18-02-2016, 21:34
I don't think this is about the FA Cup or even fixture congestion on its own. This is all about the FA being worried that due to the lack of success in Europe over the past few years by English clubs our coefficient has dropped and Italy are now snapping at our heels. If Italy over take us in the coefficient rankings then we will lose the 4th Champions League spot to them, and that is what the FA and PL are trying to avoid. Making the FA Cup midweek and doing away with replays was only one option that was muted. As you said removing the two legged LC semis is another idea, as was encouraging clubs to take the Europa cup seriously by offering prize money on top of the UEFA money they get. The winners of the Europa Cup earn as many coefficient points as the CL winners, so from an English football perspective getting teams to do well in the competition will greatly help.
As for the proposals I would be vehemently against doing away with replays, these potential ties are of such monetary value to the smaller teams and this is one way that the money in the top league can actually trickle down into the lower leagues!! Cambridge United drew Man Utd last season at home, they managed a draw in that game and were rewarded with a 1.3m pound windfall, money they used wisely to upgrade their academy and club facilities. The midweek option should also not be used, teams that are successful will inevitably play more games, but a couple of free Saturdays for other clubs who get knocked out at least helps with some of the congestion. Semi finals should stay at Wembley, it elevates the importance of the competition and provides more opportunities for fans to see the games.
With the LC though, I would be all in favor of going to a one off game at the SF stage. There is no need for it to be two-legged and if the FL have any sense they will use this as a chance to promote these one-off games by staging them at neutral grounds and taking big games like this around the country. There are 6-10 grounds around the country that could hold these semi finals. Btw, Hillsborough is not one of the grounds that would be used, first it needs renovation both of the Leppings Lane end and in terms of the facilities in the ground, 20 years of neglect has taken its toll and we need a few seasons of upgrades to get the Old Lady back to being a top stadium and secondly there is still the stigma of the Hillsborough Disaster and until the enquiry is complete nothing will change on this front either.
As for a European League, its still one of my biggest fears but I still think that the English teams would not push for that currently. I also don't think the German league would go for it either. Without those two leagues it is a non-starter. The teams pushing for this are likely to be from Leagues that struggle for revenue (compared to the PL) such as France where PSG would get a huge boost from a European league or leagues where shared revenue negatively impacts one or two teams such as Spain, Portugal and even Scotland with Celtic. For now I hope the current season in the PL with Leicester, Spurs, Soton and West Ham, all teams that would not be "invited" into a European League and all chasing European places would show that there is healthy competition in England and while ever the revenue is the highest in the game there really is no need for the Prem teams to look at this.
Congestion should not even be a discussion except for the fixture schedulers to do a better job!! TV companies also need to be reigned in with regards to picking games when it does not help English teams such as this weekend when they moved the Chelsea v Man City game to Sunday with MC having an away CL game in Ukraine on Wednesday!! That alone could effect the coefficient!!! With the England team, there is an argument that the PL season is harder simply because it is more competitive, every game is a game that can be lost, something that teams like Real Madrid, Barca, Bayern Munich and PSG do not have to face week in, week out due to the relative weakness of the bottom half of their leagues. And for sure this effects the fitness of the English based players but the PL now is full of internationals from most countries so the effect must be felt by them as well.
As for the proposals I would be vehemently against doing away with replays, these potential ties are of such monetary value to the smaller teams and this is one way that the money in the top league can actually trickle down into the lower leagues!! Cambridge United drew Man Utd last season at home, they managed a draw in that game and were rewarded with a 1.3m pound windfall, money they used wisely to upgrade their academy and club facilities. The midweek option should also not be used, teams that are successful will inevitably play more games, but a couple of free Saturdays for other clubs who get knocked out at least helps with some of the congestion. Semi finals should stay at Wembley, it elevates the importance of the competition and provides more opportunities for fans to see the games.
With the LC though, I would be all in favor of going to a one off game at the SF stage. There is no need for it to be two-legged and if the FL have any sense they will use this as a chance to promote these one-off games by staging them at neutral grounds and taking big games like this around the country. There are 6-10 grounds around the country that could hold these semi finals. Btw, Hillsborough is not one of the grounds that would be used, first it needs renovation both of the Leppings Lane end and in terms of the facilities in the ground, 20 years of neglect has taken its toll and we need a few seasons of upgrades to get the Old Lady back to being a top stadium and secondly there is still the stigma of the Hillsborough Disaster and until the enquiry is complete nothing will change on this front either.
As for a European League, its still one of my biggest fears but I still think that the English teams would not push for that currently. I also don't think the German league would go for it either. Without those two leagues it is a non-starter. The teams pushing for this are likely to be from Leagues that struggle for revenue (compared to the PL) such as France where PSG would get a huge boost from a European league or leagues where shared revenue negatively impacts one or two teams such as Spain, Portugal and even Scotland with Celtic. For now I hope the current season in the PL with Leicester, Spurs, Soton and West Ham, all teams that would not be "invited" into a European League and all chasing European places would show that there is healthy competition in England and while ever the revenue is the highest in the game there really is no need for the Prem teams to look at this.
Congestion should not even be a discussion except for the fixture schedulers to do a better job!! TV companies also need to be reigned in with regards to picking games when it does not help English teams such as this weekend when they moved the Chelsea v Man City game to Sunday with MC having an away CL game in Ukraine on Wednesday!! That alone could effect the coefficient!!! With the England team, there is an argument that the PL season is harder simply because it is more competitive, every game is a game that can be lost, something that teams like Real Madrid, Barca, Bayern Munich and PSG do not have to face week in, week out due to the relative weakness of the bottom half of their leagues. And for sure this effects the fitness of the English based players but the PL now is full of internationals from most countries so the effect must be felt by them as well.