Just seen the ridiculous spectacle of the Chorley v Derby "upset". What kind of a tournament is it when a team is forced to field a bunch of kids for the sake of fulfilling a fixture. Is that what football has become, an administrator's haven? This is not about Covid. If fixtures can't be played in the proper spirit of the game, they shouldn't be played, full stop. For Derby it represents a pointless afternoon while Chorley have been denied the credibility that a real upset would have brought. There's no romance just a box that's been dutifully ticked.
(09-01-2021, 03:44 PM)stayinupforever Wrote: [ -> ]Money?
There you are then, it's just an accountant's wet dream isn't it?
But many teams have been playing almost a second string for years
Unfortunately, most of the Premier League some Championship teams don't take it seriously.
Yes, it's all about money just one place in the Premier means Big Bucks & the champions League is where the real money & glamour is.
They should fine sides for fielding understrength sides except for the current Covid reasons.
The other problem is if they postpone a game there's no space to fit in again as teams are already playing twice a week.
(09-01-2021, 03:05 PM)Gerry Hatrick Wrote: [ -> ]Just seen the ridiculous spectacle of the Chorley v Derby "upset". What kind of a tournament is it when a team is forced to field a bunch of kids for the sake of fulfilling a fixture. Is that what football has become, an administrator's haven? This is not about Covid. If fixtures can't be played in the proper spirit of the game, they shouldn't be played, full stop. For Derby it represents a pointless afternoon while Chorley have been denied the credibility that a real upset would have brought. There's no romance just a box that's been dutifully ticked.
Why should Chorley be denied they place in R4. Derby are a Championship club with first class medical resources, and no shortage of squad players. Chorley on the other hand are a part time non league club run on limited resources. It is not their fault if a professional club who after supposedly following all protocols lose all their first team squad and back up staff because of Covid. By the FA rules Derby had sufficient available players to field a side with required number of subs, so it's right the game went ahead.
(09-01-2021, 03:05 PM)Gerry Hatrick Wrote: [ -> ]Just seen the ridiculous spectacle of the Chorley v Derby "upset". What kind of a tournament is it when a team is forced to field a bunch of kids for the sake of fulfilling a fixture. Is that what football has become, an administrator's haven? This is not about Covid. If fixtures can't be played in the proper spirit of the game, they shouldn't be played, full stop. For Derby it represents a pointless afternoon while Chorley have been denied the credibility that a real upset would have brought. There's no romance just a box that's been dutifully ticked.
Not sure all the Derby players who have now made their first team debuts would regard it as a pointless afternoon ?
Not their coaches with them getting such an opportunity.
Derby were competitive in the game, and no-one would be saying a word if they had won.
I certainly didn't mean that Chorley don't deserve to be in the next round. They deserve it. But the achievement will always be diminished because everyone knows the side Derby were forced to put out were so poor. And while it's true to say some sides fighting promotion or relegation battles in the Premier League and Championship have put out weakened sides in past years, this wasn't even Derby's second string. It sets a precedent, a new low that for me just doesn't respect the integrity of the competition.
Simple solution, if you don't field a competitive team, don't pay the prize money for that round. The only thing most clubs and owners understand at the top level is money. It saddens me most when even mid table teams such as Everton don't try to give their fans a chance of a trip to Wembley.
The FA Cup used to be one of the key events (maybe even the key event) in not just the football calendar but the Nation’s sporting calendar now it’s importance is so diminished that the final is played whenever it suits the TV companies.
Until the final rounds, it’s regarded as an inconvenience by any team in the top two leagues who are in the frame for promotion or relegation. At the instigation of the ‘Big Clubs’ the competition no longer features replays, I even heard BBC pundits yesterday suggesting going straight to penalties at full time, bound to happen.
All this is driven by money ! As soon as foreign money poured into football, the game changed, foreign owners not remotely interested in the rich heritage of English football and the fans but only in enriching themselves (aided and abetted by the broadcasting giants like SKY) set about reshaping the game and not for the good.
I have supported Pompey since the 1946/47 season and have never felt so distant from the game, if it wasn’t for my love of PFC I would have give up on football years ago not because of our own shortcomings but because of the malign influence of FIFA, the supine attitude of the FA, the EFL, SKY and, above all else, the stench of money in decision making at the highest levels of the game.
Good luck to Chorley, they have profited from the malign influence of those that run football, I hope they get a home draw and make some more, much needed cash: They (like Pompey) are the minnows, the bystanders, the fall guys in the machinations of footballs rich and powerful.
How come Derby and Villa were forced to play with their kids and a potential humiliation whilst Shrewsbury were spared a fuucking good battering by being allowed to postpone their game?