Bloody FA

[southwestexile]

Ok, so maybe I should’ve checked the schedule but I sat down with a brew and a custard tart at 3pm ready for the cup final - too early.

Saw that the tv coverage started at 4pm so got another brew.

And so it’s 5pm. What happened to the tradition of the cup?

I’ve now got a right sloshy tea belly

[Donnywolf]

Gone the way of all traditions - to follow the money or what the money men think is the money shot

[esdailles left foot]

I couldn't give a monkeys about the cup final anymore or the Murdoch falling over league

[bobjimwilly]

I'll be honest I simply don't get excited about the FA Cup final anymore, which is a shame

[BillyStubbsTears]

What on earth is the point?

[BillyStubbsTears]

What on earth is the point?

I turned the TV on at the 80th minute. From then until the 89th minute, the only touches Watford players got were two kick off moves and the keeper tipping a shot onto the post.

What on earth is the point? Football has to be competitive or it is meaningless.

[pib]

BBC pundits and commentators waxing lyrical about this “incredible story”.

Can someone please tell me what is incredible about it?

Club that did nothing for generations gets bankrolled by the wealth of an entire (oil) country, signs the world’s top players and coaches, and wins the FA Cup final handsomely against Watford.

[Crowle Rover]

The top division in England is rapidly turning into every other league in Europe.

Seems like only 2 teams have a chance of winning anything nowadays.

Boring and predictable,but the media and armchair fans lap it up.

[Chris Black come back]

Have been thinking about Man City.

Three things are all true.

First. They have had a huge amount of money put through them by their UAE owners (bit weird in itself if you were a local Man City fan to see these guys now owning your club, but hey) which is the reason and the only reason they are successful. Fact. End of story. Nothing else to say. Without this cash they would be also rans.

Second. I haven’t broken this down but I imagine the cash they have spent is comparable or broadly comparable to Chelsea (before their owner stopped financing them) and Man United, maybe even Liverpool perhaps. What is true is that they have used this in the ‘right’ way by massive investment in player development, along with acquisition of what are largely tier two and tier three world class players ie not Ronaldo, Pogba, etc. The current manager seems to have added some value to an already excellent set of players, as opposed to the mess Mourinho made of his squad.

Third. All this success is down to their UAE owners’ money. Their fans should remember that.

[Spilsby Red]

Credit to the Watford fans. They stayed and cheered there team. Normally now the end would be empty. Full credit to them

[PDX_Rover]

The sooner they f**k off and do their Galactic Heroes Ultra Mega League and completely disenfranchise regular fans, the better for proper football, for the people.

[Herbert Anchovy]

Going against the grain here but I still love the cup final! Maybe it’s because I don’t have Sky and consequently it’s still one of the only opportunities I get to see a live match on TV.

[Chris Black come back]

FA Cup final totally destroyed by the FA.

The semi-finals should never be played at Wembley. The kick off time should always be 3pm (not least to allow supporters to get back home). The FA Cup final should always be final game of the season.

The money men and cowards at the FA / EPL will never allow this but the fourth Champions League slot should go to the FA Cup winner. Winning the cup does make you a champion. Finishing 25 points behind the EPL winners does not make you a champion.

[PDX_Rover]

Used to love FA Cup Final day. Grandstand build up to a 3pm kickoff. It meant something.

[drfchound]

The sooner they f**k off and do their Galactic Heroes Ultra Mega League and completely disenfranchise regular fans, the better for proper football, for the people.

I’m not even sure that there will be a GHUML (see above).
The teams that usually win most things in their own countries suddenly wouldn’t be winning as much if anything at all.
How could they live with that?

[pib]

The sooner they f**k off and do their Galactic Heroes Ultra Mega League and completely disenfranchise regular fans, the better for proper football, for the people.

I’m not even sure that there will be a GHUML (see above).
The teams that usually win most st things in their own countries suddenly wouldn’t be winning as much if anything at all.
How could they live with that?

I’m sure the ££££ would make up for it for them.

[ravenrover]

A reporter at both team hotels
Replays of the road to Wembley
Interviews with ex players
A camera on the team coach reporting all the way to Wembley
The teams on the pitch in their spanking new suits
Quick interviews with players before they went back to the changing rooms
Tommy Trinder in his white duster coat climbing the scaffolfing to lead the commjnity singing ending with Abide with me and everybody singing
The teams come out to a full stadium lead by the manager in a suit and tie
The presentation to the Royalty on a red carpet
The kick of at 3.00pm
The injury to a crucial player ending up with him being taken off in tears
The half time summary
The 2nd half and the final whistle
The presentation of the cup
The silly dancing round the pitch with cup whilst the losers walk round in a daze looking for people in the crowd
The after match interviews and the story of the final and all done before 6.00 in time for the news
Supporters home in time for the last pint in their local

[RedJ]

FA Cup final totally destroyed by the FA.

The semi-finals should never be played at Wembley. The kick off time should always be 3pm (not least to allow supporters to get back home). The FA Cup final should always be final game of the season.

The money men and cowards at the FA / EPL will never allow this but the fourth Champions League slot should go to the FA Cup winner. Winning the cup does make you a champion. Finishing 25 points behind the EPL winners does not make you a champion.

I think there's something in UEFA's rules saying you can't qualify for the Champions League through a cup anymore. Could be wrong as it was a few years ago now that I tried to find the information.





I still enjoy the FA Cup but it's a bit w**k when you know one side is going to get absolutely arseholed before the match even kicks off.

[sha66y]

I bet my bro a quid that the rich club in light blue would score more than 4 goals against the poorer team in the Hull City disguise, suffice to say I won a quid without even watching the debacle.....

[Milepostuk]

A reporter at both team hotels
Replays of the road to Wembley
Interviews with ex players
A camera on the team coach reporting all the way to Wembley
The teams on the pitch in their spanking new suits
Quick interviews with players before they went back to the changing rooms
Tommy Trinder in his white duster coat climbing the scaffolfing to lead the commjnity singing ending with Abide with me and everybody singing
The teams come out to a full stadium lead by the manager in a suit and tie
The presentation to the Royalty on a red carpet
The kick of at 3.00pm
The injury to a crucial player ending up with him being taken off in tears
The half time summary
The 2nd half and the final whistle
The presentation of the cup
The silly dancing round the pitch with cup whilst the losers walk round in a daze looking for people in the crowd
The after match interviews and the story of the final and all done before 6.00 in time for the news
Supporters home in time for the last pint in their local

You missed the "Its a Knockout" head to head shown earlier in the day

[GazLaz]

I was at the cup final yesterday. I had a brilliant day. The Watford fans were fantastic, and it was a privilege to watch that City side, they are something special. However they have been assembled they are the best team this country has ever seen. 

[IDM]

Some folks have short memories..

Wigan beat Man City a few years ago, and who knocked them out last season?

As for the comment about only two sides can win anything, there are effectively 6 really big teams who can win the PL etc..

[Hounslowrover]

The first Premier League was 1992-93, since then only Everton, Portsmouth and Wigan have won the FA Cup outside of the big six. It really is becoming boring, the Watfords and Hulls of this world just get a good day out and memories.

[Barmby Rover]

The sooner that Sky/ BT get lost out of our game the better, when the money collapses the only difference we will see is the plane tickets out of the UK by the mercenaries that populate the Premiership, British and foreign players.

[Axholme Lion]

Don't even bother watching it anymore.
On the subject of Man City, can you imagine watching a team who are expected to win everything? For the first year or so it would be great and then it would become really boring. The ups and downs of watching a lower league club are much more interesting. One year Wall are knocked out of the cup at Rochdale, the next year seconds away from the semis. We get beat by Rotherham but do the double over Derby, and all the moaning about a crap manager, forwards who can't score, shit goalie, no money and all the rest of it. I would never swap it for PL and i'm sure it's the same for many of you.

[bobbymax]

The Premier League has nothing to do with proper football. It's all about the ego and depth of pocket of these foreign 'investors' who, with very few exceptions, have as much love for the game as I do for weeding the garden. Haven't watched it for years and no plans to change that anytime soon.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Some folks have short memories..

Wigan beat Man City a few years ago, and who knocked them out last season?

As for the comment about only two sides can win anything, there are effectively 6 really big teams who can win the PL etc..

IDM

I commented on this 8 years ago.

https://www.drfc-vsc.co.uk/index.php?topic=193638.msg193749#msg193749

That can now be updated.

In the last 16 years these are the sides that have made the top 3.

Man U (12 times), Chelsea (13 times) Arsenal (6 times), Liverpool (5 times), Man City (8 times) Spurs (3 times) and Leicester (once).

More than half the places have been filled by two sides. 81% of the places have been filled by 4 sides. 98% of the places have been filled by just 6 sides. In SIXTEEN years.

It's shite really, isn't it?

Just been having dinner with an American colleague who's new to England. He said incredulously that the NFL is effectively socialist when compared to the effect of money on the Premier League. The heart and soul of English football was ripped out by Murdoch a generation ago.