Changes to the FA Cup you would make

tentan

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Are there any changes you would make to the FA Cup?

Home advantage for the ‘smaller team’. Just like the Copa Del Rey, the bigger team should always visit the smaller teams ground. But in the case of two big teams, the team who finished lower in the league the previous season would get home advantage. For e.g if Arsenal drew United they would go to Old Trafford as they finished above them last season.

The semi finals should be played at Old Trafford and Villa park like the old days. Wembley should only be used for the final.

The final should always be the last game of the domestic season (3pm on a Saturday as well).

Golden goal. Think this could spice it up a bit. If the game goes to extra time the first team to score wins the game. Possibly more giants killings and entertainment.
 
I would just kill the extra time and go straight to the penalty shootout.
 
tentan said:
Are there any changes you would make to the FA Cup?

Home advantage for the ‘smaller team’. Just like the Copa Del Rey, the bigger team should always visit the smaller teams ground. But in the case of two big teams, the team who finished lower in the league the previous season would get home advantage. For e.g if Arsenal drew United they would go to Old Trafford as they finished above them last season.

The semi finals should be played at Old Trafford and Villa park like the old days. Wembley should only be used for the final.

The final should always be the last game of the domestic season (3pm on a Saturday as well).

Golden goal. Think this could spice it up a bit. If the game goes to extra time the first team to score wins the game. Possibly more giants killings and entertainment.
Click to expand...

It's better for the smaller team to go to the bigger stadium in terms of finances.

I think they should scrap extra time and just go to penalties if they don't want replays.
 
CL qualification for the winner.
 
I'd bring back replays, just for the smaller clubs to get the payday of the return game at the bigger stadiums. They'd get 100% of the gate.
 
  • Bring back replays.
  • Winner qualifies for CL.
  • Make the League Cup only for teams who haven’t qualified for Europe.
These 3 changes would reignite passion for the FA Cup and sort the fixture congestion they’re trying to fix by scrapping replays.
 
In all seriousness, have 4 sets of goal posts. One at each end like now and one on each touchline. I can see only positives
 
tentan said:
Home advantage for the ‘smaller team’. Just like the Copa Del Rey, the bigger team should always visit the smaller teams ground. But in the case of two big teams, the team who finished lower in the league the previous season would get home advantage. For e.g if Arsenal drew United they would go to Old Trafford as they finished above them last season.
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So if you win PL then the next season you are forced to play each FA cup game away?
 
matys said:
So if you win PL then the next season you are forced to play each FA cup game away?
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In Germany, it used to be that higher division team would always play away at a lower division team. Teams from the same division were randomised home/away
 
Give it an amount of money that matches up to its historic reputation.
 
Bring back replays, or scrap extra time.
Instead of 40%-40% gate split (as doesn’t 10-20% go to the FA?) - make it more 60-20% in favour of the lower league teams.

Not an original suggestion from me.
 
didz said:
Give it an amount of money that matches up to its historic reputation.
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This is a big one. The FA Cup used to be so huge that it's hard to quantify for those who didn't witness the fanfare and build up it used to have. Winning the FA Cup wasn't just about the day - FA Cup week and the media build up to the day made the Cup feel like an immense trophy to win.

There's a moderate amount of euphoria to winning it now, but it's way, way down the line from the league and CL these days, or just a bonus for those chasing the aforementioned that would potentially complete a Double or a Treble.

Make it a trophy that carries the gravitas it used to have. Prize money elevation and CL qualification, I'd say.
 
tentan said:
Golden goal. Think this could spice it up a bit. If the game goes to extra time the first team to score wins the game. Possibly more giants killings and entertainment.
Click to expand...
When we had golden goal in sure it resulted in less goals as teams were cautious not to concede.

I've always liked @diarm suggestion of League Cup being for teams that aren't in Europe. Helps with fixture congestion and give smaller teams like Southampton and Newcastle a real chance at a trophy. I'm sure there's a negative to it, maybe the competition loses some gloss not having United and other clubs who try to be like United in it. But I don't think Neil Shipperley would care if he got the chance to see Palace win a proper trophy would he? Any other negatives?
 
Go back to non-wembley semis. Rotate between the big stadiums in the country every year (OT, Emirates, Spurs stadium, Villa Park, London stadium, Etihad, New Everton stadium). Increase the mystique of Wembley by only using it for the final.

Make CL qualification the prize rather than EL qualification. Everyone would take it far more seriously then.

Make it a primetime game like the CL does for its finals. Saturday evening, final game of the English football season.
 
Oranges038 said:
I'd bring back replays, just for the smaller clubs to get the payday of the return game at the bigger stadiums. They'd get 100% of the gate.
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Ya Tamworth lost out on big bucks over the weekend because of no replays
 
tentan said:
Are there any changes you would make to the FA Cup?

Home advantage for the ‘smaller team’. Just like the Copa Del Rey, the bigger team should always visit the smaller teams ground. But in the case of two big teams, the team who finished lower in the league the previous season would get home advantage. For e.g if Arsenal drew United they would go to Old Trafford as they finished above them last season.

The semi finals should be played at Old Trafford and Villa park like the old days. Wembley should only be used for the final.

The final should always be the last game of the domestic season (3pm on a Saturday as well).

Golden goal. Think this could spice it up a bit. If the game goes to extra time the first team to score wins the game. Possibly more giants killings and entertainment.
Click to expand...

I like all of these!
 
tentan said:
Are there any changes you would make to the FA Cup?

Home advantage for the ‘smaller team’. Just like the Copa Del Rey, the bigger team should always visit the smaller teams ground. But in the case of two big teams, the team who finished lower in the league the previous season would get home advantage. For e.g if Arsenal drew United they would go to Old Trafford as they finished above them last season.

The semi finals should be played at Old Trafford and Villa park like the old days. Wembley should only be used for the final.

The final should always be the last game of the domestic season (3pm on a Saturday as well).

Golden goal. Think this could spice it up a bit. If the game goes to extra time the first team to score wins the game. Possibly more giants killings and entertainment.
Click to expand...
Teams below championship have choice of playing home or away.

Only final at Wembley.

Sin bins for YC offences - 15 mins.
 
diarm said:
  • Bring back replays.
  • Winner qualifies for CL.
  • Make the League Cup only for teams who haven’t qualified for Europe.
These 3 changes would reignite passion for the FA Cup and sort the fixture congestion they’re trying to fix by scrapping replays.
Click to expand...
I like these. Additionally the winner of the league cup getting a euro league spot keeps it attractive to all teams that don't usually qualify for Europe.
 
I wouldn't make any gimmicky changes for changes sake.

The only changes should be ones deemed necessary for the packed schedule - such as the unfortunate dropping of replays.

Other than that, keep it as it is with an open draw deciding the drama of whether you're home or away and whether you play a team from the PL or all the way down to non-league opponents.

The pyramid and the history gives it all the drama a cup competition needs. It doesn't need any gimmicky changes to it.
 
The "magic" of the FA Cup is primarily in those 3rd/4th round ties, as soon as they scrapped replays some of that magic was lost. For those smaller clubs if they draw sides leagues above them then they should at least have the option of switching the tie from Home to Away, let them have their payday and the fans their big away day.

Do away with Extra Time and go straight to pens too, this might increase the chances of the odd giant killing which seem rarer than ever.

Basically as a competition they should use this as an avenue to help the pyramid, ultimately the latter rounds will end up with the usual suspects in 90% of the time anyway.
 
The problem with the FA Cup and the same goes for the league cup is that all the mid-table and lower prem clubs don’t take it seriously yet it’s always the big clubs getting blamed despite them reaching the final always. There’s very little chance of Brentford getting relegated this season yet they rested some of their key players at the weekend.

I would stop this nonsense of playing fixtures on Thursdays, Mondays, and Tuesdays for starters. If a small club gets a home draw against a big team, then give them the option of changing that to an away draw.
 
Bojan11 said:
The problem with the FA Cup and the same goes for the league cup is that all the mid-table and lower prem clubs don’t take it seriously yet it’s always the big clubs getting blamed despite them reaching the final always. There’s very little chance of Brentford getting relegated this season yet they rested some of their key players at the weekend.

I would stop this nonsense of playing fixtures on Thursdays, Mondays, and Tuesdays for starters. If a small club gets a home draw against a big team, then give them the option of changing that to an away draw.
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I agree about the frustration of mid / lower table PL sides resting players for both cup competitions - especially those mid table clubs with little chance of either a European or relegation battle at the end of the season.

It's just become the fashionable thing that's done, even when it's completely unnecessary and seems hugely counter productive for clubs for whom winning a trophy would be a very rare accomplishment in their history. Yet they unnecessarily throw the chance away by sending out weakened sides when they don't need to.

But I don't agree with clubs being able to switch the draws around to suddenly give a team drawn away a home match instead. It's a competitive cup competition with an open draw - the draw is made, that's how it should be played. Teams shouldn't start being able to negotiate whether they'd prefer to be home or away. That's much too manufactured, and is a dangerous precedent as it's in effect lower teams being allowed to 'sell' a higher team a cosy home fixture - just being worded a different way.
 
diarm said:
  • Bring back replays.
  • Winner qualifies for CL.
  • Make the League Cup only for teams who haven’t qualified for Europe.
These 3 changes would reignite passion for the FA Cup and sort the fixture congestion they’re trying to fix by scrapping replays.
Click to expand...

I agree with all 3 of your points. The 2nd and 3rd bullet point are fantastic ideas.
 
Semi Finals at neutral grounds not Wembley.

United v Covetry should have been played at Villa Park. City v Chelsea at somewhere like the Emirates or Tottenham Stadium etc....
 
diarm said:
  • Bring back replays.
  • Winner qualifies for CL.
  • Make the League Cup only for teams who haven’t qualified for Europe.
These 3 changes would reignite passion for the FA Cup and sort the fixture congestion they’re trying to fix by scrapping replays.
Click to expand...

Bwuk said:
I agree with all 3 of your points. The 2nd and 3rd bullet point are fantastic ideas.
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Bringing back replays would be great. But really can't see enough of a gap in the packed schedule for the original multi replay system. But going back to one replay, then ET or pens, can maybe be fitted in somehow.

Though I think a League Cup without the top teams who've qualified for Europe will be the death knell of the second cup competition. It will dilute the standard, and the achievement of winning it, if the top teams aren't involved. And it's never really been a competition where the 'giant killings' are as big a things as the famous FA Cup ones are, so it would lack much significance all round really. It needs the top teams in it to give it that significance of a major cup competition that's mostly won by big clubs, so still a real achievement to win.
 
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Bertie Wooster said:
Bringing back replays would be great. But really can't see enough of a gap in the packed schedule for the original multi replay system. But going back to one replay, then ET or pens, can maybe be fitted in somehow.

Though I think a League Cup without the top teams who've qualified for Europe will be the death knell of the second cup competition. It will dilute the standard, and the achievement of winning it, if the top teams aren't involved. And it's never really been a competition where the 'giant killings' are as big a things as the famous FA Cup ones are, so it would lack much significance all round really. It needs the top teams in it to give it that significance of a major cup competition that's mostly won by big clubs, so still a real achievement to win.
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You could attach a Europa League spot too it (or conference?)
 
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