A TRIP to Wembley for Liverpool FC. Even in these days of TV-manipulated fixture lists, hypocritical managers and ludicrously inflated player wages, there’s still something magical about that phrase.

For those of us of a certain age anyway, the pulse still quickens at the thought of watching your team contesting a major trophy at the national football stadium, especially since it’s been so long since we were last there.

Of course we’ve had several sojourns at the Millennium Stadium in the meantime, but our omission from the list of clubs that have played at the new Wembley was getting kind of embarrassing now that even a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy runner-up can tick that particular box. For heaven’s sake, even Everton have made an appearance.

I’m almost envious of the vast majority of fans who will be crawling down the M6, M42 and M40 on their adventure, or I would be if I hadn’t made the reverse journey a gazillion times over the last 35 years.

For me this is almost a home game, but that won’t lessen the frisson I’ll feel as I approach the environs of Wembley, wearing a raft of lucky clothing that would hamper a polar explorer, wondering if that Liver Bird I’ve had painted on my bald pate will come off in the wash. These are occasions to savour, and don’t you forget it.

It matters not that it’s the lesser of the two domestic cups, typically the fourth priority of those clubs who see their rightful place as amongst Europe’s elite.

The League Cup in its various incarnations has been seen largely as an inconvenience by the big clubs, and has had to come up with many innovations over the years to maintain its relevance. It’s derided by managers of teams who prioritise Premier League or even League One survival over the chance of knock-out success, and by those who value the riches of the Champions League via an also-ran position in the domestic league above the prospect of placing a genuine trophy on the club sideboard.

In my book those who cherish mid-table safety or money above the possibility of lifting a trophy in front of their fans are just missing the point of football: as Danny Blanchflower correctly identified many years ago, it’s about glory. You don’t tour the city in an open-top bus when you’ve finished fourth in the Premier League.

The League Cup should have a special place in the heart of every Liverpool fan anyway, given we’ve won it a record seven times, and appeared in 13 finals including replays; no other club has won a domestic trophy four years in succession as we did between 1981-84. As someone who has seen 12 of those games – for reasons I can’t remember, I missed the 1984 replay victory against Everton – my personal favourite memories are of two equalising goals rather than match-winners.

The relief when Ronnie Whelan screwed a shot past Ray Clemence in 1982, and when Alan Kennedy fired in from long range against Man Utd the following year, made even the joy of eventual triumph seem pale in comparison. Add in Kenny’s wonderful volley in the 1981 replay, and in more recent times Robbie Fowler’s goal against Birmingham in 2001 and Michael Owen’s sprint and finish to clinch the trophy against Man Utd in 2003, and you’ve enough memories for any fan.

So enjoy the magic on Sunday, and don’t let anyone use the phrase ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’ in your presence.