FA Cup Revamp - Right or Wrong?

[Kent Seagull]

I think what really keeps crowds away is the trend to play a weak team against smaller clubs. I know that if I was a Crawley fan I'd wanna see Man U put a out all the household names rather than a bunch of kids I've never heard of. Seeing a prem clubs reserves out is of no interest to the big club's fans and takes the glory of playing a big club away from the smaller club. If FA rules insisted on at least 8 or 9 of the players from previous league matches playing there would be more fan interest.

 

[CliveWalkerWingWizard]

Don't you see what has been happening? Chopping and changing FA Cup traditions led to disrespect of the competition which meant weakened teams fielded, resulting in unwanted replays at non-League grounds. Your solution? start the cycle again by chopping those replays, depriving those two clubs of (for them) massive TV revenue. How selfish can you get? The blame for those replays lies with Gus.

I think you may be contradicting yourself there, surely if there are no replays the manager is likely to put out a stronger team, you could also argue that if the games had been settled on the day by penalties the smaller clubs were more likely to get through and a big pay day. You are obviously stuck in the past, was a second , third or fourth replay ever a good idea ? not for the fans pockets or managers with players getting suspended/injured.

 

[mwrpoole]

I think what really keeps crowds away is the trend to play a weak team against smaller clubs. I know that if I was a Crawley fan I'd wanna see Man U put a out all the household names rather than a bunch of kids I've never heard of. Seeing a prem clubs reserves out is of no interest to the big club's fans and takes the glory of playing a big club away from the smaller club. If FA rules insisted on at least 8 or 9 of the players from previous league matches playing there would be more fan interest.

I agree with that, if your playing Man U you want to see Rooney, Scholes etc etc. Perhaps the FA should make clubs declare a squad of 25 like they have to for Champions League so at least they have some control over who plays.

The Cup winners going to Champions League is non starter. Nothing to do with FA or PL as suggested above, UEFA's rules state 'member associations' (The FA in England) are represented by the clubs finishing in top X positions in their countries top domestic league. As we get 4 places its the top 4, and I can't see Platini changing the rules to help the FA.

The main problem with the FA Cup is the moneypit known as the the PL. It will be interesting to see what team Stoke put out Saturday, they are virtually safe from relegation but each team gets £800k (last years money probably more this year) for each position higher up the PL. They would have to get to the semi's to get that from the FA Cup and you can see the chairman saying sod the cup, lets keep best players fit and finish 2 or 3 places higher and get a couple of million extra in the bank.

Add to that the PL treat the FA cup with total disdain. Good example being we have two 4th rnd replays this week when they should be in the 5th round. The FA should have said 4th rnd replays are on 16th Feb and if you want to play Monday night Chelsea then you'll have to play Wednesday as well. Man City are in Europa cup tonight but if they knew they would have to play a replay tomorrow night as well I bet Mancini would have put a different team out againt Notts County originally. It makes no odds to the PL as they have no programme this week as they obviously expected most of their clubs to be in the FA Cup still. Little old BHA have moved their league game by a day to accommadate FA Cup but PL won't do it.

Many clubs seem to drop the prices for cup games and fair play to Stoke, their prices are loads cheaper than their normal PL games, and extra £5 off STH's and away STH's is great idea. Villa last year was £10 and they got one of their highest gates all season.

Playing the final Saturday night would be great IMO, but getting to/from Wembley is a frigging nightmare.

As for seedings, aren't they seeded anyway by entering at 3rd round?

 

[Nottseagull]

Where's the romance in a money-spinning replay? How many giant killings have taken place in recent years in a replay? The attendances and viewing figures suggest that by-and-large spectators aren't interested in replays.

They are more interested in the first match than the replay? What garbage! At first, I wondered why you had used the word recent; then I realised. You needed to exclude the one magical event which shoots your argument down in flames. It is, of course, this......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SE4wmzD7Xw&feature=player_detailpage

 

[GT49er]

Instead of seeding, which plays into the hands of the big clubs, why not regionalise the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds.

I don't know if they broadcast the first round draw, but when you look at the fixtures, it always looks as if it has mostly been regionalised, somehow. Anybody know if it is (officially or unofficially) - or is it just a annual series of enormous coincidences?

 

[happypig]

Maybe seeding is a good idea, but make it all the teams that qualify for the 4th round are the ones that enter the 3rd the following year so a few prem/champ clubs would have to play in the first two rounds but lower league teams get a double benefit from a cup run.

 

[BensGrandad]

1. Keep replays
2. Euro spot for the winners instead of The League Cup.
3. Bin the JPT
4. Make the League cup for what it is The Football League ie, Championship Div 1 and 2 played midweek as now but all 1 game.

 

[Gritt23]

The only thing I would change about the FA Cup is to reduce the Champions League places to 3 for league positions and give the FA Cup winner a spot. This would keep it real.

Exactly, and they should have done this YEARS ago. To make it part of a request to UEFA for a FIFTH spot, is just about hiding behind "UEFA not letting us do it."

Maybe a half-way house, would be to have the 4th place team, play-off against the FA Cup winners for the 4th and final CL place.

 

[BASINGSTOKESEAGULL]

I don't like the seeding bit, for example for us to be this far in the competition is a great thing, but I doubt we would have made the 5th round if we had to play a 'seeded' team in the 3rd round. Getting further means more money, and that's what I love about the cup, the randomness of the draw and anyone can play anyone. I like the cup the way it is and wouldn't change a thing really.

 

[redneb]

the demise of the cup has been so for one reason - the Champions league.

1. Rather than a straight knock out competition, they play a mini league to start with which means the bigger clubs dont put out full strength with such an abundence of CL games.
2. The money in the CL is far greater than the cup.

 

[Lord Bamber]

Exactly, and they should have done this YEARS ago. To make it part of a request to UEFA for a FIFTH spot, is just about hiding behind "UEFA not letting us do it."

Maybe a half-way house, would be to have the 4th place team, play-off against the FA Cup winners for the 4th and final CL place.

Very true but I like the "outside of the box" second point - it could work!

 

[GT49er]

So thanks to plummeting FA Cup *attendances, the FA are looking at ways of arresting the slide in time for the new television agreement next year.

Ideas include:

*Seeding teams from the third round in a bid to ensure the top teams do not draw each other in the early stages.
Bollocks! Give the "big" clubs a leg up to the fifth round? Stuff that!

*Scrapping replays.
Hmm...this is one I might be prepared to swallow....just. Don't like penalty shoot outs (I'm old school) but accept that they're here to stay. Replays aren't what they used to be - and as one poster has said, it IS the police's fault; replays used to be played the week after the match, usually on the Tuesday or Wednesday, so it was like an FA Cup WEEK. Then Plod decided it needed six months notice, several thousand quid and a mountain of paperwork before a team could be allowed to arrange a football match in its own stadium....so OK, take this if we have to.

*Playing all FA Cup ties in midweek.
Does anyone know Rampton and Broadmoor's emergency phone numbers? One of them seems to have lost someone. No, no, no, no, no, no,no, no!!!
That's a "No" from me, then

*Handing the winners a Champions League berth if UEFA grant English clubs a fifth place in Europe’s top club competition.
Won't happen. Sh*t idea anyway - Europa place - as there is at the moment - is fine, in the absence of a Cup Winners' Cup.....now that WAS a decent competiton. Rhyl Town vs. Inter Milan, wasn't it?


Am I the only one who feels this is just about getting the rich richer & the poor poorer?
Srangely, no, you're not

......now it's telling me my message is too short!!!!

 

[Lord Bamber]

......now it's telling me my message is too short!!!!

 

[GT49er]

Well, at least I managed more than a smiley!!!!!