"clubs could do without the FA Cup"

Originally Posted by £#%&! KFC

really

two games against £#%&!ing shite like Swansea in a week both at home, yep absolute amazeballs...to say nothing of our injury list


I am looking forward to going to Sunderland on Tuesday though

don't know what amazeballs is tbh

expecting a decent game and a close contest against swansea and hoping for something similar to the '92 smogs 2nd leg in the other one

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

don't know what amazeballs is tbh

expecting a decent game and a close contest against swansea and hoping for something similar to the '92 smogs 2nd leg in the other one

I am defo not hoping for a repeat of the first leg ...

Originally Posted by £#%&! KFC

I am defo not hoping for a repeat of the first leg ...

i didn't go to the 1st leg

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

i didn't go to the 1st leg

lucky you, good day out though, just hope we don't take it easy Tuesday with the need to sell tickets for the return leg

Giving it a CL spot is the only thing that will save the FA Cup as a top level competition. Oh and take Prem teams out of the £#%&!ing Rumbelows Cup (or whatever it's called this week). Either take them out or restrict them to putting out an under 21's side.

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

imo what's 'killing' it above all is that we aren't £#%&!ing winning it any more

the other thing is money

absolutely sick of other top sides, chelsea in particular, getting virtual byes round after round after round for the last decade as well.

with the power of their squads there's almost no chance of cup upsets if they take the games even half seriously - and they do because they know it's a short-cut to winning trophies

about time United stamped their name back on this Cup

That role was taken by ciddy last season - their route to the final was genuinely scandalous

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

don't know what amazeballs is tbh

expecting a decent game and a close contest against swansea and hoping for something similar to the '92 smogs 2nd leg in the other one

Quite possibly my favourite ever game. I was only 13, bouncing up and down in the Stretty can barely remember any football, all I remember is the sudden pause and looking through a mass of still limbs as Giggsy buried the winner and gooning like £#%&! before continuing the party

Is the 1st leg home or away next week?

away

Originally Posted by dunk

Quite possibly my favourite ever game. I was only 13, bouncing up and down in the Stretty can barely remember any football, all I remember is the sudden pause and looking through a mass of still limbs as Giggsy buried the winner and gooning like £#%&! before continuing the party

Is the 1st leg home or away next week?

most people talking about united [on here] won't know wtf you're on about

united on tv is nothing remotely similar to united irl

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

most people talking about united [on here] won't know wtf you're on about

united on tv is nothing remotely similar to united irl

%@#$&!s throb, being serious for a minute I bet 80% of this board have seen united live..

Originally Posted by Bunker Buster

%@#$&!s throb, being serious for a minute I bet 80% of this board have seen united live..

i bet not many were at that league cup game though

tell you waht, i was on about sharpey as well earlier and i'd give anything for them days again - 90 to 93

There's so many things that they've done over the last 15 years that's totally devalued the fa cup.

Everyone used to play on the same day at the same time. The third round used to be great. Now it's all fragmented.
A replay used to be a few days later. Nowadays it's more like 10 days.
Introducing penalties rather than having replay marathons.
Semi finals at wembley.
Top three or four teams from the top countries going into the champions league, thus devaluing the uefa and cup winners cup structure.
The financial rewards in the premier league and champions league compared to a cup run or qualifying for the uefa cup.
The uefa cup, or whatever it's called, being total toss.
And now they've started having the final on the same day as league games before the end of the season.

Total shit. Destroyed it. They couldn't have done a better job of destroying the competition if they'd devised a plan twenty years ago in order to do so.

To get the fa cup back to where it should be:

Get rid of the league cup for the top league, so more league games can be played earlier in the season to free up midweek dates later on.
If they're going to keep the European competitions structured as they are, with four teams in the champions league, one of the places needs to go to the fa cup winners. Finishing third or fourth in the league should not be a higher goal than winning the fa cup.
Only the final played at wembley.
No penalties. Replays until someone wins. With the first replay in the midweek after the first game.
Fa cup final should be last game of the season after the league has finished.

The most important change being the fa cup winners get a champions league spot instead of fourth place in the league. And if a team wins the European cup who don't otherwise qualify for it next season, third place in the league misses out rather than the fa cup winners. Then maybe you won't get all kinds of shit teams fielding weakened sides because a few league points are more important than trying to win the oldest cup competition in the world.

Then it would be interesting again.

I couldn't name the winners of the past five fa cups. Could name every winner from the late 70s through to the 90s though. Fa cup final day used to be special. Unique. Now it's just a sideshow, and the final can easily pass by unnoticed.

Originally Posted by carlosartorial

So would I in principle, but it's a completely empty gesture.

So you win the FA Cup and finish 10th. Great.

That Europa league spot looks really appealing to potential signings doesn't it?

The Champions League has £#%&!ed football. The FA Cup is dead. Deal with it.

Potential signings of the standard of Fellaini?

Apart from Van Persie which other decent players have we signed over the last 2/3 years?

Modern football fans

Originally Posted by Jammy Dodger

There's so many things that they've done over the last 15 years that's totally devalued the fa cup.

Everyone used to play on the same day at the same time. The third round used to be great. Now it's all fragmented.
A replay used to be a few days later. Nowadays it's more like 10 days.
Introducing penalties rather than having replay marathons.
Semi finals at wembley.
Top three or four teams from the top countries going into the champions league, thus devaluing the uefa and cup winners cup structure.
The financial rewards in the premier league and champions league compared to a cup run or qualifying for the uefa cup.
The uefa cup, or whatever it's called, being total toss.
And now they've started having the final on the same day as league games before the end of the season.

I'll go through this one by one.

1. That's due to TV scheduling. I don't see it as devaluing necessarily
2. Again I don't see why this devalues the FA cup.
3. Nope, still not seeing it.
4. Now we have it. This does devalue the idea of getting to wembley when the semis should be played at a convenient location for both sides. Ergo devaluing the cup.
Your next 3 points kinda overlap so i'll just answer them in one. Money.
The last one......they haven't just started having the FA cup final on the same weekend as league games. In 2001 this happened. What it does lead to is teams having to play more midweek games, ergo affecting performances therefore if a team is in a crucial position they may be willing to forego the FA cup just to make sure they make it into Europe/avoid relegation.

The Cup final is being played on a separate Saturday this year, you'll be pleased to know.

Originally Posted by mike999

Potential signings of the standard of Fellaini?

Apart from Van Persie which other decent players have we signed over the last 2/3 years?

Modern football fans

We've been constant title winners for years and signed a stream of shit heads, so I don't get that arguement.

Cup wins can define seasons

Load of sentimental shite. I see the tv stations have already started with sepia toned footage of Stanley Matthews, Paul £#%&!ing Gascoigne and the Crazy Gang

We just need the Hovis wholemeal tune now and some shots of industrial Northern villages from 70 years ago.

Oh and Ronnie Radford of course.

It's ran it's course like the rest of football as tbh. People talk about the League cup being pointless but the league's becoming just as much as a none entity unless it's actually your team that wins it.

Football is pretty much shite throughout the world nowadays unless you're moaning about your own team.

These £#%&!ers on bt sport, mcmanaman, James and Owen, must be contractually obliged to mention how great and important the fa cup is at least twice a minute

@#%&!s

Will Allardyce be talking about "concentrating on the league" after getting sacked because of a 5-0 defeat in the FA Cup?

Except that the West Ham board said before the game that the cup didn't matter (or words to that effect) Not unlike Paul Lambert yesterday.