The Sad Demise Of The F A Cup...

Kinky Gerbils said:

It is still wrong.

Out of the last 11 winners 8 had qualified for the CL already

One of the other finals Wigan beat Man city who had finished in the top 4

That means the only clubs to Benefit would have been Portsmouth and Man United

The top sides still take it pretty seriously, look at the sides Arsenal/City/United put out so far - they have to as a way to save a managers job, 6 into 4 don't go.

It is not the big clubs who challenge for the top who don't take it seriously.

I like the FA cup, but was the FA cup ever that great? or was it because it was the only game on TV?

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Brovion said:

Oh it was big. In the old days an FA Cup fixture between two teams in the same division would get a much higher crowd than the same fixture in the League. . Interestingly it was the big clubs (Man U , Liverpool, Spurs etc) that had the big crowds and the timid "Let's concentrate on the League" clubs that had the poor crowds. If there is to be some sort of incentive rather than giving a CL place I'd say make it so that the winner of the Cup can't be relegated. That might make the likes of Hull take it more seriously.

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Brovion said:

Oh it was big. In the old days an FA Cup fixture between two teams in the same division would get a much higher crowd than the same fixture in the League. . Interestingly at the weekend it was the big clubs (Man U , Liverpool, Spurs etc) that had the big crowds and the timid "Let's concentrate on the League" clubs that had the poor ones. If there is to be some sort of incentive rather than giving a CL place I'd say make it so that the winner of the Cup can't be relegated. That might make the likes of Hull take it more seriously.

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Brovion said:

Oh it was big. In the old days an FA Cup fixture between two teams in the same division would get a much higher crowd than the same fixture in the League. . Interestingly at the weekend it was the big clubs (Man U , Liverpool, Spurs etc) that had the big crowds and the timid "Let's concentrate on the League" clubs that had the poor crowds. If there is to be some sort of incentive rather than giving a CL place I'd say make it so that the winner of the Cup can't be relegated. That might make the likes of Hull take it more seriously.

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Tony Meolas Loan Spell said:

I dont think after 6 or 8 games you should be gteed anything irrespective of league position. What you should be gteed is European football in the Europa league or bringing back the ECWC as a KNOCKOUT

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Easy 10 said:

Bit harsh on the club that finishes 17th taking the fall though.

*looks at table*

Hang on. GREAT idea.

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Brovion said:

That's the point - they'd ALL have to take it seriously!

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Brovion said:

Oh it was big. In the old days an FA Cup fixture between two teams in the same division would get a much higher crowd than the same fixture in the League. . Interestingly at the weekend it was the big clubs (Man U , Liverpool, Spurs etc) that had the big crowds and the timid "Let's concentrate on the League" clubs that had the poor ones.

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Brighton Lines said:

Happy New Year, and it's FA Cup time. I guess to some of us it matters more than others. I've transcribed my, somewhat bitter, thoughts. (Includes the goals from our defeat of Liverpool in 1984, and coverage of Malcolm Allison's team who simply needed to 'turn up' to beat Halifax Town at the muddy Shay in 1980)

https://brightonlines.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/the-sad-demise-of-the-fa-cup/

Can the tournament ever return to its former glories ?

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Brovion said:

Oh it was big. In the old days an FA Cup fixture between two teams in the same division would get a much higher crowd than the same fixture in the League. . Interestingly at the weekend it was the big clubs (Man U , Liverpool, Spurs etc) that had the big crowds and the timid "Let's concentrate on the League" clubs that had the poor ones. If there is to be some sort of incentive rather than giving a CL place I'd say make it so that the winner of the Cup can't be relegated. That might make the likes of Hull take it more seriously.

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Brovion said:

Ideally I'd agree with you. But the timid clubs don't take European competitions seriously either. (Although as you've implied UEFA must shoulder some of the blame for killing the ECWC and make adding a group stage to the UEFA)

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Bry Nylon said:

It's sad that the FA Cup has become completely emasculated and devoid of all romance - but sadder still that the BBC try to pretend otherwise and take us all for idiots who can't recognise what is plain for all to see. Just call it for it is; yes, let's watch the games but don't pretend the Cup has anything like the significance it used to have.

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Gritt23 said:

Absolutely, it was HUGE.

Not just the money, there was also the chance to see your team on telly! That was a massive thing 30+ years ago. Not just "maybe we get the live game" but simply having cameras at the game at all. When Match of the Day started it was the single MATCH they had chosen to show you from that day. Even by the mid 80's they only showed highlights from a couple. So simply seeing anything of your team on telly was special. But a Cup run, and there were fewer games they could show. Get a plum tie and that improved your chances again. Get to the FINAL and you would be the only domestic game shown LIVE all season! Of course we all crowded around the telly from about 9am, we were being built up to seeing a WHOLE GAME LIVE. Not quite the same rarity value now is it.

Also, with so few games being on the telly, and when they were, the highlights were relatively brief, you wanted a big club, so that you would see some of these players play, as you simply didn't see that much of them from your living room.

Times have moved on, and the only excitement about the FA Cup these days is when we recall the old days. They are not coming back, the FA Cup can never be what it was, and as sad as that is, we just have to accept it.

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Kinky Gerbils said:

I am willing to bet UEFA would tell the FA to f-off if that happens!

Your point on relegation, you cant start mixing the cups with the league, if you go down you deserve to go down.

Would you change football as it is now for a strong FA cup, not sure many would.

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Pavilionaire said:

This is what the BBC do - you could say exactly the same thing about the BDO darts.

I have to say, I understand why Plymouth fans were ecstatic at their draw at Anfield but Liverpool fielded their reserves - the average age in their team would have been under 21 had it not been for the inclusion of Lucas.

Indeed, results like this - for me - are the very opposite of the magic of the cup because it's a reminder that even a battle-hardened Top 3 League 2 outfit like Plymouth still can't beat Liverpool's kids.

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Seagulltonian said:

If I was the manager of a "Mid-Table" Premiership team, i.e. Everton, Stoke, Bournemouth, West Brom, the FA Cup would be one of my priorities,
and I would be playing my first team, as the League Cup, or whatever it's called, you're already out of, and you're pretty safe from relegation, and at least your fans have something to get excited about for the last third of the season, and you've still got a chance to qualify for Europe next season as well!
Now they've not really got much to look forward to, apart from a local derby maybe?

If you look at the Quarter-final line-ups for the last few season, quite a few Non-premiership sides have made it, and with some strange winners as well, it's a competition that still can provide an upset, unlike the Champions League, or the Premership (Leicester accepted).

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