THE CONCRETE ROUNDABOUT (TCR)

Have the 1988 winners made a statement?

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I don't need your ill-informed, half-baked, idiotic opinions. I have plenty of those myself.

No, we haven't

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#DonYourWhite

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I have to say I actually have slightly mixed feelings about this.

To start with I was pissed off. Fuck you Premier League taking away replays from us. But then I thought about it, the only real significant replay we've had in 20 years is QPR. And on the flip side Cambridge City and Farsley Celtic when they drew with us in the original fixture. Whereas we've had many draws against teams in a similar division who we've played heaps of times and resulted in very little interest. We moan about the PL being all about money, yet the main argument for the replays is also money. If other clubs have the same frequency of significant replays do they matter all that much? Will removing a replay actually result in Premier League teams playing better squads in the fixture to avoid embarrassment and result in a better spectacle for the original fixture? Why not just ask for a bit more broadcasting rights for the original fixture to help make up the cost?

But then I thought about it again. If these are so infrequent, why the fuck does it matter to PL clubs to scrap them? The Top 6 rarely ever have a replay, so why remove the potential for such an infrequent yet extremely exciting occasion?. Spurs are flying to Melbourne a few days after the season ends, the CL is expanding, clubs love to tour Asia and the US throughout pre season, visit Dubai for mid season training camps and whatever else. Purely a power play with no fucks given to the EFL. When we got that replay at QPR I didn't once think about the financial gain, just the potential amazing moment. As Alby mentioned in a previous post, those replays vs Port Vale and Northampton may happen but the ones vs QPR also happen - it makes it worth it in the end

I'm can't be disappointed we haven't made a statement because I didn't think we actually would bother - what a sad state of affairs.

Obvs this is a PL powerplay to focus on the money from additional Champions League games, Europa league etc. It's not about too many games; the PL teams have big enough squads to cope and they don't seem to support a winter break. And UEFA and FIFA are also focused solely on increasing their revenues too.

So I know I should be angry with the PL for devaluing the FA Cup. And yet, weirdly, I'm not. On serious reflection, I think the devaluing of the cup began a long, long time ago. After all, it's been an entire generation since there were replays for the semis and final. In the days of just two (and then just three) TV channels, it used to be that the FA Cup final was the only domestic game you got to watch live on TV. It was on both BBC and ITV and was a major event. We'd sit glued to the screen from late morning, watching the players leaving their hotels to board the coaches to Wembley. But the world has moved on.

Maybe it's just me but, slowly but surely, the FA Cup has become increasingly less significant. That doesn't mean the new change isn't a big "fuck you" from the Prem; it is. But my response is far less emotive. Kinda "oh well, never mind". That probably makes me a bad person.

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I don't need your ill-informed, half-baked, idiotic opinions. I have plenty of those myself.

Great news really as it’s less money to fork out on games.

When we've succumbed to replays against Farsley Celtic etc, we're their QPR day out. That evening, despite the loss, gave us a few days of positivity on the radio, in the papers etc. It might mean a televised game.. so despite it being a pain in the arse, for the general and overall landscape of thongs for football, its worth it.

I can KIND OF see the argument Round 3 onward - there's absolutely no excuse being from Round 1.

The Prem clubs will next be moaning about when their game is kicking off - or when in the calender it is. Second or third week in January usually? They'll come for that next after the busy Xmas schedule. Matter of fact, I think they do already..

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I can't. Where do clubs like ours get the pay day then if it is scrapped from Round 3. I know it is slim (you have to pull them out the hat and get a draw at home), but the fact you take it away means us league 1 and 2 clubs just might as well sack it off. I mean are you even legally required to enter it and even so what would happen if you didn't?

That's what a number of clubs are exploring now

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Cuboid of bum fluff

I wonder if the Man Utd case from 2000 gets wheeled out as a claim of legal precedent?

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It's Pete's train set, and we should all feel honoured to be granted the privilege of paying to play with it.

Well seeing as that decision was the catalyst for the devaluing of the competition which has directly led to the taking of this decision, I suspect it quite likely that lower league clubs may well try and use that as their precedent