AuthorJeffEyesRimmer The FA Cup third round was played this past weekend and while various other websites, pundits and newspapers debate the results, or lack of them, for the Premier league clubs, we are going to come out and say it – the magic of the FA Cup is gone. Yes, we know others are debating it but we think it is done; the magic has been lost to a world of TV executives and moneymen. The FA Cup, the oldest cup competition in the world, was once respected and the envy of the world, but it has now lost its appeal to the Premier League clubs and if we are honest to the fans as well. Let’s start with the fans. Only 5,199 watched Cardiff lose 2-1 at home to Fulham and this was not the only poor attendance. Just 6,608 watched Hull beat Swansea 2-0. A foolish TV timeslot of an 11.30am kick off was likely the major cause of these two games having such poor attendances, but not the only reason. In addition all four of those clubs are in poor form in the League and put simply are struggling to stay in their respective competitions. Priority of the League and the fortunes associated with it comes before the ‘romance of the cup’. This comes at a detriment of the cup, but this is the result of the money driven football world we live in now. A 17th place finish in the EPL is worth a lot more money than a win in the FA Cup and really only smaller teams in the lower division get major cash injection with a good Cup run nowadays.
The Cardiff manager Neil Warnock was honest and epitomised the feeling of fans currently I think when he said ‘I struggled to get out of bed and I must admit I wasn't really excited at the prospect of playing the side I'd got to play in the FA Cup. I knew the crowd would be low and I just hoped the fans would be alright with me, and they have been. It's just how it is at the minute. People have other priorities, which is sad’. He’s right too, it is sad to see a competition that was once an icon of the football calendar brought so low. They were not alone though; Norwich v Southampton attracted only 12,479, with the Norwich manager, Alex Neil indicating he thought the price of tickets after Christmas put people off. Fans would also been put off by the huge schedule of football over the holiday period, with the FA Cup fixture coming after a lot of teams had played around 6+ games over the Christmas period. In a world where a lot of people are being asked to ‘do it tough’ financially, football attendances will ultimately suffer. This brings us to the clubs and that fact that the majority of the ‘big’ teams either went out last round or fielded weakened teams for this round. The FA Cup is now considered to be a place to blood new talent and while that is to be admired to some degree the likes of Liverpool and Bournemouth changing the entire 11 is a slap in the face of the old Cup. An incentive is needed and making the FA Cup winner actually getting a place in the Champions League or the chance to earn some serious cash to rival a Premier League finish position is a must. It will never happen now though, too much money would be lost for the fourth placed team in the EPL. Arsenal would not be happy either! Joking aside, until the FA make it an incentive to enter Europe’s biggest competition then the FA Cup will continue to be overlooked by the bigger teams. A friend of mine texted me this morning and said that the League Cup was now better than the FA Cup. I scoffed at first but then thought about it and to a degree he was correct. The early finish in February/March of the League Cup means the ‘business end’ of the season in May is not compromised by fixture pile up and clubs don’t have to pick and choose what competitions to prioritise. A better fixture list for the FA Cup really would help this. Also we remember when the semi-finals were held at neutral venue, like Old Trafford or Villa Park. Playing the semi-finals at Wembley is a joke, with it taking the gloss off of the showpiece game. The final should only be at Wembley, simple as that. Then we come to the TV executives and while there is a part of me that understands why the BBC and BT choose to televise the Manchester sides games, we get to see these virtually every week. Why they didn’t show non-league team Sutton United versus MK Dons? A little hypocritical for the BBC to stand in the Olympic Stadium, a stadium that West Ham fans will admit is soulless, and tells us that the romance of the Cup is not dead. It would be laughable if it were not for the fact that they think we would believe it. The daft kick off times to suit TV also undermines the Cup too and needs to be revisited. The romance is gone, the magic is gone, and whilst the FA Cup is not completely dead yet, it is on its last legs and it needs saving. Image: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p02bhvmk.jpg |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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