[Football] The FA Cup - Are fans responsible for killing it?

[Bold Seagull]

There appears to be a general trend by some to denounce our FA Cup run as not worthy of recognition because we struggled to beat, X, Y and Z.

Isn't that the point of the FA Cup? Isn't that the romance, you're not expected to necessarily walk into a tie against a side 1 league below you, 2 leagues, non league and just win. Didn't we play Millwall at their ground because they had beaten Everton? Didn't we play Derby because they had beaten Southampton? Is Man City's FA Cup not as good as others because they didn't play anyone in the top 6, having just Rotherham, Burnley, Newport, Swansea, Us and Watford - bit easy wasn't it?

If that is a general reflection of how supporters see it, that close victories against Bournemouth, West Brom, Derby, Millwall leading to defeat in the semi final isn't really worth any merit given the nature of the opposition, or the quality of the performance, then has the cup really lost all value not just of financial importance to the clubs, but for recognition of supporters?

I'm generally dumbfounded that getting to a semi final has been treated with such apathy.

That apathy across the game in turn reflected in attendance with ticket prices in many cases the same you would expect to pay in an Ishmian Premier League game. What message are fans sending exactly when we sell out Premier League games outside our Season Ticket holders for £50 per ticket, and yet where is the sell out for a £10 FA Cup tie?

We got to a quarter final last season, then went 1 further with a semi final. Why on earth would we want to belittle our growing cup pedigree, simply to serve a narrative regarding a manager change? I honestly don't get it.

 

[Da Man Clay]

No. Clubs killed it a long time ago. The fans apathy towards it is a natural progression.

Man City’s win isn’t that impressive either given the level of opposition. It is clearly not as ‘good’ as when a winner has had to beat someone of the same ability or similar ability. Similar to our run equally not being that impressive.

 

[Superphil]

The FA are responsible for the decline in interest in the cup, not the fans, not the clubs either. It’s a cash cow at the moment for them, and they like to get lots of cash.

 

[SAC]

I'd still love to win it but it certainly isn't as special as it was.

The fans don't turn up in the early rounds as the managers don't pick all first team players.

 

[Justice]

To be fair the Millwall keeper did drop the ball in his own net, an Albion performance to be forgotten.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

It was killed when Edwardes asked to have Man U play in a tinpot money compo in the US and not play in the FA cup that year, and the FA agreed. That was around 20 years ago.

 

[happypig]

Semi-finals at Wembley.
No replays after a certain point.
Final on at teatime.
Clubs fielding reserves.

None of these are fans' doing.

 

[Questions]

Everyone is responsible indirectly. Everyone who subscribes to Pay TV to watch the Champions League and the Premier League have elevated those competitions and given it all it’s wealth at the cost of the importance of the FA Cup. The Premier League is everything now and that has elevated the Championship as well as it’s so close to the promised land. Derby and WBA..... weakened teams remember. No going back now. Shame as it was the best day of the year once but there you go.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Our run wasn't the hardest, but nor was it remotely 'easy'.

R3. We beat a decent Bournemouth side, away from home, having made a similar number of changes to them. Excellent result
R4. We were dreadful against a WBA second XI at home, but fought hard to win the replay. Poor performance, but good character.
R5. Extremely comfortable win against a full strength Derby, who'd beaten other Prem sides to get this far. Good efficient performance.
QF. Not a great Albion showing, but came through a classic tricky tie at Millwall, despite some appalling officiating working against us.
SF. Worst possible draw. Game effort but never really laid a glove, on the best team in the country.

 

[MattBackHome]

The FA Cup is shit and fewer people care about it as much as once they did.

The best that can be said about it is that it's a good chance for me to take my small kids to matches. Cheap tickets, the result doesn't matter and I can happily leave early.

If we get to another semi at Wembley soon I would think twice about going.

 

[Simster]

For all the issues surrounding it, it is still very much a relevant competition - consider that 3 of the 4 teams sold out Wembley allocations for the semi finals. And that brings us onto the crux of the issue - City didn't sell out. It is now a very clear 3rd (4th if you include both European competitions separately) most important competition for the biggest clubs in the country. Back when I was a kid, it really was almost on a par with the league title.

If the FA were allowed to give the winner a Champions League spot (even if there were stipulations that you had to also be in the top division to enter), you'd see it's importance rocket.

 

[Mellotron]

If the FA were allowed to give the winner a Champions League spot (even if there were stipulations that you had to also be in the top division to enter), you'd see it's importance rocket.

If it was workable, I'd be 1000% behind this. Winning the FA Cup should be far more of an achievement than finishing 4th.

 

[METALMICKY]

Semi-finals at Wembley.
No replays after a certain point.
Final on at teatime.
Clubs fielding reserves.

None of these are fans' doing.

Yes, pretty much sums it up and as you say none driven by fans.

 

[Superphil]

Semi-finals at Wembley.
No replays after a certain point.
Final on at teatime.
Clubs fielding reserves.

None of these are fans' doing.

100% agree with this.

 

[Gazwag]

Semi-finals at Wembley.
No replays after a certain point.
Final on at teatime.
Clubs fielding reserves.

None of these are fans' doing.

I'll add to that "Football on TV"

In the good old days the FA Cup final was the ONLY English live club match in the year on TV

 

[Bold Seagull]

For all the issues surrounding it, it is still very much a relevant competition - consider that 3 of the 4 teams sold out Wembley allocations for the semi finals. And that brings us onto the crux of the issue - City didn't sell out. It is now a very clear 3rd (4th if you include both European competitions separately) most important competition for the biggest clubs in the country. Back when I was a kid, it really was almost on a par with the league title.

If the FA were allowed to give the winner a Champions League spot (even if there were stipulations that you had to also be in the top division to enter), you'd see it's importance rocket.

If it was workable, I'd be 1000% behind this. Winning the FA Cup should be far more of an achievement than finishing 4th.

Champions League qualification will just lead to the top 6 putting even more resources into the FA Cup.

I'd go the other way, Champions League group stage qualification means you cannot enter the FA Cup that year. I'd take them out of it, let them focus on winning that competition. Leave the FA Cup for everyone else.

Unpalatable at first maybe, but we'd see a complete refreshing of the competition because so many teams would suddenly believe they have a chance of winning it.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

To be fair the Millwall keeper did drop the ball in his own net, an Albion performance to be forgotten.

No he didn't. Watch the slow motion replays and see the ball go straight between his hands. It was not an own goal.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

There appears to be a general trend by some to denounce our FA Cup run as not worthy of recognition because we struggled to beat, X, Y and Z.

Isn't that the point of the FA Cup? Isn't that the romance, you're not expected to necessarily walk into a tie against a side 1 league below you, 2 leagues, non league and just win. Didn't we play Millwall at their ground because they had beaten Everton? Didn't we play Derby because they had beaten Southampton? Is Man City's FA Cup not as good as others because they didn't play anyone in the top 6, having just Rotherham, Burnley, Newport, Swansea, Us and Watford - bit easy wasn't it?

If that is a general reflection of how supporters see it, that close victories against Bournemouth, West Brom, Derby, Millwall leading to defeat in the semi final isn't really worth any merit given the nature of the opposition, or the quality of the performance, then has the cup really lost all value not just of financial importance to the clubs, but for recognition of supporters?

I'm generally dumbfounded that getting to a semi final has been treated with such apathy.

That apathy across the game in turn reflected in attendance with ticket prices in many cases the same you would expect to pay in an Ishmian Premier League game. What message are fans sending exactly when we sell out Premier League games outside our Season Ticket holders for £50 per ticket, and yet where is the sell out for a £10 FA Cup tie?

We got to a quarter final last season, then went 1 further with a semi final. Why on earth would we want to belittle our growing cup pedigree, simply to serve a narrative regarding a manager change? I honestly don't get it.

The fans I have read who are belittling it, are ignoring to justify their wanting Hughton out.

Yes, I know it has been done, and probably for the right reasons, but posts I have read simply quote the dreadful run of league games without a win, and totally ignoring the cup games because they were Championship teams and even Bournemouth reserves, was one I read just yesterday.
It was easy, I was told, to which I replied, If it was so easy, why was there 36 years in between semi final appearances.

I enjoyed the cup run, although I think it did affect our league games. It was a distraction. A similar circumstance happened to Southampton last year where they escaped relegation on the very last day, but had been to Wembley for their semi-final.

 

[wellquickwoody]

It needs semifinals at neutral venues, it needs replays, it needs a European slot (CL if Prem, UEFA if not). It needs the season moulded around it, at least up until the fifth round, and terrestrial TV to make a BIG thing about it.

 

[Brovion]

I think the clubs and the FA are more to blame than the fans - but all three parties must shoulder some blame. I definitely enjoyed our Cup run, I'm glad we did it and (with respect to Thunderbolt and others) I don't think it was a fatal distraction. The fact our league form suffered as we progressed is co-incidental rather than as a result of. (On the other hand I do believe a Cup run can be galvanising. And the results after we were knocked out were shocking!).

However there's no point in pretending it was as exciting as 1983, and amongst the fanbase I didn't detect nearly the same levels of excitement.