As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
Not really that fussed to be fair. Replays have been a fucking pain for years and most decent teams put out a weakened team just to get the game out of the way. There's also the fact that games can be decided on the day and that does add some sort of extra interest into them.
Fair enough.
How do you feel about the other changes - like for example the 4th Round being played over 6 consecutive days and the FA Cup Final being played in the middle of a Premier League weekend?
Not really that fussed to be fair. Replays have been a fucking pain for years and most decent teams put out a weakened team just to get the game out of the way. There's also the fact that games can be decided on the day and that does add some sort of extra interest into them.
Fair enough.
How do you feel about the other changes - like for example the 4th Round being played over 6 consecutive days and the FA Cup Final being played in the middle of a Premier League weekend?
If you take away replays then I think you do need to keep something traditional as a sort of trade off. I absolutely love the FA Cup but it's been so badly devalued over the last 25 years or more that it's ended up like a sort of Christmas or summer visit to a relative that you know you need to do but don't really want to. So many things have been chipped away at over the years like the replays until you get a winner, the ten day or more gap between the first game and a replay when it used to just be the following Wednesday, the moving of kick-off times and days of the week and worst of fucking all, playing the semi-finals at Wembley.
Where the FA missed a trick a few years ago was by trying to make unnecessary changes to it as the one point of difference it always had was tradition and history and they should have embraced that. They've allowed its relevance to diminish and these days, supporters of a 'big' club only really start getting interested when their team gets close to Wembley and I'd be surprised if younger supporters get the same buzz the older generations get out of a possible away tie in the third round at a lower league or non-league ground on a wet Saturday in early January.
I just think that the FA allowed the opportunities to create a narrative around the competition to slip away. They didn't really do much to promote the competition from the late 90s onwards and didn't listen to supporters when they raised concerns. Nobody wanted semi-finals at Wembley but they just thought about short-term financial gain and as always, that leads to problems further up the line. The sad truth, is that the most accessible and probably the most inclusive competition in world football has ended up as an inconvenience to clubs and supporters and they've started to move away from it. I can see why lower league clubs have an issue with the scrapping of replays and it does all seem to be linked to this funding agreement between the Premier League and Football League but the FA need to take some responsibility for letting the competition just drift away from mainstream relevance.
"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"."
Keep the replays.
Lose the expanded UEFA competitions.
Exactly. Fuck UEFA and their tedious overblown dragged out shit competitions.
This is the difference between the old style football fan and the modern soccer fanboy. The fanboys want this global game where everyone loves each other and club rivalries mean nothing. They want English clubs playing meaningless games against French or Italian clubs where customers from both countries meet up and spend a fortune on "merch" and buy numerous tv subscriptions. A shitty fucking society where twats have a few teams they "support", sometimes within the same fucking league!
Load of fucking shit.
I'm a fan of the Arsenal and English football. I could give two fucks about global soccer.
Not really that fussed to be fair. Replays have been a fucking pain for years and most decent teams put out a weakened team just to get the game out of the way. There's also the fact that games can be decided on the day and that does add some sort of extra interest into them.
Fair enough.
How do you feel about the other changes - like for example the 4th Round being played over 6 consecutive days and the FA Cup Final being played in the middle of a Premier League weekend?
If you take away replays then I think you do need to keep something traditional as a sort of trade off. I absolutely love the FA Cup but it's been so badly devalued over the last 25 years or more that it's ended up like a sort of Christmas or summer visit to a relative that you know you need to do but don't really want to. So many things have been chipped away at over the years like the replays until you get a winner, the ten day or more gap between the first game and a replay when it used to just be the following Wednesday, the moving of kick-off times and days of the week and worst of fucking all, playing the semi-finals at Wembley.
Where the FA missed a trick a few years ago was by trying to make unnecessary changes to it as the one point of difference it always had was tradition and history and they should have embraced that. They've allowed its relevance to diminish and these days, supporters of a 'big' club only really start getting interested when their team gets close to Wembley and I'd be surprised if younger supporters get the same buzz the older generations get out of a possible away tie in the third round at a lower league or non-league ground on a wet Saturday in early January.
I just think that the FA allowed the opportunities to create a narrative around the competition to slip away. They didn't really do much to promote the competition from the late 90s onwards and didn't listen to supporters when they raised concerns. Nobody wanted semi-finals at Wembley but they just thought about short-term financial gain and as always, that leads to problems further up the line. The sad truth, is that the most accessible and probably the most inclusive competition in world football has ended up as an inconvenience to clubs and supporters and they've started to move away from it. I can see why lower league clubs have an issue with the scrapping of replays and it does all seem to be linked to this funding agreement between the Premier League and Football League but the FA need to take some responsibility for letting the competition just drift away from mainstream relevance.
The relative analogy is bang on.
I do t want scum to win it ever but do t really care if we win it either u less it's part of a doube or treble.
On its own it holds no value to me anymore despite our proud history in it and being record winners...which I would like to maintain..
I guess part of this is due to the devaluation of it by United years ago and part to do with it papering over the cracks in the fag end of the wenger days effectively keeping him in a job, yet setting the club further back ultimately as it meant more managed decline.
The promotion and tinkering had been terrible. If they went back to mis afternoon Saturday kick off had all the build up all day long like they used to, had semi finals at non wembley neutral venues, played most ties at 3pm on a Saturday bar the odd evening game at a lower league shithole vs a big boy, and not the crap spread they do now with games all over he place and mixed in with league games too, then perhaps I would care about these latest changes and be annoyed at a midweek final and no replays.
For me it jumped the shark years ago and these are just part of managed decline
The competition has certainly been significantly eroded over the years - it’s just that I think yesterday were the final nails in the coffin.
It is now in reality as meaningless as the league cup. The great shame is that for most of the 20th century it was THE main sporting competition in this country. Hard to imagine for younger supporters that this was far more important to win than the league.
I think probably the main reason why I’m annoyed about it though is what it has been replaced with - an 8 match group stage of the Euro competitions,..just to get down to a new 24 team knock out stage…..zzzzzzzzzzz
I think probably the main reason why I’m annoyed about it though is what it has been replaced with - an 8 match group stage of the Euro competitions,..just to get down to a new 24 team knock out stage…..zzzzzzzzzzz
Shame it benefits so few to the detriment of so many. This year’s FA Cup quarter finals were great games (Cheaty excepted). For many without Sky/TNT subscriptions, it is the only live football they see on TV, though TNT will be taking it on from 2025/26 season. UEFA have bloated the calendar with three club competitions, the nations league and the European championships. And there are too many ways of qualifying, allowing teams who haven’t won a title in over 60 years to compete in the "Champions" League is a joke. It would be better to revert to just Champions in the Champions League, rather that top 4 trophy winners.
Not really that fussed to be fair. Replays have been a fucking pain for years and most decent teams put out a weakened team just to get the game out of the way. There's also the fact that games can be decided on the day and that does add some sort of extra interest into them.
Fair enough.
How do you feel about the other changes - like for example the 4th Round being played over 6 consecutive days and the FA Cup Final being played in the middle of a Premier League weekend?
If you take away replays then I think you do need to keep something traditional as a sort of trade off. I absolutely love the FA Cup but it's been so badly devalued over the last 25 years or more that it's ended up like a sort of Christmas or summer visit to a relative that you know you need to do but don't really want to. So many things have been chipped away at over the years like the replays until you get a winner, the ten day or more gap between the first game and a replay when it used to just be the following Wednesday, the moving of kick-off times and days of the week and worst of fucking all, playing the semi-finals at Wembley.
Where the FA missed a trick a few years ago was by trying to make unnecessary changes to it as the one point of difference it always had was tradition and history and they should have embraced that. They've allowed its relevance to diminish and these days, supporters of a 'big' club only really start getting interested when their team gets close to Wembley and I'd be surprised if younger supporters get the same buzz the older generations get out of a possible away tie in the third round at a lower league or non-league ground on a wet Saturday in early January.
I just think that the FA allowed the opportunities to create a narrative around the competition to slip away. They didn't really do much to promote the competition from the late 90s onwards and didn't listen to supporters when they raised concerns. Nobody wanted semi-finals at Wembley but they just thought about short-term financial gain and as always, that leads to problems further up the line. The sad truth, is that the most accessible and probably the most inclusive competition in world football has ended up as an inconvenience to clubs and supporters and they've started to move away from it. I can see why lower league clubs have an issue with the scrapping of replays and it does all seem to be linked to this funding agreement between the Premier League and Football League but the FA need to take some responsibility for letting the competition just drift away from mainstream relevance.
One thing that would help the comp is like they do in Germany, have the lower league team drawn at home by default. And then have the option to switch if they want.
When I was a kid the F.A Cup final was the only live football match shown on television and it was the special occasion and the last game of the season. To score the winner in the F.A Cup final was every kids dream and goals were badly copied the next day by hundreds of kids across the parks of England and beyond.
My mum said that it was the best day to go shopping up Camden Town because everyone was watching it and the shops were empty . Such was it's importance. I watched it in a bar in Casablanca in 1968 , it was worldwide.
Now it's an also ran to the big money sponsored competitions , it's finished as anything more than a sideshow . If they allowed teams involved in the |European competitions to play their under 21 teams with the odd bench sitting player and kept the original format it just might rekindle itself and lower league teams might have a chance of cup glory . However that would probably upset the powers that be , that don't seem to realise the strength of it's demise.
When I was a kid the F.A Cup final was the only live football match shown on television and it was the special occasion and the last game of the season. To score the winner in the F.A Cup final was every kids dream and goals were badly copied the next day by hundreds of kids across the parks of England and beyond.
My mum said that it was the best day to go shopping up Camden Town because everyone was watching it and the shops were empty . Such was it's importance. I watched it in a bar in Casablanca in 1968 , it was worldwide.
Now it's an also ran to the big money sponsored competitions , it's finished as anything more than a sideshow . If they allowed teams involved in the |European competitions to play their under 21 teams with the odd bench sitting player and kept the original format it just might rekindle itself and lower league teams might have a chance of cup glory . However that would probably upset the powers that be , that don't seem to realise the strength of it's demise.
I can name every cup final from 1970 to 1993 as from 76 onwards I watched them on tv, the whole day, the fans quiz match, the teams journey on the coaches etc as it was special .
Other than our victories 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2020 I wouldn’t have a clue of the modern ones, other than the sure knowedge that the scum were not making an appearance
I know Chelsea, City and United have won a few, Wigan and Portsmouth popped up once each but it has lost that magic, probably due to so much football being televised ( bloody Drogon )
Sad reflection on the modern game - money before tradition
When I was a kid the F.A Cup final was the only live football match shown on television and it was the special occasion and the last game of the season. To score the winner in the F.A Cup final was every kids dream and goals were badly copied the next day by hundreds of kids across the parks of England and beyond.
My mum said that it was the best day to go shopping up Camden Town because everyone was watching it and the shops were empty . Such was it's importance. I watched it in a bar in Casablanca in 1968 , it was worldwide.
Now it's an also ran to the big money sponsored competitions , it's finished as anything more than a sideshow . If they allowed teams involved in the |European competitions to play their under 21 teams with the odd bench sitting player and kept the original format it just might rekindle itself and lower league teams might have a chance of cup glory . However that would probably upset the powers that be , that don't seem to realise the strength of it's demise.
I can name every cup final from 1970 to 1993 as from 76 onwards I watched them on tv, the whole day, the fans quiz match, the teams journey on the coaches etc as it was special .
Other than our victories 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2020 I wouldn’t have a clue of the modern ones, other than the sure knowedge that the scum were not making an appearance
I know Chelsea, City and United have won a few, Wigan and Portsmouth popped up once each but it has lost that magic, probably due to so much football being televised ( bloody Drogon )
Sad reflection on the modern game - money before tradition
Bloody hell your right Stuart
I would most probably get more right from 1970 to 93 and also spent all day glued to the tv
71 my only memory of the fa cup was the flats houses & shops decked out in Red white yellow & blue
72 my first memory of defeat
73 the first one I can remember watching fully
Montgomery double save & defeat for dirty Leeds
A great competition and I am really proud that we are the record holders
Is this where the wheels come completely off the Arsenal wagon?
Not yet , one more year before the champions league winning teams start lining up for Saka , Martinelli , Odegaard and Saliba.
One more year and things go tits up.
Is this where the wheels come completely off the Arsenal wagon?
Not yet , one more year before the champions league winning teams start lining up for Saka , Martinelli , Odegaard and Saliba.
One more year and things go tits up.
Won’t happen
If they leave then they get replaced
Too much money around now for the top clubs to fail. The decision with the FA Cup this week is just the start of things- the football landscape is going to change massively in the coming years.
When I was a kid the F.A Cup final was the only live football match shown on television and it was the special occasion and the last game of the season. To score the winner in the F.A Cup final was every kids dream and goals were badly copied the next day by hundreds of kids across the parks of England and beyond.
My mum said that it was the best day to go shopping up Camden Town because everyone was watching it and the shops were empty . Such was it's importance. I watched it in a bar in Casablanca in 1968 , it was worldwide.
Now it's an also ran to the big money sponsored competitions , it's finished as anything more than a sideshow . If they allowed teams involved in the |European competitions to play their under 21 teams with the odd bench sitting player and kept the original format it just might rekindle itself and lower league teams might have a chance of cup glory . However that would probably upset the powers that be , that don't seem to realise the strength of it's demise.
At one point as a kid in Australia the only live English football match shown each year was the FA Cup final at about 1am Brisbane time. It was the only night of the year we were allowed to stay up late, no matter who was playing in it. But those three finals 78, 79, and 80 were massive for my Oirish Gooner dad, his couple of Aussie Gooner mates, and my Gooner brothers and I.
Especially 79 obviously.
Went into school on the Monday with my Arsenal school bag, a huge grin, and poured shit all over the other 29 kids in my class - all manure or victims* fans. Shit, even the fucking teacher was a victims* fan and he was Croat Australian!
