moyes, the proposed saviour of the age-old competition, has come up with an innovative way to save the magic of the cup. The West Ham United manager wants teams from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to compete in an all-British cup.
His genius idea of a name for the revamp? The British Cup. And Moyes believes that it would work too, pitting together the top teams from each league in what he believes, should have been done long ago.
"I think it could do with a revamp," Moyes said. “My opinion on it is I've always thought we should have included Scotland. Call it the British Cup. A couple of teams from Northern Ireland, maybe two of the Welsh League clubs. That would give us something different."
It is a nice idea in theory, but it would be a logistical nightmare. Likewise, though, there would be some incredible fixtures to be played.
So, without further ado, here are some of the best/worst fixtures that could arise if Moyes’ plan becomes a reality…
Southampton vs Ross County
Both clubs are currently competing at the top level of their respective countries. Both clubs would perhaps stand a serious chance of making it through the competition to a stage in which they could be pitted against one another. Both clubs are looking to set themselves clear of relegation this season.
Both clubs are also 10 hours apart from each other.
That’s right… an away day for this fixture would take you around 10 hours to get to via car. There is talk of making the early stages more regional to avoid more fixtures like this happening but there is a strong sense of inevitability that, at some point, a fixture like this will happen.
You can only hope that it wouldn’t be made a midweek game.
Celtic vs Liverpool
What a fixture this would be. The current best of England vs the current best of Scotland. The green and white of Celtic vs the red of Liverpool. A chance for Virgil Van Dijk to appear against his old side.
Though, perhaps the best thing to possibly come out of this fixture might be the pre-match sing-song. Both clubs are renowned for belting out their rendition to ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. The noise alone would be something to behold.
Cardiff University vs Manchester City
There isn’t exactly a long-standing rivalry between these two sides. Nor is there a player connection. We just find it quite amusing to believe that Cardiff Metropolitan University – current leaders of the Welsh Premier League Group B – could come up against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Literal university students could be flying into tackles with Sergio Aguero. That would certainly make for an interesting watch.
We could also get Gerrard’s return to Anfield as the manager of Rangers. What about Plymouth vs Aberdeen which would, like Southampton vs Ross County, cause reason to start looking at some cheap flights.