WORTHINGTON Cup or Worthless Cup? That seems to be the question of many football fans, as this once-proud competition which was introduced by Alan Hardaker, is now probably on its last legs.

Despite having had so many changes to make it more interesting, it now seems to be the competition that many teams least want to take part in.

They are now fielding half the reserves or half youth team players and the fans are having to fork out extra cash to see non-events.

Even the chance of a European slot does not seem to inspire the big teams because all they want is the Champions League. A place in the UEFA Cup does not really appeal to them.

It's going down the pan at present and if it carries on the way it is now, then the semi-finalists will all be Nationwide teams who crave for a bit of glory and television exposure.

The final will be between the lesser Premiership teams -- Leicester, Middlesbrough, Derby, or Nationwide First Division teams.

At present, the final has always had a "full house" and with last season's final being the first at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium it was a "first" in many ways, with Liverpool and Birmingham City involved and with both being cities it was always going to be a full house.

But I feel in the years to come, nobody will be bothered about who gets to the final. It has had its critics over the years, but with the Champions League and other bigger incentives on offer, I feel that once Worthington's contract ends, the League Cup, as we know it, will become a thing of the past.

M HIBBERT, Ivan Street, Burnley.