The valuation of the FA cup took yet another beating this past weekend with scratch teams and TV games being the bone of contention. The oldest cup competition in the world as has been said repeatedly when talking about it saw teams from the top two divisions enter this season's event this past weekend and being honest, some shouldn't have bothered.
So we'll start with the scratch teams. Bournemouth were away at Millwall, a club in anguish which is an entire post in itself. One would've thought the premier league side would have this tie in the bag. Manager Eddie Howe then made eleven changes to the team that capitulated against Arsenal. These changes didn't work as Millwall brushed them aside 3-0. Why the wholesale changes? Bournemouth will be clear of relegation but probably won't have enough to get Europe. Why not give the fans a cup run to enjoy for the rest of the season?. It beggars belief that a side such as Bournemouth would throw away a potential cup run for the sake of finishing one or two places higher in the league. Had I made the trip those Bournemouth fans made and see the manager blatantly disregard the game I would be incredibly disappointed.
Liverpool made many changes too but did have the excuse of a first leg cup semi-final this Wednesday. However Jürgen Klopp's team couldn't break down League two Plymouth so Klopp's team faces a replay down in Devon. Even Cardiff City made changes with manager Neil Warnock going with five for their game against Fulham. However with twenty-two league games left he felt the need to sacrifice the cup for their battle to stay in the second tier. So even this mentality is sinking to championship sides.
Unfortunately for the cup it wasn't just the teams devaluing it, the TV companies had already made their intentions clear weeks in advance. The third round saw non-league side Sutton United face neighbours AFC Wimbledon, their first third round appearance since the 1980s and seventh tier Stourbridge making their third round debut. However TV companies including the national broadcaster, where viewing figures are not a prerogative, overlooked the non-league side's biggest games of the season in favour of an all premier league tie and ties where the premier league side was at home. All of which were no contests or drab affairs, really showcasing the cup in a bad light.
Going back to Cardiff, their game was moved to the ludicrous kick-off time of 11:30am which fans quite rightly vented fury over. Just over five thousand turned up to see Cardiff surrender a potential cup run to Fulham, whose fans had to make costly arrangements due to TV selecting an absurd kick-off time.
This isn't a new phenomenon. There are a myriad of causes for the devaluation of the cup with many pointing to the Manchester United withdrawal in 2000, with FA blessing, as the moment it lost value. The increasing wealth in the premier league has led to sides prioritising finishing one or two places higher than having runs in the FA cup, league cup and Europa league. As seen last weekend even championship sides are starting to throw away the cup for the sake of a couple of places in the league standing.
Calls for revamping the cup such as offering a champions league place for the winner are being made so the premier league sides will take it seriously. While it does sound good in theory, the Europa league had that exact 'revamp' and still hasn't done much to the English view. Do we start offering champions league places to the league cup as well in vain hope premier league sides take it seriously? If these sides are not interested in cup competitions, save us all the hassle and just don't bother entering.
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