The Sad Demise Of The F A Cup...

[drew]

The 3rd round should be seeded so that the Minnows get their big match.
90 mins then penalties..

I wouldn't do that because you play into the hands of the big clubs. What I would suggest is that, at the time of the draw, the home team is the one which is lower in the league pyramid. Agree with the 90mins and penalties though. Of course, smaller clubs would lose out on the big payday at old Trafford etc but would give them a better chance of progress.

Failing that, the only other way to improve the cup is to give the winner one our our Champions League places but I can't see the Premier League agreeing to that!

 

[The_Viper]

Give the winners a place in the Champions' League. That's the only way I can see it returning to its former importance for Premier League sides (as much as it pains me to say it).

For lower division sides it's not lost its appeal, obviously.

Unfortunately I can't see it happening, as the money men won't see the value in a lower division side competing in the Champions' League, should the unlikely happen. The elitist few want that all to themselves.

This, give it a CL spot and it'd be so important again. Plus fourth shouldn't be a prize.

 

[theboybilly]

Reinstate the ECWC

 

[Bigtomfu]

Millwall played Bournemouth who made 11 (eleven) changes from their last league fixture. That's how seriously they took the game today. That's is why the magic is dead, for me, at least.

Ok, that's a fair example, but a bit like us and the changes we made, this season legitimately any one of the starting XI would be good enough for our league XI

 

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

I wouldn't do that because you play into the hands of the big clubs. What I would suggest is that, at the time of the draw, the home team is the one which is lower in the league pyramid. Agree with the 90mins and penalties though. Of course, smaller clubs would lose out on the big payday at old Trafford etc but would give them a better chance of progress.

Failing that, the only other way to improve the cup is to give the winner one our our Champions League places but I can't see the Premier League agreeing to that!

That would ruin the FA cup for a lot of lower league club fans.. I always hoped for a draw against one of the big clubs away, getting to watch Brighton play at Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge was/is a much bigger draw than a home game.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Reinstate the ECWC

A very sensible suggestion. Straight knock out as well.

Def no to a champs league place. Can you imagine if that rule was in place already and Palace won the fa cup jesus.

Plus the league is a long old slog. Winning 6 games or whatever isnt right....esp if the draws go your way.

Plus need to absolutely be 3pm saturday and the semis not played at wembley. It also needs to be the last domestic game of the season. Not sandwiched in between the last two or three gmes of the prem league.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Millwall played Bournemouth who made 11 (eleven) changes from their last league fixture. That's how seriously they took the game today. That's is why the magic is dead, for me, at least.

We did ok against League 1 opposition having made 11 changes. How on God's Green Earth are Premier League Bournemouth not able to muster a competitive side v Millwall?

 

[jamie the seagull]

Reinstate the ECWC

Uefa would make it an ECWC League not Cup....to join their other Cup sorry I mean League's (Champions "League", Europa "League").

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Uefa would make it an ECWC League not Cup....to join their other Cup sorry I mean League's (Champions "League", Europa "League").

Surely you mean UEFA money making machines

 

[Deleted User X18H]

Millwall played Bournemouth who made 11 (eleven) changes from their last league fixture. That's how seriously they took the game today. That's is why the magic is dead, for me, at least.

11 (eleven) changes eh?

What sort of club does that ?

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Carrow Road looks half empty

 

[Bry Nylon]

MAGIC of the Cup...

...looks like we will be LAST on MotD tonight.

FFS.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Can you imagine if that rule was in place already and Palace won the fa cup jesus.

No, no I can't imagine that. I can imagine them losing a final to one of the worst Man United sides in decades, if that helps.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Or just go the whole hog and give the FA Cup winners the Champions League spot rather than give it to 4th place in the Premier League.

I've heard this argument made quite a few times and I tend to agree with it.

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?

 

[1066familyman]

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?

Good post!

I'd just lazily accepted that the big teams don't take the FA Cup seriously anymore, cemented by the fact that Manchester United were allowed to opt out of it one year, and assumed that giving the winners a Champions League spot would change that and somehow bring the magic of the cup back.

But it's not that simple really is it, as your stats perfectly illustrate. Giving that Champions League spot to the winners probably still won't change the importance given to the FA Cup. There's more to it than that.

Primarily there's just too much football on tv these days for one competition to be given the importance it once was, and the FA Cup certainly was given massive importance!

My Mum was a florist all her life and every year she'd do an FA Cup window for the week leading up to the Cup Final. A big display with the proverbial tin foil cut out Cup, flowers and ribbons in the colours of both teams and wishing both good luck. Monday morning after the final, and a new display would be in place congratulating the winners. Yes she's a lifelong football fan, but her shop wasn't alone in putting on a big display, loads of shops did it. The FA Cup Final was a tradition that meant so much more than just football. It was a tradition so ingrained in our culture that you didn't have to be a football fan to appreciate.

But another poster has nailed it as well. It was always the last fixture of the season, 3pm Saturday afternoon. It seemed a whole nation, and not just our nation, really did sit down to watch the eagerly awaited FA Cup Final. Not any more it isn't. Even football fans have to check when it's being played and at what time ko is, and it seems only about half of us will bother to watch it, and that's if there's nothing much else going on.

Another good point made on this thread is about the European Cup Winners Cup competition. European cup competitions were knock out competitions when we were kids, and they all meant something. There isn't really the same magic any more with Europa League type nonsense.

So perhaps, you're right, the FA Cup never really was that great, only that it was one of the few live games on TV and we as a nation invested our emotion in it to make the Fianl a great occasion. Times have changed a lot since those days, and perhaps no matter what they do with the competition now, it will never be the same again.

Except for the real football fan that actually goes to matches, and especially those fans of lower league and non- league teams, the magic of going to a giant killing fixture, or a semi final or final will never die.

 

[Ernest]

1130 kick off at an empty stadium on a Sunday sums up the FA Cup this year

 

[nicko31]

Carrow Road looks half empty

12k is really poor against a PL side and Soton took quite a few. More Albion watching a League 1 side yesterday

 

[Mr Banana]

12k is really poor against a PL side and Soton took quite a few. More Albion watching a League 1 side yesterday

There's a bit of unrest among their fans about it. The club didn't reduce ticket prices much. Would have had thousands more if they'd made it £12.

In other uninteresting news, I wrote summink about the MK Dons game: http://attheendofthedaydes.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/albion-2-0-mk-dons.html

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Good post!

I'd just lazily accepted that the big teams don't take the FA Cup seriously anymore, cemented by the fact that Manchester United were allowed to opt out of it one year, and assumed that giving the winners a Champions League spot would change that and somehow bring the magic of the cup back.

But it's not that simple really is it, as your stats perfectly illustrate. Giving that Champions League spot to the winners probably still won't change the importance given to the FA Cup. There's more to it than that.

Primarily there's just too much football on tv these days for one competition to be given the importance it once was, and the FA Cup certainly was given massive importance!

My Mum was a florist all her life and every year she'd do an FA Cup window for the week leading up to the Cup Final. A big display with the proverbial tin foil cut out Cup, flowers and ribbons in the colours of both teams and wishing both good luck. Monday morning after the final, and a new display would be in place congratulating the winners. Yes she's a lifelong football fan, but her shop wasn't alone in putting on a big display, loads of shops did it. The FA Cup Final was a tradition that meant so much more than just football. It was a tradition so ingrained in our culture that you didn't have to be a football fan to appreciate.

But another poster has nailed it as well. It was always the last fixture of the season, 3pm Saturday afternoon. It seemed a whole nation, and not just our nation, really did sit down to watch the eagerly awaited FA Cup Final. Not any more it isn't. Even football fans have to check when it's being played and at what time ko is, and it seems only about half of us will bother to watch it, and that's if there's nothing much else going on.

Another good point made on this thread is about the European Cup Winners Cup competition. European cup competitions were knock out competitions when we were kids, and they all meant something. There isn't really the same magic any more with Europa League type nonsense.

So perhaps, you're right, the FA Cup never really was that great, only that it was one of the few live games on TV and we as a nation invested our emotion in it to make the Fianl a great occasion. Times have changed a lot since those days, and perhaps no matter what they do with the competition now, it will never be the same again.

Except for the real football fan that actually goes to matches, and especially those fans of lower league and non- league teams, the magic of going to a giant killing fixture, or a semi final or final will never die.

Good post, It really is a mixture of all of the above I think.

I see Sutton are complaining about not being on TV, even for the "minnows" it is down to money - I am not blaming them, they need it.

I personally don't think there is a fix for it.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

I note that the CEO of the FA supports clubs fielding below strength teams. For me the magic of the cup was for the lower league teams having the opportunity to see the big stars just once in their lives. All the magic has disappeared.