FA Cup replays will be scrapped from the first round onwards in the 2024-25 competition.

[when_you're_smiling]

9 minutes ago, Wymsey said:

Don't know what has damaged the game more: The Premier League or Sky.

The only things that changed when it became the Premier League was the Sky TV deal and that the home team kept 100 per cent of the gate receipts rather than giving the away team 25 per cent. I’m sure you can work out which clubs led that change. It’s been a gradual money and power grab from there.

[dmayne7]

Was obviously going to happen but still a kick in the teeth for lower league teams. The FA is so weak

[foxes_rule1978]

4 minutes ago, dmayne7 said:

Was obviously going to happen but still a kick in the teeth for lower league teams. The FA is so weak

The PL is pretty much in control 

[J. James]

It's often said of politicians that the only unforgivable crime is asking a question of the plebs that they dont already know the answer to - see Cameron re: Brexit.

 

The thing that the greedy, money obsessed pricks who now own the game hate above all is uncertainty, better by far to eliminate the possibility of small clubs beating the money spinning prem big boys and just concentrate on "entertainment", just like Wrestling.

 

Personally l dont really give a shit if we make it back to the utterly corrupt premier league farce anymore, it's simply a con to even suggest there is a semblance of competition left.

 

When they sold the world cup to barbarians it was a sign that the bottom of the cask isn't too far away, now the game is finished as a competition and right now I'm not just disinterested, l actively hate it.

 

[foxfanazer]

Pushes me one step closer to falling out of love with this game

[STEVIE B]

9 hours ago, Wymsey said:

Don't know what has damaged the game more: The Premier League or Sky.

Pretty much one & the same. 

Fish & Chips, Laurel & Hardy.

Can't have one without the other.

[coolhandfox]

And some people say the game doesn't need a independent regulator. 

 

 

[trugerkem]

8 hours ago, foxes_rule1978 said:

The PL is pretty much in control 

It’s not the Premier League in control … it’s all the American owners within it .. they don’t like draws they also don’t like relegation and promotion.. expect that in the not too distant future and games abroad .. America and the Middle East .. Community Shield and the so called 39th game ( not sure who came up with that name as there are only 38 games in a season) will be first …. Football as we knew it has been disappearing over the last few years it’s snowballing quickly now… 

[SK3Blue]

Big boys didn't get their Super League but they certainly get everything else their way.  Football is finished in this country. 

[foxestalkisfullofidiots]

39 minutes ago, SK3Blue said:

Big boys didn't get their Super League but they certainly get everything else their way.  Football is finished in this country. 

Football is run by corporate people now and not football fans, the game might be finished for proper football fans like me and you but foreign fans who only care about the top 6 the English game is getting stronger unfortunately.

[Daggers]

15 hours ago, StanSP said:

Good statement by Tranmere. I expect other clubs to follow suit... 

 

Tranmere Rovers condemn the disgraceful decision taken by The FA and the Premier League to change the format of the FA Cup, including the scrapping of replays.

There was no consultation with Football League clubs, National League clubs or grassroots clubs to whom the competition represents not only their best opportunity to create life-long memories for supporters but also a hugely important source of income. We also understand that FA Council members were not consulted about the changes.

The decision, and the way it was taken, demonstrate a total lack of respect for the football pyramid and its fans. Football belongs to all of us and decisions should not be taken in back room deals in which only the very wealthiest clubs are allowed to participate. It is yet another eloquent example of the 19th-century governance that means that football simply cannot regulate itself and needs the Independent Football Regulator to have real teeth.

We condemn the changes wholeheartedly and urge The FA to suspend them immediately until all stakeholders in the game are properly consulted. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Raj]

Just another nail into this once great competition.

If you have a sky subscription you are partly to blame for how the game is going!$$$$$

[Daggers]

Community notice on the FACup account’s post

 

 

[TeamRocket]

They should just scrap the other cup and keep FA Cup normal if anything. As the FA Cup will definitely lose its value as lower league teams won't even bother anymore. Draft thing to do by FA

Edited 19 April by TeamRocket

[davieG]

BBC

 

FA Cup replay changes 'a total lack of respect for football pyramid'
Last updated on18 April 202418 April 2024.
From the sectionFA Cup

The Football Association and Premier League have been accused of "a total lack of respect for the football pyramid" over changes to the FA Cup.

Emirates FA Cup replays will be scrapped from the first round onwards in 2024-25 and all rounds of the competition will be played on weekends.

League Two club Tranmere Rovers said they "condemn the disgraceful" changes.

Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony warned it could lead to a "fallout within English football".

 

FA Cup replays to be scrapped next season
"There was no consultation with Football League clubs, National League clubs or grassroots clubs to whom the competition represents not only their best opportunity to create life-long memories for supporters but also a hugely important source of income," said a statement from Tranmere.

"The decision, and the way it was taken, demonstrate a total lack of respect for the football pyramid and its fans.

"We condemn the changes wholeheartedly and urge the FA to suspend them immediately until all stakeholders in the game are properly consulted."

Fellow League Two club Grimsby Town echoed the call for a pause on the changes until a consultation had taken place, adding: "The dreams of so many should not be denied by so few."

"To suspend replays when the Premier League clubs haven't even come into the competition seems even more bizarre," said a statement from National League South club Farnborough.

In its current format, the FA Cup has no replays from the fifth round onwards, but the FA says the move to eliminate them from an earlier stage has been made "in light of changes to the calendar driven by the expanded Uefa competitions".

Uefa launched the Europa Conference League in 2021 and the number of teams in the Champions League group stage will rise from 32 to 36 next season, while Fifa has announced an expanded 32-team Club World Cup for 2025.

The Football Supporters' Association (FSA) said it recognised the strain the football calendar was placing on top clubs but that the announcement "has not gone down well with a lot of fans up and down the country".

The FSA said fans were concerned the decision would diminish "the magic of the competition" and that it had "shared those concerns with the FA".

 

English Football League (EFL) chief executive Trevor Birch called the announcement "frustrating and disappointing" and that "ultimately this represents another lost traditional revenue stream for EFL clubs at a time when the financial gap between the biggest clubs and those further down the pyramid is growing bigger".

He added: "We will now be discussing the implications for EFL clubs and seeking appropriate compensation arrangements."

The changes come as part of a new six-year agreement between the FA and the Premier League.

 

The FA said the deal would see the Premier League "providing up to an additional £33m for grassroots football on top of the £100m it currently gives to good causes each season".

However, Peterborough chairman MacAnthony said he had "no idea what the Premier League or the FA are even thinking pulling this move".

"We are now at the stage where the big boys don't even bother to notify us/talk through proper changes," he wrote on X.

"If this is a sign of things to come then expect a full on fallout within English football coming soon all caused by one faction of our game," he added, saying the situation was "not healthy for our industry".

 

Phil Wallace, chairman of League One club Stevenage, said the scrapping of replays would be a "big financial disadvantage for National League and EFL clubs".

"If you're coming from an angle of the Premier League and players and protecting them, the England game and everything else, then you can see the logic," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"But football's not about just that, the Premier League, it's about the whole country and the 72 EFL [clubs] and the National League.

"Imagine when a National League club draws a Premier League club and gets a draw at home. That is the magic of the FA Cup and that won't happen any more."

 

'Guardians of game treating FA Cup with disdain'
BBC pundit Pat Nevin, who played for Chelsea, Everton and Tranmere in England, said a cup replay for a lower league club "can make enough money to keep yourself going for another two, three, four years".

National League club Truro City's head of communications Gareth Davies echoed that sentiment speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live.

"The FA Cup is the jewel in the crown of English knockout football. The FA, the supposed guardians of our game, seem to be treating it with disdain," Davies said.

"I don't think it will change even if there's public outcry, which there has been.

"For a club like ours, if we drew Exeter City at home in the FA Cup and we managed to get a draw then that replay would be so lucrative. That is going to be taken away from next season and that is a real, real shame."

 

Frank May, chairman of eighth-tier Cray Valley Paper Mills, who earned a first-round replay against League One side Charlton Athletic in this season's competition, said the tie had "put us on the map".

"We were getting offers to buy replica shirts from all over the world, it was something we could only dream about," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"This isn't the way to go, the FA Cup is the world famous FA Cup and there are so many memorable moments that would not have been seen if this rule was announced years ago."

 

What are the FA Cup changes?
The FA Cup qualifying rounds - where teams from the fifth to the 10th tiers of English football compete for 32 spots in the first round - will still have replays when ties are level after 90 minutes.

In first round of the FA Cup professional teams from League One and League Two enter, with Championship and Premier League teams joining from the third round.

Apart from scrapping replays, other changes will see the fourth and fifth rounds, and the quarter-finals, played without clashing with any Premier League fixtures for the first time.

The fourth round will be played in an extended window from Friday to Wednesday.

The FA Cup final has also been moved to the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season.

It will be played on a Saturday, and will also be independent of any Premier League matches, as will the Friday before the final "to allow focus on the build-up to the showpiece event".

[davieG]

16 minutes ago, TeamRocket said:

They should just scrap the other cup and keep FA Cup normal if anything. As the FA Cup will definitely lose its value as lower league teams won't even bother anymore. Draft thing to do by FA

No!  They should reduce the number of UEFA games as they are only for 7 teams out of 92 plus yet they impact on the ability for those other clubs to survive.

 

While they're at it they should stop expanding the World Cup, at best they should have a WC qualifying knock out event. 

[Foxdiamond]

26 minutes ago, TeamRocket said:

They should just scrap the other cup and keep FA Cup normal if anything. As the FA Cup will definitely lose its value as lower league teams won't even bother anymore. Draft thing to do by FA

The League Cup also brings in vital revenue to lower league clubs.  

[Daggers]

Boycott. Boycott. Boycott. 
 

 

[RonnieTodger]

Can’t even muster anger at this. So bored of it all.

 

Meanwhile the Champions League expands and in comes the club World Cup.

 

Newcastle and Tottenham are playing a friendly in Australia 3 days after the season finishes. 

[CheeseHead]

All non-league clubs, and possibly league 1 and 2 clubs, should unite and refuse to play in the tournament next season. Send the message loud and clear

[TeamRocket]

2 hours ago, davieG said:

No!  They should reduce the number of UEFA games as they are only for 7 teams out of 92 plus yet they impact on the ability for those other clubs to survive.

 

While they're at it they should stop expanding the World Cup, at best they should have a WC qualifying knock out event. 

Agree with UEFA, but I can't see that happening so if it's the FA Cup or the League Cup I say the FA Cup is more important. Other than that I total agree with you

[Super_horns]

FA suddenly talking about the EFL being in discussions.

 

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

[Leicesterpool]

I think all the 92 should have voted, instead it was just decided between premier league and fa... not fair right.

[Leicesterpool]

1 hour ago, CheeseHead said:

All non-league clubs, and possibly league 1 and 2 clubs, should unite and refuse to play in the tournament next season. Send the message loud and clear

Fa wouldn't care they would just do with championship and premier league. As long as the special 4 reach the semis.

[lcfc278]

At the end of the day, professional football in England means all 92 clubs in the EFL and PL, however, the TV money and the power that brings means the PL have a lot of muscle.

 

Despite that, the purpose of the FA is to represent and protect the wellbeing of the sport, from the top to the bottom. No decision should have been made on changes to this competition without a say from all of those clubs who particiipate in it, at the very least, the 92 professional clubs. Makes me sick that the PL thinks it can just dictate the future of the sport in our country.