• Get rid of it, make more league fixtures, she adds•
Manchester United and Casey Stoney express sympathyThe
Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, has called for the Continental League Cup to be scrapped and more Women’s Super League matches introduced.
“Get rid of the Continental Cup,” Hayes said before her team’s game in the competition at Crystal Palace on Sunday. “Get rid of it, make more league fixtures. How are we going to get continuity? If you want the Continental Cup play it for Championship [sides]. Sell the Women’s Super League; why are we diluting our product? This competition, that competition. Boom, one league, it’s not difficult.” The League Cup involves the 23 Super League and Championship clubs and a minimum of four group games. A frustration for Hayes is that Chelsea face two away matches in the competition and a league visit to West Ham over the next three weeks, followed by an international weekend. It means a substantial gap between their 2-1 home defeat of
Arsenal in front of an impressive 4,149 fans on 13 October and the visit of Manchester United to Kingsmeadow on 17 November. “I have no clue how and why that works out how it does,” Hayes said. The competition has divided opinion in recent years, with the format, scoring (draws go to penalties with one point to the losing team and two to the winning side) and scheduling causing frustration.