I once spoke to Kevin Keegan when I was in Bari for an Anglo-Italian tie in the early 1990s, and asked him is the competition was worth the effort.
His reply was typical Keegan: "I didn't choose to play in this competition, the chairman made that decision.
"But we are here in Italy, and I'm gonna make sure we give this 110%, as I do in every game.
"This is Newcastle United and we go out to win EVERY game - including games in the Anglo Italian!"
Last summer Pardew made up a list of priorities and the League Cup was at the bottom of it: "The Premiership is our top priority, and I think we can do well in the FA Cup, and those two are my major concerns. Europe and the League Cup are a chance to use our full squad."
But Chris Hughton showed a similar lack of interest in the competition, and that was one of the reasons Mike Ashley showed him his cards.
Of all three competitions, the League Cup is the one we have a decent chance of winning, so why hasn't the penny dropped with Pardew?
That August evening in Morecambe could be very interesting.
Capital One Cup second round draw:
Carlisle v Leicester
Doncaster v Leeds
Nottingham Forest v Millwall
Sunderland v MK Dons
West Brom v Newport
Bristol City v Crystal Palace
Peterborough v Reading
Barnsley v Southampton
Burton v Fulham
Burnley v Preston
Liverpool v Notts County
Norwich v Bury
Leyton Orient v Hull
Everton v Stevenage
Stoke v Walsall
Huddersfield v Charlton
Aston Villa v Rotherham
Tranmere v Bolton
Morecambe v Newcastle
QPR v Swindon
Derby v Brentford
Watford v Bournemouth
Yeovil v Birmingham
Accrington v Cardiff
West Ham v Cheltenham
Ties to be played the week commencing August 26
WE TELL IT AS IT IS - NO BULLSHIT!
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