Rafa needs to Kop on as hopes go up in smoke

MAYBE we should all wean ourselves off cup football? Having somehow persuaded the public to pay high prices for reserve matches in all but name, United upped the stakes in scandalous fashion by extracting money from people’s accounts for games they weren’t actually interested in.

Either that or lose your tickets for the games that really matter.

Liverpool, as ever, waddle wearily after the gravy train, late as usual but no doubt will clamber onboard eventually, citing the “in order to compete” mantra that says another con is looming.