Cup competitions in England attract a level of praise and attention that seems hard to replicate elsewhere. The long and respected history of the FA Cup has the power to enrapture supporters and players alike, each club with their own footprint throughout its 145 year history.
With Wilfried Zaha securing Palace’s place in the fifth round of the FA Cup this weekend after a tricky tie with Stoke City, Red n’ Blue eyes are beginning to gleam with the prospect of a cup run to mirror that of the famous 1990 luminaries.
However, despite the high regard the FA Cup is held in by supporters and the majority of football clubs in the country, the scourge of modern football and its insatiable appetite for all things that contribute to the lining of pockets has resulted in a multitude of attitudes to the cup and its merits.
Football, at its core, is about winning games – to win more games than your opponent and to undeniably declare your superiority by finishing higher in the league and being victorious in the cups. A truly simple formula, designed to be straightforward. Increasingly in recent years, many of the larger clubs have adopted a more relaxed approach to cup competitions.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly where cup competitions became of secondary importance for some, but Manchester United’s disgraceful decision to withdraw entirely from it in pursuit of more lucrative acclaim in the newly established World Club Championship in January 2000 is a good starting point. In what at the time was passed off as a decision made to “enhance England’s chances of securing the 2006 World Cup”, the then European Champions failure to perform in Brazil merely compounded the insult on England’s fabled old competition.
A sign of things to come, much of the competitions vaunted old traditions have become an inconvenient distraction for those chasing Premier League riches. Money is at the heart of what is driving modern football towards a cliff at full speed now, leaving the paltry cup competitions and lowly inconsequential divisions to make sense of the pieces.
Priorities in a boardroom can be different to those in the stands. While it would be an absolutely inaccurate statement to sweep across all twenty Premier League teams and say their interest in the Cup is secondary, the protruding guts and balance sheets of the boardroom bigwigs no doubt have a different thinking cap to the rest.
Firstly, consider the prize money. Arsenal pocketed a cool £1.8 million pounds from their FA Cup success last year having triumphed over a facile Aston Villa side in the final, who themselves licked their wounds with a cheque for £900,000.
It is not easy to win the FA Cup. In fact, it is a damn sight hard thing to do when you factor in the number of games, competitions and propensity for injuries at a key stage of the season that intense cup competitions can impact.
We saw this yesterday, when Liverpool named a second string side (with a few exceptions) to face off at home against an in-form West Ham United. Jurgen Klopp himself before the game cited the reasoning as being the hectic schedule and incessant demands being placed on teams, especially a team like Liverpool whose players hamstrings seem to be more like cheese strings of late.
Of course, it is a legitimate argument for naming a weakened side and “disrespecting” the competition. It has been said for many by years that the December, January and February scheduling in English football puts catastrophic demands on players. As such, the impact that a series of FA Cup games can have on squad strength and league position is shot into focus and title challenges, European pushes and relegation battles take priority.
When you factor in the prize money mentioned earlier, and compare that to the £2.5 million difference between finishing 8th and 10th in the Premier League last season, then it is hard not to be cynical when teams parade weaker sides in the cup in the hope of preserving their first team fitness and protecting their league position. The difference between finishing 8th and 14th is almost £8 million pounds.
These are the sort of figures that lead Mike Ashley at Newcastle United to prioritise the Premier League over all else. And while some will point to dwindling crowds in the early stages of the competition as evidence of a perceived lack of interest from supporters, the already spiralling costs of attending games is the primary contributor to that.
There is still romance and passion in the FA Cup, and it is not just limited to aspirational teams. Arsenal fans will no doubt be exceptionally pleased with their two wins on the trot, putting an end to almost a decade without a trophy. However these days, “romance” for the most part is about clubs down the ladder getting a payday from a lucrative tie.
There is no denying that clubs struggling to put bread on their players tables deserve a slice of the riches that televised games can bring. But it was telling that the romance of Exeter City’s valiant efforts at home to Liverpool was reflected more in the reported £700,000 value of them losing their lead to draw, than the value of the victory itself. Meanwhile in Sussex, Eastleigh chairman Stewart Donald threatened to ban the BBC from covering their replay with Bolton Wanderers on account of not being afforded the romantic gesture of having their replay televised.
Palace’s victory against Stoke City yesterday was important on a number of fronts. It offered a glimmer of hope that the poor league form can turn around soon, but it was also another incredibly tricky cup tie out of the way. Tough and boring draws in recent years have sapped some of the romance out of the cup from a Crystal Palace perspective, but with the current generation of fans having such strong affinity to the competition and the memories of 1990, it is full steam ahead.
While Premier League finances are about to be propelled into a different stratosphere over the next years, many at SE25 would sacrifice an £8 million kitty for the chance to finally get our hands on the one that got away in 1990. The clenched fists and punched air at TEB HQ this morning were evidence of that.
Two down, four to go.
