The Romance of the Cup is Dead? Tell Lincoln That!
Posted by Rob Shepherd on Friday, February 24, 2017
The world’s most famous and oldest football knockout competition has had a turbulent few years. As a kid growing up in the early eighties, the FA Cup was special. No, it was more than that, it was magical. It was every fans’ wish to see their team lift that trophy. Have times changed?
Many of the Premier League’s top teams have been heavily criticised over the last ten years for fielding supposedly weakened teams, this has cheapened the appeal of the cup for many fans. A lot of people blamed Manchester United for the decline in the popularity of the FA Cup, the shock decision to not compete in the 2000 FA Cup sent shockwaves through Football.
The criticism aimed at United was a bit unfair, they were put in a very difficult position. At the time FIFA were championing a new World Club competition and the English FA were bidding (unsuccessfully) for the rights to host the 2006 World Cup. It was a widely held belief at the time that if United didn’t compete in the inaugural World Club competition then England’s chances of hosting the World Cup would be damaged.
Lee Hodgkiss, a spokesman for the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association, said: “My reaction is one of total disappointment. I blame the Government and the FA. I think it is tragic that they are about to sell the jewels of English football down the pan in the slim hope of us getting the World Cup. They [United] were damned if they did and damned if they didn’t.”
For many the romance of the competition is down to giant killing antics. In 1988 Wimbledon shocked the football world when they beat mighty Liverpool 1-0 in the final. Over 98 thousand fans packed into Wembley to see one of the biggest upsets in the history of the cup. Just five years earlier, Wimbledon had been in the 4th tier of English football.
Fast forward to this year’s competition and the magic seems to be back. Non-league Lincoln City did the impossible and became the first non-league team in over 100 years to reach the quarter finals. You tell those Lincoln fans at Sincil Bank who have been starved of success for so long that the FA Cup means nothing.
In this article we take a look at some of the problems that affect the FA cup, we comment and make suggestions on how we can reclaim this once prestigious competition and make it once again the showpiece finale of the English football season that it once was.
1. Timing is everything
All fans look forward to the third round. This is where the ‘big boys’ join the party and no matter which team you support, you want your team to be drawn against one of the Premier League’s elite. The problem here is that the third round games are played when we have the most congestion in the football calendar, the first couple of weeks of January. A lot of top teams play four league games in just a couple of weeks so understandably they rest top players for the intense league schedule which could mean qualification to the Champions League or survival for another year.
2. Stop using Wembley for semi-finals
“Wembley, Wembley”, once upon a time, playing at Wembley meant something. The semi-finals were held at neutral grounds and the hollowed turf of Wembley was reserved for the showpiece final. When the old Wembley was demolished to make way for the new Wembley, the FA were keen to recoup the £798 million it cost to build, they made the unpopular decision to host semi-final games at the national stadium. This for many cheapened the final.
3. BT Sport / Sky
Once upon a time there was just terrestrial TV, this meant millions of us watched the same games. The anticipation of BBC picking your local team to be screened live was immense and even non-footy obsessed public would join the family to watch an FA cup game. Now with dedicated sports channels, the top games are shown on subscription TV and this alienates the common fan. Although the final is still on ‘normal’ TV, many of the classic games are not.
4. Get rid of replays
A draw is worse than a defeat for a lot of clubs who are battling the fixture congestion that we mentioned in point 1. To add more fixtures in the most congested part of the year is just crazy but a replay can be the difference between a club surviving or folding. It’s a difficult one in all fairness, should we allow the smaller clubs to switch to the bigger grounds of the away teams? Or even allow neutral grounds to be used.
5. The Prize is not worth the cost
If we are serious about revitalising a historic event, why don’t we offer a Champions League spot for the winners of the FA cup? Controversial I know, but would Liverpool really play a youth team in the FA cup if there was a seat at Europe’s premier event at stake? I somehow doubt it. The magic of the FA cup could mean that Grimsby Town could play Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich etc. If they defied the odds and won our greatest cup competition.
Overall, I don’t think the FA Cup is dead, far from it. However, reform is needed to improve this amazing competition that is still watched by millions at home and many more millions across the globe.