Kian Gadsby
As those who have read my FA Cup previews will know, this competition is one of my favourite events in the footballing calendar. The oldest cup competition in the world involves every team in the country, and every side has had at least one moment in the competition that they would describe as magical.
Despite this, I feel like this year the competition has lost some of its charm. The disconnect between organisers, clubs, and fans has never been wider. I’ll explain why I think this feeling has arisen and what the FA can do it fix it.
Scrapping Replays:
This summer, the FA announced that they had decided to scrap replays in the FA Cup from the first round onwards. This decision sparked fury from fans and clubs of the Football League and below. Replays were introduced in the 1871 FA Cup and have been a staple of the competition since. To make matters worse, it appears that many of the bodies that the FA claimed had been consulted were unaware of the decision, with the EFL claiming it was solely made between the premier league and the FA.
Many of the FA Cup’s best stories come from replayed matches, such as Ronnie Radford’s famous goal for Hereford United in 1972 and Manchester United’s 1999 semi-final victory against Arsenal on their way to the treble. They were a part of why the FA Cup was famous, and they added to its charm.
The Argument For:
For years, many managers have complained about fixture congestion. Jurgen Klopp was notorious for it in his time as Liverpool manager, but most Premier League managers have complained about fixture congestion at some point. They have argued for a reduction in unnecessary games and view potential replays as unnecessary.
For example, last season Brentford and Wolves faced off 3 times in 4 games because of their replayed third round tie. Removing that replay would have increased the time available for player recovery, helping both clubs in their league campaigns.
Football games are constantly being added to top players calendars. FIFA have this year added the Club World Cup to the calendar, and UEFA have added at least 2 but up to 4 additional games into the Champions League and Europa League season. Last year, the maximum amount of club games a player could play was 67, including 2 potential replays. This year it is 75, although that is only for Manchester City because of the Club World Cup and their participation in the Champions League. The non-Club World Cup maximum is 68. When adding in the international breaks and the European Championships last summer, it is possible to understand the argument that too many games are being played by the elite players.
Take Aston Villa, for example. The Villains have qualified for the Champions League this season, but the new schedule has two extra games taking place in January. This means they play 7 matches in just over three weeks this month, including their third-round tie with West Ham. Had that game gone to a replay, it would have left them with a fixture schedule that many would have considered unplayable.
Some in European competitions argue that by reducing the number of games played by the top sides, the less fatigue players will have. This will mean they have more success in these competitions, increasing the reputation of the English game abroad. This will in turn lead to increased future revenue for English clubs, which trickle-down economics says will eventually reach all clubs further down the pyramid.
The Argument Against:
This argument holds, and there are many causes of the increased schedule. They all have one reason in common, increased profit for those at the top.
Football is becoming more lucrative every season, with record breaking profits recorded by many clubs every year. This often comes at the expense of fans and has seen many lose out, ticket prices, or memberships, often price out match going fans and expensive TV subscriptions mean many are resorting to illegal streaming.
Lower league clubs are the latest victims. FA Cup football is lucrative for EFL and National League clubs, as gate receipts from a match are split evenly between the two clubs. This can be a huge financial difference maker for lower clubs, although there is a less significant impact on the bigger sides. Teams dream of an away tie against a big team for this reason, as the gate receipts can be enormous for the club. Exeter City credit their very existence to an FA Cup match against Manchester United. Further, clubs selected for TV make more money from their participation. A replayed match in front of the cameras will generate a large amount of revenue for a lower league club.
Denying clubs of this revenue is selfish and will likely be catastrophic. In previous rounds we have seen Kettering (twice), Harborough Town, Western Super-Mare and Guiseley force extra time against football league teams. That would have been a replay last season. The TV revenues from these games would have generated fortune changing funds for these clubs. Without them we are more likely to see the status quo remain the same, which is not what football has been, or should be about.
Non-league Tamworth are the best example. The Lambs have risen from the 7th tier to the National League (5th tier) due to back-to-back promotions. They have then had an historic cup run, knocking out Huddersfield and Burton before drawing Tottenham Hotspurs at home. After 90 minutes, Tamworth were 0-0. Every other year of the competition’s existence, they would have earned a replay at Tottenham’s new stadium. Estimates have suggested they would have earned upwards of £800,000 from that game. Instead, they were dumped out 0-3 after extra-time, with the semi-professional players unable to compete with the professionals of their Premier League opponents in those extra 30 minutes.
Further, the extra games argument is hypocritical. Premier League clubs themselves previously imposed extra fixtures on football league clubs by adding u21 teams to the EFL trophy, and then this season they revived the National League trophy, giving Premier League 2 (a youth football league) teams the opportunity to compete against National League players. National League teams participating in the latter competition have not been sufficiently compensated to add extra players to their squad to deal with the workload, and many teams have seen matches boycotted by supporters anyway, meaning those games have become loss making. Players in the National League can be realistically expected to play up to 64 matches in a season, but with far less recovery facilities, and that does not factor in a potential FA Cup run beyond the first round.
If extra games is the reason for removing replays, then why is acceptable to have an increased number of games for clubs in the National League, but not the Premier League.
The argument made by those arguing for replays to be removed is worsened because of the increase in teams doing pre and post season tours. Last year Newcastle and Tottenham did a post-season tour of Australia, and this season it is widely expected that Manchester United will do something similar in Malaysia. This will add a guaranteed extra 2 games into their season, whereas a replay would only add up to 2 extra games (likely 0). Clearly, player welfare is not the primary concern of those making the decisions.
Conclusion:
The FA upset many with their decision to scrap replays, and I whole heartedly believe that this was a mistake. The magic and significance of the FA Cup cannot be understated, and by taking away a fundamental institution of the competition, the FA are robbing clubs of lower leagues of potential opportunities and revenue. English football is brilliant because of the strength of its pyramid. Without protecting those further down, the entire system will fall apart.
The FA needs to protect the football league. I feel reintroducing replays or providing an alternative method of increasing revenues for lower league clubs, would be a step in the right direction to doing so.
Kian Gadsby
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