As generational divides go, the one that splits the esteem the FA Cup is held in is fairly definitive.
For those of a certain age, the competition comes with a certain prestige. An end of season trip to Wembley to fight for the oldest trophy in club soccer is an occasion like no other. To others, it is a relic of a bygone time. An irrelevance at its best, a distraction at its worst.
Such perception is perhaps a by-product of the Premier League era. With England’s top flight so dominant, and coverage of it at saturation point, there is little scope for much else. The FA Cup, in its modern form, is without a unique selling point. It lacks an identity, and therefore an incentive for those participating.
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It shouldn’t be this way, though. In fact, if anything the Premier League should be boosting the profile of the FA Cup. One should be bolstering the other. As it is, though, there is a critical disconnect between the two. But why?
With the gap between the Premier League and England’s lower leagues at its widest in history the FA Cup offers a rare bridge. For all its mainstream appeal, soccer is still a sport that thrives on a narrative of David versus Goliath, and the FA Cup is the only battleground the two share in the modern game.
Yet the FA Cup remains something of a peripheral competition. That might be down to the scheduling of the tournament. The third round—when Premier League clubs enter the fold—will be played this weekend after what is the busiest stretch of the season in the English game. It’s for this reason that managers might be tempted into resting some of their best players. That inadvertently devalues the FA Cup.
Then there’s the problem that replays pose to managers. The last thing clubs competing at the top end of the pyramid need at this stage of the season is more games, and so the risk of fatigue can be mitigated through squad rotation. Again, this is just another thing that devalues the FA Cup as a top-level competition.
Part of the issue with the FA Cup isn’t anything to do with the FA Cup at all. It’s that with the League Cup also coming to a head at this time of the year (the semifinals will be played over the next three weeks) the English soccer calendar is simply too busy. And so, the FA Cup and the League Cup suffer for each other’s presence.
In Spain, clubs play only one cup competition. It’s the same in Germany and Italy, so why does England feel the need to have two separate cup tournaments? Much of it is down to politicking, with the FA Cup the competition of The FA and the League Cup the competition of the Football League. Unless English soccer one day comes together for the cause of the greater good, there is unlikely to be any change.
Of course, there is still plenty to cherish and relish about the FA Cup. Arsenal travel to Preston North End this weekend, with Manchester United up against Reading and Chelsea facing Peterborough. The FA Cup third round is still unlike anything else the sport throws up. It still offers something different.
The concept certainly still has value. It’s just that certain factors surrounding the competition need refining. The abolishment of replays would be a start, with Premier League clubs more likely to field their best players without the possibility of another fixture to clog their already hectic schedules at the start of the year.
The scrapping of the League Cup in its entirety would also help, even if such a prospect is highly unlikely. This way the FA Cup third round could be moved to before Christmas, giving clubs more of a rest at the end of the festive schedule. Some would claim such a move would compromise tradition, but more than tradition is needed to safeguard the future of the FA Cup.
The environment is right for soccer’s oldest David versus Goliath competition to thrive. Measures must be taken to ensure it does exactly that.
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