FA Cup Replays to be Scrapped.

[Robbie]

There will be no FA Cup Replays from the first round proper onwards next season.

I don't think this is a good move, Do you?

 

[Piethagoram]

I'm with Tranmere on this

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

It's an APPALLING Idea. Just imagine Notts get Drawn away to a team in either the Championship or even a Premier League side and they put in a fighting performance and get a Draw, now they bring that team back to the Lane even if they lose the replay the Financial rewards for the club would help swell the Clubs coffers. The type of money that would generate  for a team say in the National League could be a life line for that Club Financially. It could help Clubs in some cases fight off the threat of going out of business, or at least put them on a more secure financial footing. Once Again the FA Show how out of touch they are with the Real World and how they Don't Give A Toss about Clubs outside the Premiership.

[Robbie]

I am with Tranmere too. I think this decision is very concerning for the whole football pyramid.

Smaller clubs down the pyramid are going to suffer financially once again, while the rich clubs, the top six in particular, will be able to concentrate on European competition.

Non league clubs rely on the FA Cup every year to earn extra revenue by getting to the first round & meeting league clubs. Fighting to earn a replay was a way of increasing that revenue. This decision takes that away.

A non league or lower league club that reaches the 3rd round could meet a Premier League club and earn a lucrative replay, but that is being taken away too.

This decision was always primarily about protecting the interests of the big clubs in the Premier League, who have fixtures in Europe that will earn them lots of money.

A long run in Europe can prove very lucrative for a PL club financially, & they've always complained about extra fixtures (replays) in the FA Cup being detrimental to a successful European campaign.

This decision is going to divide football even more between the haves and the have nots.

 

 

[DangerousSausage]

I had just come here to share that Tranmere statement but was beaten to it! I agree with every word.

As usual, the FA can be relied on to doff their caps to the rich and powerful, even if it means degrading their own competition (again). The PL clubs that wanted this seem to have no problem with playing an ever growing number of Champions League games or going on extended tours of whatever despotic Middle Eastern state is throwing money at them (one of the changes is starting the PL season later so players can be "completely rested" - yeah right!). A dozen clubs have no right to overrule the rest of English football, no matter how rich they are.

Replays are one of the things that make the FA Cup special - if winning outright doesn't seem realistic, you could always drag your bigger opponent back to your ground, or have a day out at a top stadium. Alas, the bean counters have decided that pre-season tours and European games are more lucrative to half a dozen clubs so the rest of us have to go without. 

This announcement is three years to the day after the European Super League was formed, and that example shows that we don't have to let the wealthy ride roughshod over the rest of us. Something needs to be done. How about clubs from outside the PL withdrawing from next season's FA Cup? 

[menzinho]

Everyone pretty much sums up my views too, so just to emphasise...

[Robbie]

@DangerousSausage Agree. The FA are still sucking up to the big 6 or 7 that qualify for Europe every year.

It's a big coincidence that European competitions are being expanded while domestic competitions are being slowly squeezed to accommodate the extra European matches.

What about excluding clubs from all the domestic cup competitions the following season if they qualify for Europe, then reinstate FA Cup replays?

In the end I believe that there will be a European super league in the future. All the FA did a few years ago was to delay the inevitable.

[Robbie]

We are starting to see many statements by EFL and non league clubs, condemning the FA for abolishing FA Cup replays. 

There are calls for non league clubs and EFL clubs to withdraw from the FA Cup next season.

If this actually happened it would be truely something to see with the smaller clubs in the Country saying enough is enough 

There are more Clubs in this Country than the 20 in the Premier League, and EFL and Non League clubs should have their say 

The minority must not rule the majority.

 

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Now that's One Hell Of A Good Idea DangerousSausage all Clubs outside of the Premier League Boycott the FA Cup. I'm sure Fans from other clubs would back the Idea like Fans did regarding the European Super League. As it's been said Football Is For The Fans. Start letting the fa get away with moves like this and what will happen in the Future? The fa in it's present Structure needs to be totally dismantled then reassembled with people at the top who have the Fans interests at heart because We are the life Blood of the Sport and without Us The FA and the EFL and the Richest Clubs in the Premier Are NOTHING.

[DangerousSausage]

Nice to see Notts making a statement too.

The FA have responded with a tone-deaf statement and have doubled down. Apparently it was mentioned in some meetings and more games will be televised (involving extra inconvenience for fans), so it's all OK. The sooner these amateurs are replaced by an independent regulator the better. 

https://www.thefa.com/news/2024/apr/19/statement-emirates-fa-cup-format-update-20241904

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Just read  Notts statement regarding the fa's FA Cup replays stance. Myself along with all other Magpie Fans ( I am sure) applaud the Club's declaration on the issue.

[Robbie]

According to the EFL, there were four Premier League representatives and four EFL representatives discussing changes and where was the representation from the non leagues?

Why four from the premier league which is one league, and 4 from the EFL that has three leagues?

Were those 4 EFL representatives from Championship Clubs?

Seems to me everything is weighted toward the PL for decision making.

[super_ram]

I'm absolutely didgusted.The 'magic' of the FA cup is being corroded. There was a time when European competitions meant something,The European cup played between the champions of all the European leagues.The European cup winners cup for the winners of the various European equivalent of the FA Cup.Also other 'European consolation competitions'.What is it now, MONEY ,MONEY,MONEY for the 'elite few' and sod the rest of you.

[Robbie]

@super_ram totally agree, I've noticed that we haven't  heard from the PL clubs, Championship Clubs, League 1 or the cash cows of League 2 yet.

I only see the divide between the haves and the have nots getting wider.

Heard on X there is a new phoenix club been formed to replace the now defunct Nuneaton Borough.

Clubs going out of business are going to increase from year to year and scraping replays will just exasperate the situation.

Personally I wouldn't miss the big six if they went their own way.

A new league structure without them could prove much more exciting and would be much less boring too.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

I think there will be Fan Groups and Clubs Nationwide fighting against this but will it be enough to make the FA back down? As you've said Robbie regarding the Championship League1 and the cash cows of League 2 their Silence is Deafening.

[Dripsey3]

The 4 from the EPL were opposed to this but were completely ignored by the FA and PL representatives. It seems that not all PL teams were even aware this was on the table. It's the elite clubs once again who are dictating FA policy. Replays up to the 3rd round should be permitted. No question. After that the FA have to make a convincing case as to why they aren't in favour of replays. They haven't as of yet. 

[super_ram]

2 hours ago, Robbie said:

@super_ram totally agree, I've noticed that we haven't  heard from the PL clubs, Championship Clubs, League 1 or the cash cows of League 2 yet.

I only see the divide between the haves and the have nots getting wider.

Heard on X there is a new phoenix club been formed to replace the now defunct Nuneaton Borough.

Clubs going out of business are going to increase from year to year and scraping replays will just exasperate the situation.

Personally I wouldn't miss the big six if they went their own way.

A new league structure without them could prove much more exciting and would be much less boring too.

Absolutely agree @RobbieI can do without the'closed shop 'attitude' of the Prem League.I hardly ever bother to watch the Prem League anyway,all a bunch of overpaid,over hyped prima donnas.

[menzinho]

Actually, because Pep Guardiola has said it’s much better for teams playing in Europe it should definitely get the go-ahead. These are clearly the most important teams in the English pyramid and need to be protected at all costs. Imagine them having to use their whole squad to play Lincoln City on a Tuesday night, it would be impossible for them to rotate their players because there’s no way their fringe players made up of internationals and very talented youngsters would be able to compete with these EFL and Non-League clubs…

I’m all for a boycott. It would sort the issue pretty quickly in my opinion.

[Robbie]

Interesting to see a log of all those EFL & non league Clubs that have made a statement about FA Cup Replays so far.

 

 

 

[Piethagoram]

The delay by the government for not bringing a Football regulator in, is a crucial part of this story

How long (the gov't) have they been talking about it?

[Robbie]

We want to save the FA Cup' - clubs urge replays rethink

"The FA announced last month that replays in the world's oldest cup competition would be scrapped from the first round proper from next season to ease a calendar which has been made more congested by the expansion of European club competitions".

"That led to an outcry from EFL and non-league clubs who said the decision had been made without consulting them".

"27 clubs have backed a move by football reform body Fair Game to request an amendment to the Football Governance Bill, that would need a majority of clubs to vote for such changes".

In a letter to culture secretary Lucy Frazer, the clubs said they "want to save the FA Cup".

 

[KB1862]

It's disgraceful. FA Cup Replays are part of the cup. It's part of what makes the cup so special. There are minnows that have an opportunity to visit stadiums like Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford or Anfield. It also has the capabilities of financially benefiting smaller clubs, a financial boost that could determine whether a club survives or has to fold completely. 

There are clubs that have benefited from replays in years gone by but cause they're up there in the big time, they seem to have forgotten all about that.

The thing with the whole situation that doesn't sit right is the fact that it was only agreed upon by the FA and Premier League. No communication with the EFL and below about whether or not it should go ahead. There needs to be a vote and majority ruling. If the government fail to act and this does indeed go ahead, clubs should boycott the competition. 

It's just further proof that the Premier League controls football within England. Scrapping replays only benefits those in Europe. All because UEFA and FIFA decided to create a new competition and increase capacity involving clubs in England, the FA Cup has to make way for it? Heritage is being taken away.

[Robbie]

@KB1862

And to think we would never have had the famous win when  Hereford played Newcastle in a FA Cup 3rd round replay in 1972, Hereford winning 2:1, if there were no replays then.

Small clubs are going to miss out financially big time, & the fans of those clubs are going to miss out too.

[liampie]

the thing that baffles me the most is how the the fa have been pumping money into the grass roots as a means to improve football throughout, along with giving players a better chance of training to become premier league players or just good players at whatever level. yet they constantly side with the premier league and screw over the smaller clubs. its very disappointing because many lower tier players get spotted by these games. jamie vardy for example, i see no reason why scrapping them makes sense.

premier league teams could use replays as a way to integrate more of their own youngsters into the game as a way to get them embedded within the first team.

[DangerousSausage]

22 hours ago, KB1862 said:

The thing with the whole situation that doesn't sit right is the fact that it was only agreed upon by the FA and Premier League.

I think that's infuriating as well. Over 700 clubs take part in this competition, yet only a few elite clubs get a say - clubs that see it as a burden.

I see FIFA has softened its position against leagues holding matches abroad, and La Liga already intends having a round of matches played abroad at the first opportunity. Since the Premier League clubs are so keen to avoid additional matches, I take it they won't be interested in doing this? Or going on pre-season tours of Saudi Arabia or wherever? Or future Champions League expansions? Or do they suddenly change their minds about their busy calendars the moment they see a gravy train?

At the risk of sounding like an old man yelling at a cloud, it is just pure greed.