they're genuinely just ruining the oldest fucking competition in the world. if we had any spine we'd stand against it, but the board won't because it benefits us.

[–] hangonasecond 3 points 10 months ago (8 children)

NB: this reply really wasn't meant to be this long. It's predicated on some pretty bold assumptions, but boils down to - if the changes are only being made so the FA can make more money then I completely agree with you.

Removing first round replays eliminates so much fixture congestion for so many teams. Not just the teams that have to play the replay, but also their opponents in any league matches which are rescheduled.

If I'm reading correctly, it seems that getting rid of midweek fixtures will only increase the profile and viewership of the competition, which is great from a preservation standpoint and makes sense economically.

Moving the final to prior to the last day also means the teams in the final don't lose a week from their offseason. The winner, then getting to play in the community shield, is effectively losing 2+ weeks of rest for players who are being asked to play more games than ever across all competitions.

I don't think change should be made to such a historic competition for it's own sake, but if the above is how they've landed on this decision I think it's only positive. Put simply, I don't think the FA can continue to allow the situation where any club in the top ten of the premier league is playing 3 games a week for 3 months of the season. The solutions that can be controlled from within England are pretty limited.

you can't control the international game, short of all clubs taking the extreme measure of not allowing players to travel for international friendlies, or games at all, which would guarantee the transfer market plummets in England
You can't control the decisions of UEFA around their various competitions, which do seem to be getting obnoxiously bloated. Maybe one day it'll reach a tipping point where PL teams pull out but at the moment it is THE competition to win, even the conference league is incredibly meaningful for the clubs participating.
Aside from sanctions, the FA can't directly make changes to the premier league itself (or the EFL tiers for that matter, or the EFL cup). Potential solutions would include changes to the EFL cup, or at the extreme end reducing the number of teams in the premier league/all top 4 leagues by creating another tier. This would shorten the season significantly but I would argue it's a worse outcome than changing the cup competitions.
You're left with changes to the FA cup, which I would argue if it has been done for the reasons I've assumed above, is a positive thing.

[–] Astrealix 3 points 10 months ago (5 children)

Given they didn't even ask the EFL clubs, I'm not giving them the benefit of the doubt tbh. Personally I think you just do what France did and scrap the EFL cup. I think replays are such a historically English thing that's so rare anywhere else (if it even exists tbh idk) that getting rid of them is a massive shame, and replays have gotten so much good stuff for clubs who earn them. The gate receipts from playing a club with a massive stadium can massively benefit a club, and has saved clubs from bankruptcy before.

[–] hangonasecond 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yeah I pretty much agree with you on principle. The FA can't force the EFL to scrap the cup though. At the end of the day, an action needs to be taken. Agree with the other reply to my comment that it'd all be a moot point if there was transparency over where the "development money" goes.

[–] Astrealix 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Surely the FA could soft pressure the EFL into getting rid of the cup and giving a bunch of money down the leagues instead which would be much better for everyone involved.

[–] hangonasecond 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'd argue taking all of the EFL money away, rather than just taking replays out of the FA cup, is a much more drastic measures seeing as it impacts all eligible teams rather than just those unlucky enough to get a draw in certain rounfs

[–] Astrealix 2 points 10 months ago

emphasis on that second part. You don't need to use the EFL Cup to give them the money which already exists in the PL. PL wants less matches, so they can pay for it.

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