Conti Cup format is problematic and Man Utd are right to be upset about it

30 January 2024 , 15:37

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Manchester United's 2-0 loss to Manchester City in the Conti Cup left them second in the group and unable to progress to the knockout rounds of the competition (Image: Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)

But who will cry for Manchester United? According to social media, very few and maybe even less.

Using the myriad folds of social media as a barometer for fan reaction is admittedly dangerous, but there seems to be something universally fun, maybe even satisfying, about watching United become the victims of a convoluted and unfortunate series of events. They are the WSL club in relative crisis mode attempting to patch up an anaemic season amid ear-splitting placards for their manager to be sacked. A Conti Cup dumping? Add it to the pile of writhing flames. Watch the sky turn redder.

Let’s get one thing straight: United have every right to feel aggrieved by Monday evening’s Continental Cup ruling which, via a confounding and hilarious series of permutations, saw the club knocked out of the competition’s quarter-finals because *checks notes* Aston Villa fielded an ineligible player.

It is the third competition Marc Skinner’s side find themselves peering into from the outside. And while responsibility for a premature exit from the Champions League qualifying stages and an underwhelming slump in the title race will lay firmly at the door of the club, United's latest loss of potential silverware feels unsavoury in its process.

There is always the possibility that another team’s woes and wins will have an inadvertent knock-on effect. And as the news of Noëlle Maritz’s fielding by Carla Ward against Sunderland in Villa’s final Conti Cup group stage clash reverberated around Twitter, those inadvertent repercussions felt inevitable.

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According to rule 8.19, any club to have been found in contravention of the rules will be referred to an independent tribunal to determine the outcome, which includes an order that the match be given to the opposition. Such was the tribunal’s decision. With three points handed to Sunderland, the Championship side progressed to the quarter-finals top of Group A.

Yet, it was Women’s Super League sides Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur who were granted permission as the two best runners-up by points-per-game, leaving United, who lost only once to fellow WSL side Manchester City while placed in an all top-flight group, on the outskirts.

Noelle Maritz played three times for Arsenal during the Conti Cup group stages this season (Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

This outcome is a direct ramification of the Conti Cup’s flawed yet persistent format, which since 2012 has seen a group stage without seeding take place but rather formed by regions.

The result is lopsided groups both in size and competition from which it is impossible to fairly calculate PPG. This is precisely what happened this season, as Aston Villa were placed with all second-tier sides while a full WSL group featured Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton and Leicester City.

Meanwhile, those clubs competing in Europe (this season, Chelsea were the only ones) get a pass to the quarter-finals.

One of the joys of competitions is the perils of jeopardy begot by randomised groups. Groups of death are a highly-anticipated treat until its your group. Yet, for the competition to keep hold of its legitimacy and appeal, a level of integrity is needed in putting these groups together and determining the progression out of them. That United's nine points against all WSL sides left them empty-handed speaks to precisely to this.

Since the Conti Cup’s advent 12 years ago, it has endured an equally contentious and peripheral existence. In 12 iterations, only three clubs have lifted the trophy–Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal. The only team barring those three to reach a final the last six years was Bristol City, who suffered a comfortable 6-0 thrashing by the Blues.

Marc Skinner has faced calls for his departure after a disappointing season (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

The lack of variety breeds a competition overwrought by predictability. Chelsea boss Emma Hayes preferred the word “uselessness” when she called for its axing five years ago. It was a declaration admittedly riddled with playful irony given the Blues have featured in the last four finals and won two of them.

But there is an underlying point here, and that is that the competition has potential. It’s held back by its own flawed design and implementation. The independent tribunal was rightfully not focussed on United as they considered how to fairly sanction Villa for what was ultimately a poorly-judged oversight.

To concurrently consider the wider by-products of the decision sets a poor and dangerous precedent. Bad luck happens and if you don't win every match in the group stage, sometimes it happens to your team. That’s football.

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Yet, United are the latest collateral damage in a competition increasingly losing value and appeal because of its own inadequacies. That United are in an uproar is more than fair. And perhaps because of it, the competition might change for the better.

Megan Feringa