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Quoted from ska face

All teams should make a stand & boycott the competition in protest at this continued absolute capitulation from the cnts at the FA. Without lower league clubs, the FA is nothing.

If you got 50-60 clubs to pull out it would absolutely hammer the reputation of the cup & FA and force a rethink.

Totally agree. I know we have disagreed on a few subjects but I am totally in agreement with you on this. The FA shouldn't EVER bow to the Premiersh*t's wishes, in fact the reverse.

They should stop pandering to Premier League teams.

If Man City etc don't like it, they can always withdraw from the competition.

I wonder how long before the top clubs don’t come in till round 4 ??
That’s the next step !!!

If only the lower league teams had had the opportunity to stand up to the PL when they ruined a cup competition……..

Quoted from Civvy at last

I wonder how long before the top clubs don’t come in till round 4 ??
That’s the next step !!!

Most of them don't even play their first-teamers until the latter stages, in any case...

I actually agree with scrapping replays, which might leave me on my own after the awesome Luton replay last season, but the other proposals are reprehensible.

If they’re getting rid of replays they should bin extra time. Better teams are obviously at an advantage over lower-ranked teams in terms of fitness & quality on the bench, so 99 times/100 will end up winning in extra time. Straight to pens for any draws.

Quoted from ska face

If they’re getting rid of replays they should bin extra time. Better teams are obviously at an advantage over lower-ranked teams in terms of fitness & quality on the bench, so 99 times/100 will end up winning in extra time. Straight to pens for any draws.

That’s not a bad shout.

They’ll be playing the final Saudi Arabia next.

intercourse 'em.

intercourse the history and what remains of the prestige of this once great competition. Tired of being grateful for crumbs falling off that top table and nodding along as we shafted from behind at their pleasure.

Walk away from it all, let them rot in their cesspool of greed, dirty money and self-indulgence. Premier League, Premier League 2, European Super League, those in the FL who are desperate to snuggle up to their paymasters, take the FA Cup if they want - that'll be fun with 6 teams in it.

Let the purer version of the beautiful game flourish away from them and their poisoned attitudes.

Quoted from Heisenberg

I actually agree with scrapping replays, which might leave me on my own after the awesome Luton replay last season, but the other proposals are reprehensible.

I'm sure if we were drawing with a top 6 Premier League side going into the 90th minute at BP, and the winner would be away to Bournemoth in round 4, you might feel somewhat differently ;)

Just get rid of same-league replays, then the whinging PL teams won't need to face off with each other again, which I think is their main problem with replays. If they can't beat a side from a lower division they deserve the inconvenience of a replay. Either that or bring in no replays by prior agreement. If both clubs agree before the game that there won't be a replay, sorted. If one doesn't agree then it goes to replay. Easy-peesy.

The football league, with the FAs approval copulated a decent competition because they saw pound signs, a few fans protested but not enough was made of it, clubs were given an insurance payout essentially to cover costs, then thousands turned up in their droves, because why care about the long term impact detrimental effect it would have on football for a poxy day out at Wembley, Lincoln fans I’m looking at you…

No doubt this is to accommodate the big clubs but what we really mean is a handful of top flight clubs, which, ironically, are the only teams that generally get to the last 8/4 and final, so it can’t be impacting them too bad.

flipping games gone but are we surprised the FA are spineless.

Hang on, let me get this straight...

Premier League teams, with their hugely inflated squads, don't want replays because they're an inconvenience?

They all have squads big enough to play twice a week, every week.

The majority of PL clubs aren't playing in Europe (and those that do could name THREE teams from their vast squads).

This is getting utterly ridiculous.

They have the player resources to deal with replays. If they can't handle the odd FA Cup replay then why are so many seeking B teams??

It's actually farcical. I mean, it's obvious what's going on. It's not about tradition, heritage or history. It's about money, pure and simple.

Pure greed.

I'm genuinely at the point where I actively want the so-called elite teams to break away and fúck right off. Right off into Europe, or wherever, and play in front of plastic fans at silly hours of the day. Leave them to it.

Meanwhile the rest of us can try and enjoy more traditional football that actually means something to the working class.

What makes me laugh is that Town played (off the top of my head) 59 games last season. If you go down further down the non-league pyramid, clubs that are semi-pro play in their own league cups, county cups and FA Cup preliminary rounds and qualifiers and can play even more. They're happy to be competing on so many fronts.

The so-called top clubs are so full of themselves. Once you've been to their ground once you can tick a box as it isn't all its made out to be. Gratifying when the self-entitled so-called bigger PL teams become unstuck though.

I did a right mixture of games last season but strangely enough, one of my favourites was an old-school trip to and win at Sutton and the tourists at many PL grounds will never know what that feels like.

I've read a few books by Mat Guy recently and I'd recommend them. He really captures the joy of watching a team in the lower leagues or non-league pyramid.

In my opinion the easiest thing to do would be to reinvent the Football League Cup. No Premiership teams which solves their “issue” of potentially playing 3 or 4 games extra for most of them. Then make it more of a round robin and ditch the Papa John’s combining them perhaps into semi-regionalised groups of 5 with 2 home games and 2 away games. Guaranteed income, no U23 teams, perhaps allow the 3 promoted teams to the Premiership entry to make it up to 75 teams so 15 groups of 5… maybe include the 2 relegated and 3 losing playoff teams from NL to have 80 teams and thus 16 groups. Top 2 from each group go through to last 32 etc. This will give lower league teams potentially better guaranteed income than the PJ (as Championship teams will be in it) and at least as many matches as Carabao and PJ combined. Can even seed the groups based on previous seasons league standings. Not being in the Carabao may mean Premiership teams look forward to th FA Cup again?

April already??

This must be a joke.

I might miss out on another glorious journey but I think that's me boycotting the fa cup from now on.

Whatever the prem want, the prem get.

Nothing lasts forever and neither will the premiership. Money and power corrupts and that corruption will see the whole thing come crashing down. But although we moan about them, none of us would moan if we did a Luton, or if we had another good cup run drawing premiership teams along the way. We wouldn’t turn down the tv money and worldwide attention of playing against the elite sides. But all that aside, I feel for the real fans of these clubs, watching, as the life and soul of the thing they love, is sucked out, by owners who would make Fleetwood’s Andy Pilley seem like Florence Nightingale!

The premier league is here to stay. Since it’s inception there has been talk of it going bang, probably like Italian football but in truth, the premier league is much more stable than Serie A ever was.

One thing you have to give them credit for is building something that will last, I’m well aware there’s arguments as to whether or not it is sustainable but even when teams have teetered on the edge of going bust, the league has remained fairly untouched. There are other positive influences it has had on the game but they’re often over looked because of the obscene cash involved.

In this context, the FA cup, I don’t think it’s probably all the teams and ironically, it’s likely to be those middling teams; Villa, Palace, Newcastle etc, teams who don’t have squads like City or Chelsea but also, haven’t won anything for what must feel like forever. They’ll likely see the changes as potentially making it easier for them to find a route to the final. Fans won’t want the changes of courses, well, a fair few won’t. I could be wrong, Klopp has moaned about the FA cup since he got here but then he finds anything to moan about, Pep has made comments but to his credit, he has always taken the cup competitions seriously.

This feels more of the FA trying to appease clubs rather than clubs going to them first. There’s definitely mileage in scrapping extra time and going straight to penalties and whether we like it or not, we can see the games being moved to midweeks but the other suggestions are flipping mind blowing.

Playing the final on the same day as the last day of the league? That makes no flipping sense, I may have read that wrong but I’d that’s a suggestion then they’re clearly more clueless than we first thought. They’ve played it before the end of the season before, I’m sure of it and I guess that links in with Wembley availability but not on the same day…

The FA have lost their minds over the years, they didn’t need to, they could’ve worked with the leagues in a joined up way but they didn’t, in some respects you can see why the premier league take the urine, they’re allowed to.

I'd shake up the FA Cup if I could. In my version all the prem teams would be entered in round 1 proper, never agreed with this getting to bypass a couple of rounds because you're already privileged nonsense. It's easy to win the thing every other year when you only play half the games everyone else has to

Why stop there, get them in the extra preliminary round.

Quoted from aldi_01

Playing the final on the same day as the last day of the league? That makes no flipping sense, I may have read that wrong but I’d that’s a suggestion then they’re clearly more clueless than we first thought. They’ve played it before the end of the season before, I’m sure of it and I guess that links in with Wembley availability but not on the same day…

I think the plan, I use that term loosely, is for the Final to take place on the penultimate Saturday, with all the Premier League fixtures then taking place on the Sunday that weekend.

To avoid a Gijón type incident they'll always play all the final round of fixtures at the same time. Who am I kidding...it's not for integrity, it's so Sky can hype it up as a Super Mega Final Day Finale, even though everything is all but settled by the final games.

Quoted from Gaffer58

They’ll be playing the final Saudi Arabia next.

Careful what you wish for.....the Spanish league has played their Super Cup game (the equivalent of the Charity Shield) in one of the Middle Eastern countries and may have played their cup final there as well - I'm certain about the super cup, may be wrong about the Copa Del Rey.

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

Careful what you wish for.....the Spanish league has played their Super Cup game (the equivalent of the Charity Shield) in one of the Middle Eastern countries and may have played their cup final there as well - I'm certain about the super cup, may be wrong about the Copa Del Rey.

Yeah, the Italian Super Cup's been held in China, Qatar and Saudi too.

Quoted from Abdul19

Yeah, the Italian Super Cup's been held in China, Qatar and Saudi too.

Didn't know that, cheers.

Quoted from LN8Mariner

In my opinion the easiest thing to do would be to reinvent the Football League Cup. No Premiership teams which solves their “issue” of potentially playing 3 or 4 games extra for most of them. Then make it more of a round robin and ditch the Papa John’s combining them perhaps into semi-regionalised groups of 5 with 2 home games and 2 away games. Guaranteed income, no U23 teams, perhaps allow the 3 promoted teams to the Premiership entry to make it up to 75 teams so 15 groups of 5… maybe include the 2 relegated and 3 losing playoff teams from NL to have 80 teams and thus 16 groups. Top 2 from each group go through to last 32 etc. This will give lower league teams potentially better guaranteed income than the PJ (as Championship teams will be in it) and at least as many matches as Carabao and PJ combined. Can even seed the groups based on previous seasons league standings. Not being in the Carabao may mean Premiership teams look forward to th FA Cup again?

Was thinking along similar lines last night, simply drop the premiership from the league cup (will free up their schedule) and add (if needed) the national league teams, then get rid of the Papa Johns altogether as nobody really wants it, we can then leave the FA cup as it is, but with a 3 pm kick off as it should historically be, its not that hard to implement really.

Quoted from It Bites

Another nail in the coffin for the Greatest Football Competition in the World

Shame for me when Man United had to pull out of the FA Cup some years back to play in the world club competition.

Quoted from Rick12

Shame for me when Man United had to pull out of the FA Cup some years back to play in the world club competition.

They didn't have to - they chose to as it was potentially more lucrative.

Quoted from rancido

They didn't have to - they chose to as it was potentially more lucrative.

Thanks for putting that straight pal 👍.

Quoted from Rick12

Thanks for putting that straight pal 👍.

To the best of my knowledge, no team has to enter the FA Cup.

Quoted from rancido

To the best of my knowledge, no team has to enter the FA Cup.

Still feel it means a lot to players playing in the oldest world club cup competition in the world . Remember talking to one lad who played in it for a league club and he still considers it a honour to play in the FA Cup

Quoted from Rick12

Still feel it means a lot to players playing in the oldest world club cup competition in the world . Remember talking to one lad who played in it for a league club and he still considers it a honour to play in the FA Cup

I agree with that and also believe it means a lot to grass root football clubs who might get a chance to play against the Pro's of the game. There are also the fans, regardless of club, who have looked at the Fa Cup Final as something special.

Quoted from Rick12

Shame for me when Man United had to pull out of the FA Cup some years back to play in the world club competition.

My mates are all United fans and they were gutted.

Why don't we just do away with all this football nonsense and just settle games on the toss of a coin?

Quoted from DB

There are also the fans, regardless of club, who have looked at the Fa Cup Final as something special.

Yes . Always love looking forward to the FA cup final as well with all the traditions attached eg playing of abide with me.

Quoted from Abdul19

My mates are all United fans and they were gutted.

Looking back at press reports there was a lot of dismay amongst some of the national media and rightly so. Football means so much to many people and this hurt. I remember watching the excellent TV show on Netflix, Sunderland till I die and they captured some of the emotion amongst fans. For some football means so much and clubs are at the almost centerpiece of such people's lives.

Quoted from heppy88

Nothing lasts forever and neither will the premiership. Money and power corrupts and that corruption will see the whole thing come crashing down. But although we moan about them, none of us would moan if we did a Luton, or if we had another good cup run drawing premiership teams along the way. We wouldn’t turn down the tv money and worldwide attention of playing against the elite sides. But all that aside, I feel for the real fans of these clubs, watching, as the life and soul of the thing they love, is sucked out, by owners who would make Fleetwood’s Andy Pilley seem like Florence Nightingale!

I went to Man United v Brentford in April and recognised two Bees fans. A friend and his daughter. Likewise, I was the only person he recognised. The other 3000 or so certainly hadn't been among the 120 away fans at Port Vale years ago. Sure, you pick up more fans with success but if you think we moan on The Fishy, you want to see the self-entitled drivel (you don't actually) on some Brentford sites from more recent fans.

You always want to see your club playing the best teams but there isn't anything like a good old-fashioned away win in the lower leagues.

Quoted from DB

I agree with that and also believe it means a lot to grass root football clubs who might get a chance to play against the Pro's of the game. There are also the fans, regardless of club, who have looked at the Fa Cup Final as something special.

Exactly and that is what makes what Manure did so despicable. They deprived one or several teams the opportunity to play against one of the biggest teams in the football world.

It's the F.A. Challenge Cup. It's supposed to be challenging the holders which made the Manyoo absence all the worse.

In most countries, the big clubs don't really give a hoot about the national Cup competition and it would be very sad if the same thing happened to the world's oldest club competition. The League Cup has been 'devalued' by moving it much earlier in the year so, even though it is usually one of the bigger clubs that wins it, they don't really make much of the event unless they've not won something for years. Looks like the F.A. Cup will be heading the same way.