FA Cup replays are a thing of the past. For the Premier League, this is a brilliant thing – for the rest of the rabble, it’s an unmitigated disaster
FA Cup replays are set to be scrapped from next season, with plenty of clubs in the EFL and Non-League condemning the decision.
For one Premier League manager, though, the decision is “much better” for the best teams in England who are competing in European competition, because it will help with fixture congestion and in providing more rest to their poor, knackered players.
Not that EFL clubs have to contend with an extra eight league games a season, more rounds of the FA Cup and, for League One and League Two sides, a whole other competition in the form of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy. Plus, gate receipts and TV money from replays can literally be the difference between some clubs surviving and others going bust – hence the clear dismay highlighted by sides across the country.
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But while Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola recognises that issue, his reaction to FA Cup replays being scrapped clearly highlights his, and the Premier League’s, positive point of view.
“I understand why clubs in lower divisions complain and it has been a tradition for many years but with the schedule that we have, playing in European competition and with many players going to the national teams, it is much better.”
But instead of respecting the oldest club competition in world football, more games are being added to simply serve the elite. The Club World Cup is being expanded to a ludicrous 32-team tournament next summer, for example, while the Premier League cannot even agree a funding deal with the EFL.
Without FA Cup replays, there are even fewer effects of trickle-down economics. The decision only works to serve the elite, as so divisively highlighted by Pep Guardiola.
