Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
The Football Association has this Evening decided to scrap replays at the Quarter Final stage in a bid to ease fixture congestion for Premier League clubs.
It’s a sign of the further eroding of the competition after Semi Final replays were scrapped from the 2000 edition of the competition onwards. The last ever replay at this stage was the unforgettable encounter between Manchester United and Arsenal back in 1999 when Ryan Giggs scored that amazing solo goal at Villa Park
Fixture congestion has been an often cited problem from the Quarter Final stage of the Cup onwards with teams struggling to compete on both domestic and European fronts. All too many times a team has decided to put out a lesser side to try and progress when the main focus on bigger prizes
The issue was all the more apparent this season with the F.A. incurring the wrath of UEFA by scheduling replays at the same time as European matches. That’s a big no-no for UEFA but the Football Association’s hands were tied. After getting a fine for their troubles it seems that the financial penalty was enough to harbour change in England’s top domestic cup competition
It will certainly make life easier for clubs who are chasing a title or a European trophy or maybe even both as they now will have one less game to fit in but is this the start of a slippery slope in terms of replays as a whole
With the Quarter Final replays consigned to the scrapheap does this open a pandora’s box as to scrapping them altogether, why do we need them for the first five rounds if there are then done away with it. I’m not advocating for them to be scrapped but you can see where the argument could be pointed
If they are scrapped as a whole then the potential lifeblood for some clubs will be scrapped. Take a club like Exeter for example after holding Liverpool to a Draw at home this season they were rewarded with a replay at Anfield which has probably set them up budget wise for the next couple of years
Lower league clubs certainly won’t be advocating the scrapping of replays altogether but when do they ever get there way when it comes to matters like this. If you add this to the proposal of the Football League divisions getting smaller then the funds that come from gate receipts could be very largely diminished a few years down the line
For now it’s just the Quarter Final stage but in a few years I wouldn’t be surprised if replays are done with altogether, if there isn’t to be a winter break then this may just be the thing that is ultimately sacrificed. In an ever congested calendar something eventually will have to give.
