Manchester United spent the past couple of decades winning league title after league title, with a few doubles, and the previously unprecedented treble thrown in.

The League Cup, currently known as the Capital One Cup, had a different name for plenty of United fans for a long time. Even now, with the silverware drying up at Old Trafford over the past two seasons, there will be some supporters who still refer to it as the “Mickey Mouse Cup”.

The league title is the priority. Being the champions supersedes anything else, closely followed by the Champions League, although that title is its sweetest when you are crowned the best team in your country at the same time. The next priority is the FA Cup, a trophy United have gone over a decade without winning, and Arsenal’s victory at Wembley in May means they have overtaken United as the team who has won it the most.

That leaves us with the Capital One Cup, bottom of the pile when it comes to the most treasured trophy. Historically, Sir Alex Ferguson used this competition to give the young players a chance. The club could therefore be criticised for not taking it seriously enough. While other clubs will start their strongest side, United rarely did with Ferguson.

But for our former manager, helping develop the youth in the squad outranked winning the League Cup. But United and England fans should probably be very grateful for that.

For example, David Beckham made his United debut in, as it was known then, the Coca Cola Cup, as a 17 year old in the second round against Brighton and Hove Albion. He replaced Andrei Kanchelskis in the second half before he had even signed professional forms with the club. Beckham would have to wait another three years before he would play in the Premier League though.

Paul Scholes’ first appearance for United was also in the Coca Cola Cup but was more memorable than Beckham’s. Scholes scored both goals in United’s 2-1 win over Port Vale.

Ferguson wasn’t the first to do this though, with Mark Hughes and Bryan Robson also getting their debut in the competition a decade earlier.

Of course, it’s not all glam, with Bebe, Pat McGibbon and Kieran Richardson among the scores of players off United’s conveyor belt who got their first taste of Manchester United through this competition.

Still, it’s important to note that over the past 10 years, no team has lifted this trophy more often than United. The wins over Tottenham Hotspur in 2009 and Aston Villa in 2010 were nice enough, but it was the 2006 cup win which will probably stand out in most United fans’ minds.

This era was doom and gloom at Old Trafford, with the Glazers buying the club in 2005 and United looking as though they would lose out on the title to Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea indefinitely. In hindsight, Jose Mourinho’s reign only lasted two seasons, but at the time it felt as though it would go on forever, with United playing the likes of Roy Carroll in goal, Richardson in midfield and Alan Smith up front, among other inadequate players.

However, the end of the 2005-2006 season gave United a bit of hope. They beat Wigan 4-0 in the Carling Cup final, which meant Gary Neville won his first trophy as club captain, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra got their first taste of silverware at United, and there was something to be a bit more upbeat about. Supporters then couldn’t have predicted that the following year they would be champions again, particularly once Chelsea added Ashley Cole, Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko to the squad that had just won the league, but that’s exactly what happened.

It would be disingenuous to suggest that trophy win caused United to claim the title the following season, but it would be fair to argue that it was a catalyst. It restored a bit of pride among the players and satisfied some of the craving for success, but they wanted more of it.

When Neville reflected on this trophy win years later he claimed it was a “massive victory” for the club. “It was the springboard to the most dominant period in the club’s history, when United won four titles out of five and qualified for three of the past four Champions League finals, winning in 2008,” he said. “Being on the podium is a drug. Having a medal put round your neck and running round a stadium with the Cup is addictive.”

Louis van Gaal is faced with another League Cup campaign and he will surely be hoping that this season it goes better than last. After getting thrashed 4-0 by MK Dons last season, United need to approach the competition differently this season.

It’s worth noting that Van Gaal probably had a very clear idea in mind when picking the team to face MK Dons. David de Gea is the only player from that starting line-up who is still at the club, other than Nick Powell, who hasn’t been seen or heard of for months. The manager needed a clear out and wanted those above him to realise that investment was needed.

This year, the Capital One Cup should be seen as a genuine target, even if it ranks fourth in terms of the trophies United really want to win. Having gone two seasons without anything to celebrate, the club, players and fans could certainly do with a boost.

However Van Gaal chooses to approach this competition, he won’t be going about it the same way Ferguson did though, insisting this week that youngster James Wilson and Jesse Lingard won’t be needed for Wednesday night’s clash against Ipswich.

Still, if this attitude means he plans to go in to the competition playing strong squads, then that surely should be a source of comfort for the fans. As much as they enjoy seeing their academy players being given an opportunity in the first team, it’s a positive thing that the manager recognises this competition is worth taking seriously. For this season at least.

Van Gaal has repeatedly confirmed that he will be leaving at the end of next season, so he could do worse than winning a trophy this year, with the hope it could be a catalyst for something greater in his final year. This United team need to get addicted to winning again and there’s no reason why this trophy can’t be the springboard again.