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The 2016-2017 Football Thread
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Plymouth Argyle parked the bus at Anfield - they lined up in a 4-5-1 and their midfield quintet spent almost the entire game just in front of their own box. Even their striker spent most of the game in his own half.
I don't blame them, and credit to Plymouth for forcing a replay after a 0-0 draw. It's hard for any team to break down a nine-man wall, and Klopp but out a B-squad anyway. Woodward again looked good for Liverpool, Karius didn't throw the ball into his own net and Gomez looked a bit rusty. At the end Liverpool were so desperate for a goal even Lucas took shots.
An unwelcome replay for Liverpool but without European football to worry about it's hardly a disaster.
Reading came out to play against Man Utd - something the pundits always applaud in the FA Cup in "Big Club vs Little Club" matchups but it usually only earns the "Little Club" a beating. Plymouth were far more pragmatic and were rewarded with a replay.
I don't blame them, and credit to Plymouth for forcing a replay after a 0-0 draw. It's hard for any team to break down a nine-man wall, and Klopp but out a B-squad anyway. Woodward again looked good for Liverpool, Karius didn't throw the ball into his own net and Gomez looked a bit rusty. At the end Liverpool were so desperate for a goal even Lucas took shots.
An unwelcome replay for Liverpool but without European football to worry about it's hardly a disaster.
Reading came out to play against Man Utd - something the pundits always applaud in the FA Cup in "Big Club vs Little Club" matchups but it usually only earns the "Little Club" a beating. Plymouth were far more pragmatic and were rewarded with a replay.
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Glad the Man City supporter in the office left on Friday. Otherwise I'd be getting some stick in the morning!
Really don't see the point of FA cup replays, particularly not even playing extra time; it seems to be a classic case of "this is the way we've always done it".
It's somewhat I ironic that, at a time when UEFA and FIFA are succeeding at bloating their premier tournaments with extra matches to make money, there is a backlash against the excessive number of matches in the FA Cup. I'm not picking on you personally, merely playing devils' advocate....
Would you rather see Latvia v Macedonia in the World Cup, or a second helping of Liverpool B v Plymouth Argyle? An honest question, for which I can't pretend to have a simple answer (or, perhaps, should recuse myself since Liverpool was mentioned).
It gives the smaller club another chance of 'a day in the sun', as the match will be covered nationally.
Besides, those myths of 'giant-killing' clubs have deep taproots in known and verifiable fact and are recalled with pride decades later, thus, it fosters local pride and community identity - a quality much needed in a world where distant profit mad owners seem to asset strip clubs, gutting them of that which made them different in the first place, - and directs often much needed financial resources downward in the League, rather than soaking them all up, as the richest clubs increasingly have done in recent years.
That is indeed how it used to be, but "giant-killing" has lost of a lot of its meaning now when the top sides are clearly fielding B teams in the FA Cup. And the small team probably has a better chance of winning in extra time and/or penalties, instead of going to a replay, when the (on paper) stronger team has a chance to regroup.
It is still a chance for romance and glory for the smaller teams - they take it very seriously indeed.
Merely because some of the larger - and wealthier - teams disdain the trophy (I have neither forgotten nor forgiven Manchester United that display of breathtaking arrogance) is no reason to indulge them.
Let them sweat, and yes, be beaten - of - at least compete properly.
Money can buy you a lot, - not least the obscene salaries currently paid at the top of the Premiership - but, at the end of their careers, at least some footballers like to recall the times they won trophies, or - came close to doing so, rather than calculating their bank balances, or those that care about their reputations do.
I agree with Scepticalscribe that the biggest problem with the FA Cup is the attitude of the large and medium-sized clubs toward the competition, though their lack of commitment in the competition stems from
It's not just the clubs who denigrate the FA Cup either - I'm sure there are plenty of fans of premier league clubs who would raise a hue and cry if one of their stars got injured against a 3rd/4th tier team, with important European matches on the horizon or a relegation fight looming.
- Fixture congestion brought on by bloat in European competitions
- The financial risk of relegation from the Premier League or failure in Europe
It's not just the clubs who denigrate the FA Cup either - I'm sure there are plenty of fans of premier league clubs who would raise a hue and cry if one of their stars got injured against a 3rd/4th tier team, with important European matches on the horizon or a relegation fight looming.
Yes and understandably the small clubs play to get the payday fixture (replay) rather than the upset. Which is why we should get rid of replays.
If we get rid of replays, small clubs could lose huge amounts of money if the first leg is a home leg - they would miss the chance to play at the bigger stadium and share the gate receipts. That could be huge for a non-league or League Two club especially.
I agree that the replay system can be tiresome, but scrapping it outright would disproportionately harm the smaller clubs.
Actually, leaving aside the romance of giant-killing, and the whole idea of strengthening community ties, that is the strongest single reason for keeping them; at the very least, it allows for a tiny element of redressing the appalling imbalance of resources in the League, and allows the small clubs a second chance at a decent payday.
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Exactly, and well said.
If the bigger clubs don't want the congestion clogging replays then they should field stronger teams and get the job done on the first attempt!
A lower division club can earn a years income from one game against a top club.
A lower division club can earn a years income from one game against a top club.
The only way to solve the problem of fixture congestion is to either
There is a limit to the number of matches a top-level footballer can physically play before the likelihood of injury approaches 100%, and I think we are already past that point. It has gotten so that between club and international football there is no break.
- Allow clubs to have bigger squads
- Reduce the number of fixtures by shrinking tournament sizes
There is a limit to the number of matches a top-level footballer can physically play before the likelihood of injury approaches 100%, and I think we are already past that point. It has gotten so that between club and international football there is no break.
Why not just roll qualifying in and call the whole ****ing thing a 2-year World Cup?
Because they have to pretend that it is something big, dramatic and very much worth engaging in and with.
They would be more honest with themselves (not that this is the goal, of course, rather, profit and its vast accumulation is,) if they were to consider it in terms of a Two Year World League, a Premiership of Premierships.
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