I thought after some discussion in the Nearest & Dearest thread last week it would be fun to have a discussion about how to fix the problems with the FA Cup.

As much as I and some others love it the waning interest in it is worrying. So I thought maybe we could have some disccuons on how to fix the problems?

Heres a few of mine:

- invite the Scottish leagues to play in it effectively making it the British FA Cup.

- Champions league place for the winner.

- Make the games only on Sat & Sun and do KO times like the PL. one game each time: Sat 12.30pm, 5.30pm, Sun: 12pm, 3pm & 5pm rest are non televised at 3pm Sat. Any games player in later round for quarters and semis are in a weekend with no other (English) league football. Therefore keeping the focus on the Cup.

- FA Cup final played at 3pm the Sat after the season ends. No 5.30pm kick offs and having it weeks before the end of the season thanks.

This is a really tough problem because the demise of the FA Cup is a symptom of a much larger issue.

The financial inequality between the Premier League and the rest of the tiers is growing with no end in sight. The financial inequality between the top teams within the Premier League and the rest is growing with no end in sight. The inflation of player wages and transfer fees are growing at an unsustainable level for almost all clubs, yet the bubble hasn't popped. 

The FA is limited in how much money can go into the FA Cup. You can't force people to divert their attention away from the Premier League and toward the lower tiers. You can't force the media to give more attention to the FA Cup. 

It was uncomfortable last season that I was actually hoping Man United would beat Crystal Palace in the final because the FA Cup prestige is better preserved by having a big name club as the winner. 

We as fans are ultimately the most culpable, and we as Chelsea fans - collectively, not every fan individually - are among the most culpable. It really bothers me to hear fans saying they'd rather finish 4th than win the FA Cup. 

The way to recover the FA Cup in my opinion is to offer a CL place to the winners (at the expense of 4th place if the winners are outside the top 4). I know the counter to that is Wigan would have likely been an embarrassment in the CL which is probably accurate but what we have to remember is out of 16 years since the millennium there have only been 2 shock winners, so despite the elite taking it less seriously in that time it has still been a fancied side that won almost all occasions, offer extra incentive and an unfancied underdog will probably win 1 time in 20, if that.

Maybe im pissing on tradition a bit here but an idea would be to scrap the EFL cup and move forward some rounds in the FA to avoid fixture congestion.

The FA should make a new rule. All teams competing in the FA cup should have a minimum of 8 English born/registered players on the pitch at all times.

On 18/01/2017 at 21:58, offside said:

This is a really tough problem because the demise of the FA Cup is a symptom of a much larger issue.

The financial inequality between the Premier League and the rest of the tiers is growing with no end in sight. The financial inequality between the top teams within the Premier League and the rest is growing with no end in sight. The inflation of player wages and transfer fees are growing at an unsustainable level for almost all clubs, yet the bubble hasn't popped. 

The FA is limited in how much money can go into the FA Cup. You can't force people to divert their attention away from the Premier League and toward the lower tiers. You can't force the media to give more attention to the FA Cup. 

It was uncomfortable last season that I was actually hoping Man United would beat Crystal Palace in the final because the FA Cup prestige is better preserved by having a big name club as the winner. 

We as fans are ultimately the most culpable, and we as Chelsea fans - collectively, not every fan individually - are among the most culpable. It really bothers me to hear fans saying they'd rather finish 4th than win the FA Cup. 

That pisses me off too. I think the only thing that will truly save its prestige is adding the 4th CL place on to it cause then the big clubs would have to take it more seriously.

On 1/19/2017 at 13:34, Argo said:

The way to recover the FA Cup in my opinion is to offer a CL place to the winners (at the expense of 4th place if the winners are outside the top 4). I know the counter to that is Wigan would have likely been an embarrassment in the CL which is probably accurate but what we have to remember is out of 16 years since the millennium there have only been 2 shock winners, so despite the elite taking it less seriously in that time it has still been a fancied side that won almost all occasions, offer extra incentive and an unfancied underdog will probably win 1 time in 20, if that.

I'm not sure Wigan would have been more embarrassing than Spurs 

3 hours ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

That pisses me off too. I think the only thing that will truly save its prestige is adding the 4th CL place on to it cause then the big clubs would have to take it more seriously.

I think a Europa spot is appropriate. You don't want to lower the coefficient for the Premier League within UEFA. 

I would like to see the return of a Europa spot to the losing team if the winning team has qualified for Europe via the league table. Right now you not only have teams preferring to finish 4th, you have teams preferring to finish 7th(!!) at the expense of the FA Cup. That's embarrassing.  

This has been a fantastic year for the FA Cup as a competition.

There was plenty of magic. It was the first time in the modern era that two non-league teams, Lincoln and Sutton, reached the 5th round, and a non-league team reached the quarterfinals for the first time in over 100 years. In the process they beat a strong Burnley side at Turf Moor, a feat achieved by only 3(?) Premier League opponents so far. 

Ultimately, however, all the Wembley bound teams are those that should be there on paper, any they all used strong sides in the quarterfinals. 

This ensures that the winner will be a top team, and the semi finals and final will undoubtedly feature very strong lineups, thus preserving the prestige of the trophy. 

This year has massively benefitted from the top PL clubs avoiding each other for so long. It will ensure show piece attractions for both the semis and final that's for sure. This has been good for the FA Cup this year. 

However, I still think there's a problem that needs addressing but I think that's mainly to do with how TV treat the competition.