English FA cup

[sbcmfc 216]

19 minutes ago, Clyde1998 said:

It makes you wonder why those teams treat it with so little respect, given that they could potentially win the cup if they took it seriously.

This. Reading drew Man Utd away in this year and I wasn't interested, yet I decided to go to Stevenage and Sheffield Wednesday (on a Friday night) in the cup last season. I decided to go to those games, but not Man Utd, because I felt that there would actually be two full strength sides turning up for them.  Also it didn't help that the club were forced to subside tickets for that game to reduce them to £30, I think from £45, for a game on a Saturday lunchtime on TV (and that's without considering travel, food, drink, etc); just shows how money orientated the big English clubs are. Even if it had been £20, I probably wouldn't have gone.

The fact that the big clubs play reserve sides in the cup kills it for me; Rangers played a strong (a few changes) at Cowdenbeath last night, you'd almost never get a similar situation in England now. Chelsea have about 40 players out on loan (and I'm not exaggerating), when most of those players would be first team players elsewhere, and many are sat in the reserves waiting for a game. The only way to really prevent this would be to have a cap on the number of professional players a club can have to maybe 30, but that'll never happen, stopping clubs from stockpiling and reducing the chance that they'd be able to play weakened sides in cup competitions.

Even with us making the semi-finals a couple of years back, and a number of quarter-final appearances - I've found myself less and less interested in the FA Cup, not because of the competition itself, but because of the attitude of the bigger clubs to the competition.

The real problem is there’s a decent chance Reading (or a similar level/size side) would also play a weakened team.

[Clyde1998 87]

1 minute ago, sbcmfc said:

The real problem is there’s a decent chance Reading (or a similar level/size side) would also play a weakened team.

Clubs our size do and I don't understand it. Thankfully, our last five or six managers haven't played weakened sides in the FA Cup, which is probably why we've reached the latter stages of the competition as often as we have in the past ten years or so. The only manger that I can recall playing a weakened side with us was Steve Coppell, which is very annoying as that side could've actually won the cup at the time.

[Huddersfield 94]

10 minutes ago, Clyde1998 said:

Clubs our size do and I don't understand it. Thankfully, our last five or six managers haven't played weakened sides in the FA Cup, which is probably why we've reached the latter stages of the competition as often as we have in the past ten years or so. The only manger that I can recall playing a weakened side with us was Steve Coppell, which is very annoying as that side could've actually won the cup at the time.

I'm not sure we're capable of playing a weakened side right now, but that's a different story!

You're right what you were saying on your other post though. I loved our early stint in the PL (given we hadn't been top-flight since 1972) but the novelty is largely gone & like you I'd far rather see us at a ground I've not been to for the day out (I only have 11 left of the current 92 to see Town play on) than watch a reserve game at Man City.

[sbcmfc 216]

33 minutes ago, Huddersfield said:

(I only have 11 left of the current 92 to see Town play on) than watch a reserve game at Man City.

That’s impressive!

I don’t think I’ve done 11 English grounds yet.

[Huddersfield 94]

4 minutes ago, sbcmfc said:

That’s impressive!

I don’t think I’ve done 11 English grounds yet.

Just overlook for a moment the fact that Mrs H likes to point out that we'd have an extension & an extra bedroom if I jacked it in 😖

I've always had an aspiration to say I've seen Town play on all 92 (current grounds that is). With ground moves & promotion/relegation out of the league it isn't easy. I'm off down to West Ham in a few weeks which will be 82/92, then if Spurs get into their new ground before April that takes me to 83.

I was reading an article about the 92 club where people who get to all 92 with just one team were described as the paramilitary wing of the 92 club   My overall Town-watching total I think (including demolished grounds, etc.) is around 135.

You can see why Mrs H looks wistfully at our dilapidated garage dreaming of an extension.

[sbcmfc 216]

That is pretty impressive.

Doing it all with 1 side is really tricky as there will be teams you just completely miss. Being a yo-yo side will help.

My cousin’s a jag and got a mate that’s a St Mirren fan (and in his 60s) and they’ve got pretty impressive numbers as a result.

Think it was Albion Rovers that missed Rangers (relegated from league 1 as rangers won league 2) or some Rangers fans could’ve done most of Scotland in 5 years.

(they drew Albion in the cup and played it at Livi IIRC)

 

[Huddersfield 94]

3 minutes ago, sbcmfc said:

That is pretty impressive.

Doing it all with 1 side is really tricky as there will be teams you just completely miss. Being a yo-yo side will help.

My cousin’s a jag and got a mate that’s a St Mirren fan (and in his 60s) and they’ve got pretty impressive numbers as a result.

Think it was Albion Rovers that missed Rangers (relegated from league 1 as rangers won league 2) or some Rangers fans could’ve done most of Scotland in 5 years.

(they drew Albion in the cup and played it at Livi IIRC)

 

Most of the ones I'm missing are, like you say, teams we just haven't played (Forest Green Rovers, Fleetwood, etc. plus various new grounds where I've done their old ground but not the new like Oxford, Newport). There's the odd 'bogey' team where I keep missing (Sunderland is an annoying one - they either dodge relegation or overlap us & the one time we had them in the Cup I couldn't get there). You're right about the yo-yo; I was talking to some Everton fans in the pub on Tuesday. They go to every away match but I think reckoned they still only have 30 or 40. Our advice was get yourselves into League 1 but they didn't seem keen.

 

[Ta Ta 0]

I have an interest in both a non-league club and a premier club. If you are a non-league club and can get through a few rounds, the prize money makes a massive difference, especially as most of the clubs in the first couple of rounds would normally only get less than 100 people through the gate. 

I find the whole mentality of not being interested in the cups for the middle placed teams sad. Their fans are being short changed. As a fan, you never forget cup finals even semi finals.

A few years back, Birmingham City won the league cup, got relegated then qualified for the Europa league. One of my mates is a Blues fan and I went to the group games with him. In every game, they rested players so they could concentrate on the league (didn’t make any difference, still there). Birmingham will possibly never be in Europe again. As a fan, the constant league struggles tend to blend together. If BC had got through to the knockout stages, maybe the quarters, semis, played against some real big European teams, that would have created memories and experiences that their fans would have had for life.

Extra preliminary round winners	(184)	£2,250 Losers receive £750
Preliminary round winners	(160)	£2,890 Losers receive £960
First round qualifying winners	(116)	£6,000
Second Round Qualifying winners	(80)	£9,000
Third Round Qualifying winners	(40)	£15,000
Fourth Round Qualifying winners	(32)	£25,000
First Round Proper winners	(40)	£36,000
Second Round Proper winners	(20)	£54,000
Third Round Proper winners	(32)	£135,000

[Dalgety Bay TA 24]

14 hours ago, irnbruman said:

Whats your problem Dalgety apart from just being a fucking dick. I'll explain it once again since you seem to be a bit thick. No manager is going to tell a team or the players  to lose a  game ..but plenty of chairmen would have made it clear to a manager and consequently the manager would give the impression to the players that he wasn't that concerned. Now give it a rest with  your stupid smart arse comments

You either have a split personality or you have an inability to read what you have written. I even quoted the exact line for you where YOU said teams are being told to deliberately lose games. So, no I’m not the one being thick, I’m just picking you up on your ludicrous suggestion.

I’m also guessing you are the sort who is happy to call someone a fucking dick while sat at your keyboard but wouldn’t be so mouthy in real life. Met your type before.

[irnbruman 26]

I said managers are being told to lose ..not players or teams ..how many times do you need to be told. If you are going to comment then try reading properly. And yes i am a mouthy got in real life but too old to run away from hard men like yourself.

[vanderark14 245]

Well its got some magic left in it. Just like the Scottish cup it will always retain some of its romance, my local side Fraserburgh were at the heart of it last season in Scotland, Auchinleck at the heart of it this season.

In England there's been great results for AFC Wimbledon and now Newport have beaten an EPL side and a Championship side at home, their reward for this is a home tie against Man City. 

[Pool Q 25]

Won a few quid on the Newport game (double with them and Brentford). Pulis all but admitted in advance he wanted out of the competition so that Middlesbrough could focus on the Championship. If he could have chucked the tie in advance, or fielded a team made up of the cleaning lady, bus driver and a few jakeys rounded up in the local boozer he would have. Not wanting to take anything away from Newport but I suspect just about anyone could have beaten Middlesbrough last night. Romance of the Cup my hairy arse.

 

[Squirrelhumper 336]

On ‎1‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 9:18 PM, sbcmfc said:

That’s impressive!

I don’t think I’ve done 11 English grounds yet.

I'm at 39/42 for the Scottish ones but I've only been at them to see Killie. Not interested in going otherwise and we've not played Albion away since the 70s I don't think!

Forfar and Montrose the other 2.

[sbcmfc 216]

32 minutes ago, Squirrelhumper said:

I'm at 39/42 for the Scottish ones but I've only been at them to see Killie. Not interested in going otherwise and we've not played Albion away since the 70s I don't think!

Forfar and Montrose the other 2.

Funnily enough Albion Rovers is the only one I’ve done in Scotland that wasn’t a Motherwell game. (Or at least not been once for a well game).

Only done Brechin of the Angus teams, but managed to tick off Edinburgh city last season, so getting there..

[Huddersfield 94]

42 minutes ago, Squirrelhumper said:

I'm at 39/42 for the Scottish ones but I've only been at them to see Killie. Not interested in going otherwise and we've not played Albion away since the 70s I don't think!

Forfar and Montrose the other 2.

Albion was my first ever Scottish ground - I watched them play Clyde as I remember. I think I've done around 9 or 10 now - mainly in the South & Central area but I plan one of these times to try & get to a few more northerly ones. Dunfermline is the only Scottish Ground I've seen Huddersfield play on (I don't know if anyone on here was there, but the heaven's opened at HT & the second half was played on the most waterlogged pitch I've ever seen!)

[aaid 166]

On 31 January 2019 at 8:29 PM, Clyde1998 said:

Clubs our size do and I don't understand it. Thankfully, our last five or six managers haven't played weakened sides in the FA Cup, which is probably why we've reached the latter stages of the competition as often as we have in the past ten years or so. The only manger that I can recall playing a weakened side with us was Steve Coppell, which is very annoying as that side could've actually won the cup at the time.

Surprised you haven't joined the exodus from the Madjeski down to York Road yet.

[slasher 94]

Eilidh Barbour looking rough as fuck on motd here.......??

[Boynze 4]

pictures.

 

rules etc.

[slasher 94]

4 minutes ago, Boynze said:

pictures.

 

rules etc.

Don't you have BBC 1????

[Cove_Sheep 27]

Another tourists as opposed to supporters incident?

Edited yesterday at 10:32 PM by Cove_Sheep