I didn't even watch it then. Never have seen it. Apparently we should 'of' won? I can't bear watching us on TV, actually!
No, I get that. I can't watch us live on TV as I care too much about the result so I can't enjoy it. Sometimes I'll switch it on if I know we are 2 goals up and then switch it off again 5 mins later when we are only 1 goal up . I didn't watch the Wolves SF, and in fact didn't know it had gone to ET as I knew we were losing 2-1 v close to the end, and then the BBC website update was incorrectly typed "PENALTY WOLVES" so I stopped checking !
No replays in the FA cup from next season it seems as expected probably. Predictable but strange to scrap Round one and two replays when the PL clubs don’t enter those rounds ?
Yes not good for the plucky lower league clubs who manage to draw, especially in round 3 and get a replay at a PL or championship club, always a welcome boost of income!
They may get less cash but a better chance to progress via a pen shootout than a replay against a bigger team ? More shocks ?
Some of my best football memories involve FA Cup replays. What is the point of the FA if they just do what the big clubs want? They are supposed to represent the whole game.
Shoot me down in flames by all means however if you have qualified for Europe then you can opt out of the FA Cup ?. Different teams playing the final may reignite the love for the Competition?. There is no Citeh or Arse in the Championship play-off final and that has massive interest .
Would be fine in the footballing sense but would severely damage the commercial prospects of the tournament so things like sponsorships and tv rights would be devalued quite a bit. Which in turn would probably turn the already slim prize money pot into a pile of buttons.
Man U were allowed to pull out for the club world championships in 2000 I remember in favour of votes for the 2006 World Cup. We got about 2 in the end !
Sadly if that is the case the we shall all have to accept that football is for the elite and those further down the food chain will have to be grateful for the crumbs that we receive
Well someone is telling porkies. Not great when the powers that be are at each others throats. https://www.efl.com/news/2024/april/19/efl-statement--fa-cup-replays/
Simple solution... Reinstate some of the old rules – replays until there's a winner, conduct the draw at the same time each round (say, Monday night) – and tell the top 92 clubs it's optional. If Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and so on don't want to enter, that's fine, they can skip a year with no penalty. Then let's see what happens. Because I bet all the clubs will enter but their opportunity to whine and moan will have been removed. If City or Liverpool etc then decided to enter and play the kids, that's fine, but the tedious, dreary, boring complaining will be off the table because the club will have chosen to opt in. And if, say, City, Liverpool and co opt out one year because they've got the FIFA World Club Cup coming up in the summer, that's fine. Someone else will have an opportunity to win silverware. Same goes for Watford and, in fact, all clubs – if enough fans think it's a terrible idea to waste their time and energy on the FA Cup they can make that case and see what the club decides to do. It'd give those clubs and supporters who actually want to contest one of the oldest sporting competitions in the world the chance to do so without dreary killjoys trying to convince everyone that finishing 11th is, actually, you know, more important. Clubs would have until, say, July 1 to enter or not. Then the preliminary qualifying rounds can be organised so the tournament still works properly. Won't happen, of course. Instead, why not let the mega-rich just chip away at something that has history and (had) prestige and just tarnish and spoil and ruin it. After all, that's what the mega rich like to do most.
Or bugger off and join the Super League (which was something I was in favour of when this first came about. Get all the super wealthy clubs out of the English divisions and level the playing field a bit. Yes you won't really get "shocks" or "giant killings" but at least the top division won't be so boring and predictable. Also smaller clubs like Fulham and the like have a real shot at winning the division. How likely is it we see another Leicester City PL win again anytime soon? With the gap of finance getting bigger every season, teams that go up from the Championship who have been established as a lower tier side for a while without first and second year parachute payments. will get wrecked each time they go up, if they do not spend millions on upgrading the squad straight away (much more now than we did in 2014). It's just not a risk cash-strapped clubs can afford, with the financial loss of first year relegation hitting even harder.
I bet Man C, Chelsea and Man U won't be complaining about too games etc if they win the cup. For the last 2 might keep their manager in a job!
It always used to be Monday lunchtime, which was perfect. All the original ties from the previous round were played on the Saturday, so all the giant killers or those who got an unexpected replay had the weekend to enjoy it and anticipate who they might get in the draw. You had to tune in to BBC radio to hear it as the balls were drawn from the velvet bag by the blazers in an oak-panelled committee room at the FA. Then it was straight on to the replays the following night - great days!
Would it not have been a small victory this season, for the minnows ,had there been an opportunity for the big heads to not play in the FA cup, only then to crash out of various European comps and then have to watch the little people enjoy their day out at Wembley whilst Citeh and Arse fans are watching Netflix ?
This trickles down from the bigger clubs as well. Forest and Brentford were complaining about replays earlier in the season. In fairness Pep at Man City seems to always play a strong side to get the job done but I guess without playing the kids any team they field will be very powerful.
Pep could play 3 strong teams in 3 different competitions at the same time ! I don’t get the big club irritation with this cup. If it’s not your #1 priority, just play your reserves as many do which gives other clubs a better chance. I can’t say I’m too bothered about eliminating replays though. Win or bust in the day and gives an underdog a better chance of a giant killing even if they lose a potential payday.
I find it amazing how these clubs find a replay 200 miles away in England so-so tiring and risky to their players’ physical well-being whilst a 3000 mile each way flight to play 3 pointless games in often hot and humid conditions is ‘totally necessary’.
Obviously Newcastle and Spurs don’t feel too tired if they can fly to Australia for a post season game or two ?
I see they've changed the rules to favour man city again. A push in the back now fine if it's Kyle Walker. And a handball in the wall fine if it's Jack Grealish.
I don’t think the 50/50 by Walker on Jackson was denying a scoring opportunity simply because it was Jackson… And Oliver decided there was no ball contact from a Citeh player on the free kick as that might require him to give it as a penalty. So awarding a corner was not possible in his world of self-righteousness.
Just gave a free kick outside the box for a walker push, that was much less a foul than the shove in the box on Jackson.
Didn''t Grealish give away a penalty last year for less of a handball in the final? Jammy City. Chelsea should have won.
