The way the Premier League looks down it's nose at the 72 EFL clubs especially in cahoots with the TV broadcasting monies the 72 EFL Chairman / Owners should have a joint meeting & one thing they should do is put a boycott on having any Premier League teams youngsters on loan that we the clubs already pay a percentage of their wages & nurture for the Premier League clubs , however , the fact that probably 3rd of Championship clubs are in receipt of parachute payment monies it wouldn't happen . It's just another nail driven into the coffins of some struggling clubs where a good cup run & replay cash can reduce a seasons debts massively , the Premier League are like The Tories completely out of touch with the whole agenda & just bow to their own .
But wont scrapping replays increase the chances of the smaller teams progressing and increasing the chance to draw a 'big club'?
Its a shambles and no doubt my club and other teams in Europe have agreed with this , tbf to City we played Burton the other year in LC semi and donated our match day money to them.
There needs to be widespread condemnation and a sort of protest from the 72, as well as National League clubs and below. A disgraceful decision. FA cup used to be a magical competition. Slowly but surely we are running our game.
Sounds like even the EFL themselves didn't know, so something isn't right. I sometimes wonder why my interest has waned in recent years, and then another announcement like this reminds me.
I suspect many will and Tranmere's statement is particularly powerful because their chairman was himself the FA's chief executive not all that long ago. The question right now is whether the outrage being expressed at today's news online will persuade enough clubs to follow Tranmere's lead. Personally, I'm not as outraged by the announcement as most commenters that I've seen appear to be. Something like this was inevitable eventually given the expansion of European and global club competitions and, having bemoaned FA Trophy replays getting in the way of bigger priorities when we were in the Conference, I'd be something of a hypocrite to criticise this idea now. The problem I have is the manner in which this has been done and spun as some great new era for the competition when we all know it's not. The truth is something like what my late Dad might have said - shit rolls downhill. Sadly, it's the small clubs who are at the bottom of this particular slope.
Well our board certainly won't get splinters. Club Statement - Changes to the FA Cup - Grimsby Town Football Club
FA suddenly talking about the EFL being in discussions. https://www.thefa.com/news/2024/apr/19/statement-emirates-fa-cup-format-update-20241904
Fa cup replays should be kept, all.procesds from PL teams games go to the lower division teams , keep it on ITV/BBC , make the draw after games not on the One Show etc, greatest cup competition in the world, I wasn't too shoot with midweek games but had great midweek trips to Peterborough, Bristol City and Luton past 3 seasons, cut European games if the big clubs aren't happy.
Same division replays for non league clubs can still be a good little boost though if they have a decent sized fan base.
Was thinking that as well. Had to Google this. In 1971 Oxford City played Avelchurch in a qualifying round. 1st game finished 2-2, 1st replay was 1-1 as was the 2nd replay. 3rd replay ended 0-0 as did the 4th replay. Finally had a winner when Alvechurch won 1-0. Or how about in 1963 when the 3rd round started on 5th January and that round was not completed until 11 March due to the big freeze. Imagine the managers of PL clubs playing hell if that happened now.
If you are non league, at home to anyone who gets over 20k at a game, you want a replay as much as you want to go through. 2nd leg gate receipts plus probable tv money would be huge.
Just seen Gary O'Neil's press conference where he clearly offers his support to the changes owing to the schedules players are faced with. His side have not been in Europe and have played 40 matches this season so far. Peterborough Utd, who have I believe released a statement to confirm they are against the changes, have already played 58 matches this season and I would imagine with a much smaller squad and having to play on some pretty harsh pitches compared to the carpets in the PL. All PL clubs seem to be churning out the same bullshit at their press conferences today so presumably this was something all clubs in the PL have backed. I don't feel the cup is as magical as it once was but this whole thing is just a massive slap in the face to lower league clubs who are often able to place solid foundations to build their clubs upwards with money earned from FA Cup matches
Big backlash from the EFL and its clubs today so hopefully they're shamed into reversing the decision.
If they’re going to do this, they should scrap extra time & penalties and say if the scores are level at full time, the lower-ranked team goes through. That should concentrate the minds a bit!
Bit thick this Richard Masters fella, isn’t he? Absolutely desperate to hold onto his power and splat the governments Independent Regulator yet keeps allowing calamitous, scummy and divisive decisions to be made, putting themselves further under the spotlight. Bravo, d*ckhead.
Probably trying to please his pay masters who probably voted for it . So he wasn’t disappointed to lose against Coventry then in the last round and not get to Wembley ?
