Glenn Moore: League Cup in vintage form as it turns 50

"Within three years it'll be scrapped," predicted one leading manager in the 1960s

For a competition that was written off at the very start, and looked doomed anew a decade ago, the Football League Cup is in rude health as it marks its 50th running by racking up sell-out crowds from London to Yorkshire this week.

Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Barnsley all expect full houses for the visits of Liverpool, Everton, Bolton and Manchester United respectively. Nothing strange about that one might think, but at least one team in each match will be an ersatz XI, shorn of key players by design rather than accident. Although some tickets are priced imaginatively it is, nonetheless, a remarkable testament to the renewed interest in the domestic game's junior cup competition. The BBC will show one of this year's semi-finals and the final live and gates are at their highest levels for more than 30 years, with last season's average approaching 15,000, compared to sub-10,000 a decade ago.

Then the competition seemed in an inexorable decline dating from 1994, when Sir Alex Ferguson became the first manager to use it as a proving ground for his young players – such as David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt. The Football League muttered about punishing United. But even then the authorities were wary about taking on Ferguson and nothing was done. Subsequently understrength teams became a common feature. By the time Leicester met Tranmere in 2000 the competition had become known as the Worthless Cup, in a reference to then sponsors Worthington, and its future was under threat.

With the expansion of European competitions congesting the fixture list the big clubs were complaining about their obligation to play in the cup, and the right to a Uefa Cup place was questioned. Add in a doubt about the final returning to a rebuilt Wembley and the three-handed pot could have followed the Texaco and Anglo-Italian Cups into obscurity.

Not that such fears were new. The competition arose from a typically fudged attempt to restructure which suggested five 20-team divisions with a new competition created to compensate for the loss of fixtures, and take advantage of the arrival of floodlights. Only the proposed cup was passed. "Within three years it'll be scrapped," predicted one leading manager. The early seasons suggested he was right. The first competition in 1960-61 staggered into the following season, finishing in a two-legged final between Rotherham and Aston Villa. By the sixth year, seven of the League's top eight boycotted the cup, including holders Chelsea.

The League responded boldly, bringing in a Wembley final and persuading the European Fairs Cup (the precursor to the Uefa Cup) to accept the winner. Third Division QPR, inspired by Rodney Marsh, won a thrilling final in 1967 against top-flight West Bromwich and the competition, helped by TV coverage, rare in those days, was up and running.

The Football League met the latest crisis with threat and compromise. It pointed out that the big clubs had a three-year break clause, so could not just quit, but tacitly accepted managers' right to field whatever XI they wanted. The League satisfied Uefa and Wembley, reduced fixtures, brought the competition dates forward and allowed European entrants to join late.

As a result big clubs are interested again, whether for the pursuit of silverware or development of young players, an area in which Arsène Wenger has taken on Ferguson's philosophy. While still not everyone's favourite, the cup matters because it is arguably the biggest redistributor of wealth in the game – of the £50m revenue it generates 70 per cent goes to League clubs, mostly at Championship level. From Arsenal's Jack Wilshere, who uses the cup as a stage, to Tony Daws, who oversees Scunthorpe's impressive youth system, it is a vital competition.

Ties of the round: Great games this week

*Tottenham v Everton: Harry "bare bones" Redknapp meets a side with more injuries than his.

*Barnsley v Manchester United: Mark Robins faces his old manager seeking a repeat of the Tykes' 1998 FA Cup shock.

*Manchester City v Scunthorpe United: City's last trophy was this one, in 1976; will it be the first of the new era?

*Arsenal v Liverpool: Can Wenger's youngsters spoil Liverpool's mood of contentment?