Anglo-Scottish Cup facts for kids
| Organising body |  FA SFA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975 |
| Abolished | 1981 |
| Region |  England Scotland |
| Number of teams | 24 (1980–81) |
| Related competitions | Anglo-Italian Cup |
| Last champions | Chesterfield (1980–81) |
The Anglo-Scottish Cup was a football tournament for teams from England and Scotland. It was played during the summer for several years in the 1970s. This cup started in 1975. It was a new version of an older competition called the Texaco Cup. The format was similar, but only English and Scottish clubs took part.
Organizers wanted the cup to be a top-level tournament. For example, Newcastle United was removed from the 1976–77 competition. This happened because they played a weak team in a match against Ayr United.
Over time, more English teams from lower divisions joined the cup. By 1981, Scottish clubs lost interest. The public also showed little interest. So, the Scottish clubs decided to leave the competition. Chesterfield was the last team to win the cup in 1980–81. They still keep the trophy in their Board Room. After the Scottish clubs left, the competition continued only for English clubs. It was then called the Football League Group Cup.
In 1987–88, there was an idea to bring the competition back. It was named the Anglo-Scottish Challenge. This idea was to have the winners of the FA Cup and Scottish Cup play each other. But after not many people showed up for the first game between Coventry City and St Mirren, the idea was stopped. The second game was never played.
Nottingham Forest won the 1976-77 final against Orient. This was their first trophy with manager Brian Clough. Clough later said he took the tournament seriously. Many other clubs did not. He believed it helped Forest become successful. After this win, Forest went on to win a First Division title. They also won two European Cups in the next three seasons. Clough had a similar view on the Texaco Cup. He won it with Derby County in 1972. That same year, he led Derby to their first league title.
Contents
How the Tournament Worked
The way the Anglo-Scottish Cup was played stayed the same for all six years. It was also the same as the last Texaco Cup.
English Teams
Sixteen English clubs played in four groups. Each group had four teams. The team that won each group moved on to the quarter-finals. Teams played each other once in their group. They got two points for a win and one point for a draw. They also got an extra bonus point if they scored three or more goals in a single match.
Scottish Teams
Eight Scottish League clubs played in a knockout round. These matches were played over two games (two legs). The team that scored more goals overall moved on. These winners then joined the English teams in the overall quarter-finals.
Knockout Rounds
In the quarter-finals, an English club played against a Scottish club. From then on, it was a knockout tournament. Each match, including the final, was played over two legs.
In the first few years, about half of the English teams were from the top division. These were teams not playing in Europe. But in the later years, only a few top English teams played. Most teams came from the third and fourth divisions.
List of Winners
| Ed. | Season | Winners | Aggr. | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Middlesbrough |
|
Fulham |
|
|
|
Nottingham Forest |
|
Orient |
|
|
|
Bristol City |
|
St Mirren |
|
|
|
Burnley |
|
Oldham Athletic |
|
|
|
St Mirren |
|
Bristol City |
|
|
|
Chesterfield |
|
Notts County |
Note: Finals were played over two games. The score shown is the total from both games.
St Mirren became the only Scottish team to win the cup. This happened in 1979–80. They beat Bristol City 2–0 in the first game at Ashton Gate Stadium. Then, they won the second game at home 3–1 on April 16, 1980.
Chesterfield won the 1980–81 cup. They secured their victory with an extra-time goal from Alan Crawford.
Teams That Played
Many different football clubs from both England and Scotland took part in the Anglo-Scottish Cup over its six years. Each season, sixteen English clubs and eight Scottish clubs competed. These teams came from various divisions in their respective leagues.
See also
In Spanish: Copa Anglo-Escocesa para niños
