The FA are at it again - messing with the FA Cup once again.

[Kinky Gerbil]

don't have the figures but the gist of what I read was that those kind of games were getting bigger attendances in league than cup, at all levels.

I dont disagree.

But these smaller clubs have smaller fan bases and less people to take the tickets if the season tickets cant afford another 30 quid for a cup game

 

[Barrel of Fun]

The FA do an astounding job and we should be wholly thankful that we have such an astute organisation guiding our national sport.

I feared for the association when they suffered the losses of Graham Kelly and the heavyweight Brian Barwick, but they continue to push our game on, going from strength to strength.

I applaud this new revolutionary idea that will surely bring back the magic of the old cup. Late night midweek football is a must for every young family.

The idea to bring the semi-finals to our national stadium was a shrewd move and I would be more than happy to have every single all-Premier League tie to be held there. It gives a chance to all those fans of Chelsea, Manchester United and so on from places are far flung as Plymouth and Abu Dhabi a chance to see their teams at the famous arena.

The FA are worth their weight in gold

 

[Everest]

The best way to improve the allure of the FA Cup is to give the winner a Champions League place - that would get clubs taking it seriously.

But Portsmouth are already taking it more seriously than they are the league!

a better fix would be to have a clear week after fa cup ties (at the weekend) in which replays would be played, that way there is no reason for clubs not to take a game seriously with their team selection.

That'll never work cos the police need time to organise their things.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Really? Millwalls draw was non league and same league till final
Everton and Portsmouth had bloody good sides.

Shocks happen, just because they lose doesnt mean they are not trying. Everton beat Man Utd in the semi last year and then last week... does that mean man utd where not trying in league?

Portsmouth won it without beating a single Premiership side, didn't they. Sheer fluke, no more.

 

[Easy 10]

I can't WAIT to see Crodo's input on this thread.
I am quite literally watching this AGOG in anticipation

 

[beorhthelm]

Everton? Portsmouth? Cardiff? Millwall? West Ham? Southampton?

if the big four took it seriously, they would supply every year's finalists

personaly that shows "the magic of the cup". if top four arent taking it seriously (and i think they do overall), i fail to see how a midweek fixture will change it one iota.

 

[withdeanwombat]

Played on Saturdays.

Replays the following midweek.No extra time.

Second replays the following midweek.Neutral ground or toss coin for home advantage.Extra time.

etc.

OR:

Have the draw and teams toss coin to see who wins until Final;15 mins each way in final with throw ins worth 1 point,corners 4 points and goals 10 points.Corners and throw ins only to count in case of a draw.

Then we can ALL concentrate on the MUCH MORE important Premier League and Champions League.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Portsmouth won it without beating a single Premiership side, didn't they. Sheer fluke, no more.

man utd away.

man u didnt have keeper

 

[Leekbrookgull]

I would suggest a few of you go back to the article. F/A spokesman Ian watmore 'for I ' would not want to change the 3 rd round weekend/day or cup final Saturday. 'FOR I' how the hell does he think he is ?

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Barrel, all i can do is agree ! Spot on mate.

 

[mona]

Have to say that the competition may have to be altered because its lost its spark. That is a genuine shame because it always meant so much. If by making changes it can be made more appealing we must accept that or it will just rust.

Lost its spark? Albion didn't have problems selling the Villa allocation. There was also a very good turn out at Torquay on January 2nd.
I can't see how it can be made more appealing by being pushed into midweek. Like all management, the FA have to change things to justify their existence.

 

[SurreySeagulls]

Another idea could be like the do in the Kings Cup in Spain i think. The higher league team plays away at the lower league side regardless of who is drawn out first.

OK it would have stopped us taking 6000 to VP but could work.

 

[throbinson]

Lets just play all the rounds at wembley

 

[crodonilson]

The FA Cup is a magical competition and one many say should not be messed with due to its history and prestige around the world.

However I applaud the FA for not resting on its laurels and taking the greatest domestic cup competition in the world for granted and seeking ways of evolving it into a more cutting edge format and bringing it into the 21st Century.

The magic of any game under lights is something special as we know, and having FA Cup games under lights can only further enhance the drama and spectacle of this treasured competition.

 

[auschr]

Lets just play all the rounds at wembley

greatest idea yet

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Lets just have the quarter finals contested by the top 8 of the previous years premier league all at wembley. Forget the knock out rounds previously.

So every year we will have a mix of Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd, Man City, Everton, Liverpool and whichever team finishes 8th like a Fulham or West HAm from previous seasons.

Winner!

 

[Gary Leeds]

if the premiership sides are worried about fixture congestion then the simple answer is to remove them from the FA cup or allow them to play with their reserve sides only. None of this weakend sides until they get close to the final. Make every team submit a squad of 20 players at the start of the competition and thats the players they use

 

[Black Country Seagull]

Make the fourth champions league place for the FA cup winners (ironically your have a champion rather than fourth place loser), your be surprised at how serious the clubs will start to treat the competition again!

 

[IKDRF]

Portsmouth won it without beating a single Premiership side, didn't they. Sheer fluke, no more.

Were Manchester United in the Championship that season then

 

[Gwylan]

personaly that shows "the magic of the cup". if top four arent taking it seriously (and i think they do overall), i fail to see how a midweek fixture will change it one iota.

I'm not for the midweek idea, I think it's crap.

But I do think that Prem clubs should make more of an effort. KG is right really (I was being flippant by pointing out some of the finalists) the fact is that one of the Big 4 has won the Cup every year (but two) since the start of the Premiership. That's 19 years worth of finals - if you look at the 19 finals before that there were 11 different winners - that's the magic of the cup.

I don't think they take it seriously. If clubs were approached by a good fairy before the start of the season and told they had two choices: fourth in the Prem and nowhere in the Cup or fifth in the Prem and FA Cup winners, do you really think many would take the latter: I don't. Yet: if you'd asked the same question 25 or 50 years ago, just about everyone would have taken the latter. That's a big change.

Most of the Prem clubs field weaker teams in the cup - the Big Four tend to win the cup more often because their reserves are better than other's reserves - although as Man U and Liverpool found out, they can still come a cropper against lower division clubs.

Clubs in Europe might still choose not to field their strongest teams but if a Europe place was at stake, other Prem teams might and the Cup would be better because of it.