Jump to content

The Game's Gone


NurembergVillan

Recommended Posts

At half time of the villa game I saw the highlights of Rotherham vs Hull, Hull won 3-2 last minute winner, red card, looked a decent game

Also looked like both teams played their reserves in a half empty stadium

No one cares anymore 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Xela said:

The FA Cup

Growing up as a kid the 3rd round Saturday was magical. You'd look forward to it the night before, pore over all the fixtures and see if you could spot a giant killing. All the top teams fielded full strength teams.

Now is it a shambles. 

I look at both domestic cups and question whether they should even exist anymore. The league cup in particular should probably go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Said it before, make the cup squad the same team you have to pick all through the rounds out of a squad,no more tolerance teams playing the reserves until the semis

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They could do the German model for the 3rd round and make the highest ranking club play away. That might add interest 

Obvious to give a 4th Champions League spot to the winner but they don't have the bottle. Maybe make teams play 8 players from the last league game and if not punish them by having to start the next season a round earlier

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Zatman said:

They could do the German model for the 3rd round and make the highest ranking club play away. That might add interest 

Obvious to give a 4th Champions League spot to the winner but they don't have the bottle. Maybe make teams play 8 players from the last league game and if not punish them by having to start the next season a round earlier

I'd be up for that. No premier league team could play each other and same for the teams in other leagues, every prem team gets an away game. Ties like Chelsea-Forest and Arsenal-Leeds would be more interesting if the championship side was at home.

I do agree though it feels a lost cause whatever course of action. The premier league becoming the centre of all greed, semi finals at Wembley, messing around with the Final (remember it being played on weekends when there were league fixtures) and Man. United being made to pull out in 2000 have all played parts.

With the winter break I don't understand why it's in mid Feb when all the other leagues have their ones around the new year. Maybe to stop the weakened teams you could have 10 days off after 1st January and then come back fresher for third round weekend.

Edited by VillaChris
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What I'd give for the League Cup/FA Cup :) 

The money is the deciding factor.  There isn't enough incentive for the bigger teams to play strong squads, plus the disparity between top half prem clubs vs anyone in the league below is so great the smaller clubs know they are wasting their time as well.  The League/FA cups are more of a hinderance to anyone in the lower half of the Prem, the top half of the Championship and anyone else who is either fighting for promotion or against relegation.  

Maybe you could say if you win a cup you get promoted?!  But then the lucrative play offs are scrapped.  

You also get the shit thing of Millwall in the Europa League when they got trounced by Man Utd in the final in about 2008, it's pointless. 

It's like our position now, most of us are glad we lost against Fulham, a lot of us are excited by Leicester and a potential final, but are we really going to win the competition?? Highly unlikely, in which case you'd rather we concentrate on Prem survival, which again takes away from the Cups. 

It's hard. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, Zatman said:

They could do the German model for the 3rd round and make the highest ranking club play away. That might add interest 

Obvious to give a 4th Champions League spot to the winner but they don't have the bottle. Maybe make teams play 8 players from the last league game and if not punish them by having to start the next season a round earlier

Not sure this is the issue, really.  Offering a 4th Champions League spot wouldn't change much at all.  Once teams reach the latter stages of the cups (maybe quarters or semis) they'll start playing strong sides anyway.

With the exception of 2011 (Blues) and 2013 (Swansea), every League Cup since and including 2005 has been won by one of the, now long-standing, top 6.  With the F.A. Cup it's even worse - with the exception of 2008 (Portsmouth) and 2013 (Wigan), every cup since 1996 has been won by one of the top 6.

It's all a shame, but if you're going to make the league so much of a financial incentive, you're going to miss out on classic cup games.  Maybe if we took £500m from PL prize money each season and chucked it all into the F.A. Cup, teams would give more of a shit.

 

That said, the cup games are huge financial incentives for lower league sides.  It means a lot to them.  I can't remember the exact details, but Newport's cup run recently netted them something like £1.3m and enabled them to improve their training facilities and invest in a pitch that is shared between 3 professional sport teams.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

I'm gonna go against the grain and say I don't think either cup has been devalued that much at all.

3rd cup third round has been devalued for sure. Even in the mid 90s it was still one of the biggest weekends of the season but lost that aura nowadays. Ultimately you're always at the mercy of the draw.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, VillaChris said:

3rd cup third round has been devalued for sure. Even in the mid 90s it was still one of the biggest weekends of the season but lost that aura nowadays. Ultimately you're always at the mercy of the draw.

Yep the earlier rounds have. But I think it's more of an issue with squad sizes and the strength of teams. Man City and Liverpool can put their reserves out and know they have a decent chance of progressing.

I think the cups themselves are still valued.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the prestige of winning a cup ( League or FA) is still there and top teams will go for it if they get to the semi / final.

However maintenance of your League position is more important in this finance run game ( certainly in England) and certainly at this time of the season ( after a busy xmas / New Year) where clubs are desperate to stay up / win their  League, progress in Europe ( another gravy train with TV fees) ,  a chance to rest key players is a given and now a norm......unfortunately, from a neutrals point of view.  

Its all about the money.🙄

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...
Â