And that's the point I am trying to make. This devaluing of the FA Cup is driven by the big clubs. The tail wagging the dog. The whole of football these days is based on what the big boys want. A winter break will be next. Just so the big clubs who play more games get what they want. Even though they will swan off to Dubai or the Far East to play in a lucrative friendly.
Well said. The media circus following "football" is centred on these same clubs and I'd certainly forgive someone who knew nothing about football to think that no more than 20 clubs play the game professionally and I would be sympathetic if this hypothetical person only thought there were half a dozen.
The devaluation of the cup is shown by just how many teams put out a second string by a lot of clubs - especially in the top two tiers. Getting through is
nice but not essential - at least until there is a reasonable chance of winning it.
But what to do? Excluding the PL (or just a section of it) would devalue it further IMO and it'd end up like the Johnstone's Paint Trophy or whatever it's official name is.
The PL and it's money is bringing down football bit by bit. The big boys and their fans don't care. They see their clubs spending 30 million on a right back and think its great. It isn't.
FFP is designed to keep the big boys at the top and the small boys down in their place. And if you break FFP what happens...you get a fine! An absolute joke.
FFP fines are only when you're already one of the big clubs. They'll come down on smaller clubs like a ton of bricks. Just like in the wider world a lot of rules are introduced for the sole benefit of those with the most money and forget everyone else.
The national team suffers because the young players coming through are stacked up in U23 teams or out on loan. Get a decent player playing for you and sooner or later they are snapped up and left to rot on the bench of one of the big boys.
Definitely although I also put England's failings down to selection of players based only on reputation, said players preferring club football (everyone remembers the conveniently timed injuries players had before England games but miraculously cleared up before the next league game) and a generally different play style from mainland Europe.
Win the FA Cup...so what. It means nothing. That says it all. You don't even need to win the league these days. It's OK just finish 4th and you're on the gravy train.
And, thanks to FFP, once you're there you're pretty much guaranteed to stay there.
The sooner it all goes pop the better. I actually don't want Villa to go up this year, not that we will, I am loving life down here. Financially we are probably screwed but it's way more fun.
I don't think we'll go up either but it's certainly possible via the playoff lottery. There is definitely something satisfying about not having your arse kicked every week and pundits acting like you're there to make up the numbers. This is also the reason I don't watch Villa on TV - the commentators/pundits are PL/London types who've no idea how the game is seen outside their own bubble. Local radio is better (I bought myself an FM radio to get the Villa and BBC WM love Small Heath on DAB) but I'm on my own rant here.
Money makes the football world go round. And as long as they can rake in the millions to have a diesel engine partner no one cares.
I lay part of the blame with the companies here - the market would soon collapse if they all agreed to not go in for these ludicrous sponsorships although definitely the clubs are also to blame. The larger issue here is that it's the consumer (what may have previously been called a fan) who suffers from these stupid deals especially when it comes to TV rights - there are next to no games on free to air TV and you have to pay a subscription and watch a gigantic amount of adverts just to watch a game where commentators don't know what they're on about half the time.
They've also affected going to the game with inflated prices, short notice changes and said games are scheduled for TV - so there may not even be transport back home after the game!
I love singing "have you won the European Cup" to Arsenal and Citeh fans. I remember having a discussion with an Arsenal fan at New St once and he was banging on about qualifying for the last 16 for god knows how many years on the trot and couldn't understand why I thought winning it once beat that. As far as he was concerned qualifying meant more than winning it purely on a financial basis. And that sums it up for me.
Sorry about the rant!!
Half of them probably don't know what the European Cup is. I wasn't born when Villa won the European Cup so it was winning the then coca cola cup in 94 and 96 that I remember.
