How do we save the F.A. Cup? It's a big question, and one that is recurring with each passing round of the competition. The Cup has a fantastic heritage but now the Premier League and, more importantly, the Champions League take precedent, what can be done to regain the status of the world's oldest cup competition? Here are some solutions, and my own personal view on them.
1. Money
Money makes the world go round. The massive sums available for playing in the Premier League make the competition far, far bigger and powerful than the Champions ship. The TV revenue helps buy the top talent in the world, which keeps interest high, which brings even more money and so on. The Champions League is an extension of this system. Playing in the Premier League is worth £40-80million, depending on different reports, while the Champions League can be another £40million plus. When you get at tops £5million for winning the FA cup, it is no surprise where the priorities lie.
So the obvious answer is to increase the prize money, especially in the latter stages. The problem here is the FA does not have that money lying around - any spare cash it has goes to service the debts - so it is easier said than done. And the longer the F.A. Cup suffers, the lower sponsorship and interest will be, and the less money it will generate.
Summary: Would certainly help, but not likely in the short term.
2. Scheduling
An apparent problem with the F.A. Cup is that it gets in the way. Games fill up the football calendar, you get fixture congestion, fatigue, and unless you are going all the way to Wembley it is a distraction a team could do without.
Personally I think the fatigue argument is nonsense, but if teams want to put weakened line-ups that is up to them (this is for any competition, not just the F.A. Cup). But managers bring the point up so we should analysis it.
The problem can be split in two: teams who have too many fixtures, especially when replays come into it, and teams who are knocked out who have no fixtures for weeks.
(i) Too many games
The F.A. Cup is given specific weekends when there are no Premier League fixtures - specifically the first and last weekend in January. Also, because of the short period between rounds, the fifth round features very few PL games - West Brom vs Wolves being the only one this weekend, for instance. Because fans and authorities need to be notified in good time before games can be reorganised, matches are piled up later on in the season. You cannot give just a week's notice, and sometimes games have to be organised again if one or both teams continue to advance in the competition.
The solution would be to keep PL games fixed, and move F.A cup games to free midweek or weekend slots (all bar the third round weekend, which I would keep). With the FA Cup final usually being the last game of the season, a week after the league finishes, you have time to fit in the games if there is a backlog. All PL games need to kick off at the same time on the final day for reasons of fair play. With the semis at Wembley there may be a need to cram in the games a little, but not as much as now.
Replays are also an issue. You could simply eradicate replays, and it is a sensible suggestion. First the endless replays were scrapped, then replays at the semi final stage, so why not go the whole way? The lack of interest at the Wigan - Bolton replay midweek shows that there can be overkill. Traditionalists may argue they should remain, but scheduling is so tight they become an unnecessary burden. I do not like having 4th round games happening on the same weekend as 5th round games.
And, as ever, there is the problem of the Champions League's decision to split the last 16 fixtures over four weeks, further adding to the fixture congestion. Some synchronicity between the domestic and European calendar would help. Sorting out international friendly dates would also help.
(ii) Not enough games!
Tottenham were humbled at Fulham 4-0 in the 4th round. As a result they find themselves with no game this weekend. Blackpool are out after losing at Southampton in round 3. Both teams have a rescheduled match to sort out due to the winter chill, but rather than help the travelling fans by arranging the game this weekend the tie is on Tuesday night!
Once again the lack of time between rounds and doubt over how far teams might go means precious weekends pass with no fixtures, while midweek is filled with long journeys and tough games.
Summary: A switch to midweek would solve a lot of scheduling problems, easing congestion. Can and should be done asap.
3. Fan Interest
Attendances and interest in the F.A. Cup has been on the wane. The 7500 at Wigan for last week's replay indicates there is an issue and the Cup can find it a struggle to get column inches when the PL and CL are around. The lack of interest is not as bad as some may say - Wigan's attendances have been pretty dire all season - but while the Premier League is ruled by money, how about we make the F.A. Cup the people's cup?
To start with, ticket prices could be tapped at a set level. Ticket prices in general are astronomical, and it is not just at the top. Prices at non-league clubs are criminal, and perhaps this could encourage a downward pressure on prices as a whole. I know its unlikely, but you never know.
Another option would be to encourage more children to attend. A set price of £5 for under 16s may be dismissed as a token gesture but if it gets more kids interested in the game, in the cup, and maybe their local team, then its all good. Might encourage a few more Dads to take their kids to the game rather than buy them that Xbox game.
The F.A. Cup final has pretty good ticket allocation compared to other events but even still it is a corporate love in. How about a few less tickets for the companies and a few more for the fans? Even a ballot for the neutral fans could be exciting, although it does risk taking tickets away from fans of the two competing clubs.
What about making every game available on TV? If we are going midweek we could have games Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday. In rounds 3 and 4 this would be tough given the number of ties but from the 5th round onwards this should be manageable. Even more interesting - make all the games available on free channels! A trial of showing live 3pm kick-offs could also be trialled.
Summary: More could be done to keep and raise interest. Ticket pricing may upset smaller teams looking for a payday, which is fair enough, but no reason for kids tickets to be free. More ties on TV on successive days may help. Certainly worth investigating.
4. Champions League place for the winner
Would certainly add a little more spice to the pot, but how many times has a team not already in the Top 4 won the cup? If there was a CL place on offer those teams are likely to take the cup more seriously, but others less so. Still, might give an opening to a team like Everton or Villa, who on their day can beat the top teams but lack consistency. Hell, on this season's results you could include Wolves!
Summary: Intriguing, but would a better solution be to make the Europa League more important? The PL wont give up a CL place anyway.
5. Seeding the top teams
Would the F.A. Cup be more interesting if Man Utd and Liverpool had been kept apart in the third round? Liverpool fans may say so, but the traditionalists would cry foul.
I'm with the traditionalists on this one - the random draw makes the F.A. Cup what it is. If we start fixing it so the top teams have an easier run we will just end up with a load or all-PL games with a scattering of Championship teams in there.
Summary: Would change the nature of the Cup. Not for me.
6. Top teams play away
Something that cups in Germany and France do is to have the top teams play away. This gives the minnows a better chance because they have the home support behind them and it does help produce upsets.
Of course, this does not help the randomness of the draw, plus the Police may be a little concerned about the big teams taking thousands of fans down to little grounds, for obvious reasons.
But my biggest concern apart from the romance of the cup being diminished is that the small clubs look forward to a big pay day when they travel to the Old Trafford's, Emirates and St James' Parks of the world. This is a major opportunity to make money that would be removed, and ultimately you have to question whether Crawley's chances of progression against Man Utd would be massively enhanced if they were playing at their ground rather than Old Trafford. What would the players prefer?
Summary: Infringes of the random nature of the cup, plus will it help the lower league teams financially? For every one team that benefits from home advantage and causes an upset, how many will lose and lose out on the money?
7. Get rid of the League Cup
Too much of a good thing? Does the League Cup remove some of the novelty from the F.A. Cup? Does it add to the fixture congestion? Other countries only have one cup and yet you could argue that there is even less interest in that one cup than either of ours.
In a way, the League Cup, with its short setup and early final has found a little niche to call its own. Its a quick route to a Wembley, a trophy, and Europe. One arguement is to move it forward so that, for the PL teams, it does not overlap the F.A. Cup. In my mind, that is something worth considering.
Summary: Do not dispense with the League Cup, but it could be moved to ease scheduling.
8. Other Ideas
- English/UK players only
- Limit on over 21/23yo players
- Play all games in one or two batches, making it a quick, intense competition
- Make F.A. Cup final first game of season instead of last (replacing the Charity Shield)
If you have any ideas add them in the comments section
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