Cup Replays Equal Fixture Pile-ups!

[jambutty]

Arsene Wenger is the first one on my list. It's okay for him to sit in his ivory tower suggesting our national game is structured but at the end of the day they make most of their money from the Champions League.

Pardon me but Arsene Wenger is a bona fide manager of an English football club and as such has as much right to criticise the FA as any other manager, player or spectator.

Thats the competition where the non-champions outnumber the champions , strange concept

I have to agree with you that the ‘Champions’ League as it is today is misnamed. However that has nothing to do with this topic.

To a lot of clubs in the football league the revenue from an FA Cup match can provide finance for a full season. It's not just about playing on the piece of grass you normally play all your home matches it's about revenue from off pitch sources as well.

If it’s not about playing on your own piece of grass, then where’s the problem in playing on someone else’s piece of grass especially if the ground has a larger capacity than the home ground? Many of the ‘smaller’ teams, knowing that they have little or no chance of achieving a result, have agreed to switch venues for the extra revenue to be gained at playing at a big ground would bring.

It's also about the supporters. The average man in the street is already being priced out of the game. Extra expense of attending neutral grounds in the early rounds is something lots wouldn't do, and therefore the clubs themselves wouldn't make as much money as they do now.

Another prediction of what will happen. You and your crystal ball could make a fortune. However spectators are also my concern but I did suggest that the FA could help out financially. But then there is the extra expense of attending a replay at the opposing team’s ground.

The police were mentioned earlier as being an objector and I have to agree with that. No way would they sanction 32 matches at neutral grounds in early January.

It’s comforting to know that you are privy to the police’s view on which match to sanction and which not to. The police don’t seem to have a problem with the semi-finals and they are played at neutral grounds. Not forgetting the final itself!

[accymel]

Have u considered pitch wear tho??? JB !!! Over playing on pitch can subsequently damage the pitch - what if that happens??? who pays, smaller teams couldnt afford that nor to lose the revenue nor could the club concerned either as it will effect their plays. Gee JB u havent thought about this properly have u?!

[lancsdave]

Originally Posted by jambutty

If it’s not about playing on your own piece of grass, then where’s the problem in playing on someone else’s piece of grass especially if the ground has a larger capacity than the home ground? Many of the ‘smaller’ teams, knowing that they have little or no chance of achieving a result, have agreed to switch venues for the extra revenue to be gained at playing at a big ground would bring.

It’s comforting to know that you are privy to the police’s view on which match to sanction and which not to. The police don’t seem to have a problem with the semi-finals and they are played at neutral grounds. Not forgetting the final itself!

I said it's not just about playing on your own piece of grass, I said it's not just about that.

The practice of switching grounds is rarely done these days. Clubs have to jump through hoops to be able to do that these days.

As a football fan you tend to know which matches police sanctions are made for. For example I will be attending a match in a couple of weeks where the kick off time has been moved forward 3 hours on police instructions. It was the police who forced replays to be played at least 10 days after the original match instead of the following week like it used to be. The grounds used for semi-finals and final will have a police force who are used to dealing with those matches.

[jambutty]

The other comment is that various police forces up and down the country would not allow certain teansto play within a certain radius ofcertain rival teams.

So the police would not allow Man U to play at Old Trafford because a rival team Man C play in the same city? The only time that the police step in is when both teams from a city have a scheduled match at home on the same day. They either re-schedule one match to start early and one late or make one match be played the next day.

try puting them in grounds were rival fans can't ge at one another

It happens every week at every ground. Rival fans could get at one another except for the fact that they are segregated. And so would the two lots of fans playing at a neutral venue, as they do at the semis and final.

Burnley draw Blackpool with Preston getting Acc Stanley,all in the same round,you have to allow for things like that happening.

If Burnley were due to play Blackpool the match could be played at Preston. If Preston drew Accrington that match could be played at Bolton. And if it so happened that Bolton drew Man U that match could be played at Birmingham and so on.

[accymel]

Preston drew accystan & it gets played in Bolton ??????? WHY? geez u will be doing this lark for league matches next & what will Bolton be doing?????? musical grounds, if we drew Preston it would be here of at theirs as it should be im afraid which ever is police suited.

NOPE the buck stops here!

[jambutty]

Who is this JB that you keep referring to accymel?

[lancsdave]

jambutty, as you are in agreement with this idea can I ask who you think will benefit ?

[jambutty]

Clubs have to jump through hoops to be able to do that these days.

That’s because the clubs make the request for a change of venue. I cannot remember when a club made such a request that it was turned down. In any case if the one off cup-tie at a neutral venue did come about, clubs wouldn’t be making requests but the FA will tell the clubs where they are playing and they would liase with the police.

It was the police who forced replays to be played at least 10 days after the original match instead of the following week like it used to be.

Really! Fixture congestion didn’t have anything to do with it then? The FA and Football League run football in this country and it is they who decided which match is played when and where. However they do listen to police advice, and that is all it is – advice - if forceful, if there is a potential security problem and will act on it accordingly. It’s called cooperation between the football authorities, clubs and police.

The grounds used for semi-finals and final will have a police force who are used to dealing with those matches.

But they couldn’t deal with those same grounds being used as a neutral venue for other rounds?

[accymel]

Forget it he'll argue over the colour of the sky next! JB = Jambutty cos im wasting my breath!