Saving the FA cup

[peterhague]

Yes, but hard core fans are just there anyway. You're not going to change what the regular punters think after years of the hyped up Premiership. What the FA Cup needs to do is tap into the general national audience, the vast majority of whom don't watch games on TV at all. If the FA Cup (like international tournaments) was shaped as a national event via a national broadcaster, it would have its best chance of recovering some lustre.

Well.... I don't really know what such a change would actually achieve. It would just mean bigger but less interested tv audiences. Is the idea that teams would be sent out with extra purpose out of some sense of duty?

I mean, if I had a product I wanted to restore lustre to, probably the last thing I'd do is to give it away for free to as many people as possible.

 

[RolandG]

Make the Carling Cup a u21 tournament and allow clubs to field 3 overage players. Make Premiership Clubs play earlier in the FA Cup and offer the FA Cup winner the CL play-off spot that 4th placed team would get. Sorted!

 

[SummerOnions]

yeah getting rid of replays in later rounds is a good idea but it does give smaller clubs a chance to have a home tie vs a big team

 

[Hyena]

Yes no league cup would help. smaller teams at home. Last match of the season. No replays. And big teams starting earlier.

 

[gkmacca]

Well.... I don't really know what such a change would actually achieve. It would just mean bigger but less interested tv audiences. Is the idea that teams would be sent out with extra purpose out of some sense of duty?

I mean, if I had a product I wanted to restore lustre to, probably the last thing I'd do is to give it away for free to as many people as possible.

The FA doesn't show anything for free, does it? It takes a huge amount from Sky and BT who recoup some of it from their obscene charges to customers. The FA would still be getting a hefty sum for the FA Cup - possiby more, because it wouldn't be considered (as it currently is) as a kind of 'add on' with other rights packages. So it wouldn't be for free, BBC or ITV still have the budget for one big investment in the sport, and want one. Also, if you project that competition to potentially ten million 'extra' viewers, that is more likely to enhance interest in your more lucrative products rather than diminish it. But all you can do is work on the audience perception, you're not realistically going to change the attitude of clubs and players who now disregard everything except Europe and the league.

 

[peterhague]

The FA doesn't show anything for free, does it? It takes a huge amount from Sky and BT who recoup some of it from their obscene charges to customers. The FA would still be getting a hefty sum for the FA Cup - possiby more, because it wouldn't be considered (as it currently is) as a kind of 'add on' with other rights packages. So it wouldn't be for free, BBC or ITV still have the budget for one big investment in the sport, and want one. Also, if you project that competition to potentially ten million 'extra' viewers, that is more likely to enhance interest in your more lucrative products rather than diminish it. But all you can do is work on the audience perception, you're not realistically going to change the attitude of clubs and players who now disregard everything except Europe and the league.

There's no way the FA would still draw anything more than a small fraction of the revenue if you banned BT and Sky from bidding for the coverage. But really the point was more about the customers themselves receiving the coverage 'free' (I think it's reasonable to call terrestrial broadcasts 'free', for our purposes), and the effect that would have on their perception of the competition. IMO by making it so clearly subsidised and protected from competition you would be much more likely to diminish its status in the mind of the viewer than restore it. I just don't think that's how you build caché. I dunno, I suppose it's just a judgement call. There's nothing I can really say to disprove your case, I just think you're wrong. And that's before you even get to more fundamental practical problems of trying to build mass viewership like the changing nature of media consumption, diminishing TV audiences, far more specialised and tailored programming etc. All the trends are in the opposite direction.

And anyway, I think you're clearly mistaken in that last sentence. All you have to do is imagine what would happen if the FA cup winners had a CL spot. Trust me, they'd suddenly find a way of caring about it then.

 

[gkmacca]

If Test Matches were brought back to terrestrial TV (as they should be) I don't think cricket fans would think that the format had suddenly been diminished. That's just a patronising view of the public. And I don't think people would think Wimbledon had suddenly been enhanced if the Dirty Digger finally gets his hands on it(as he's desperate to do). As for pegging some European place on to a cup tournament, no, I don't think that is viable in the long term, because it would probably only involve qualification rounds, certainly not parity with those in the requisite league places.

 

[Spionkop69]

Make the Carling Cup a u21 tournament and allow clubs to field 3 overage players. Make Premiership Clubs play earlier in the FA Cup and offer the FA Cup winner the CL play-off spot that 4th placed team would get. Sorted!

The CL qualification is decided by UEFA not our own FA.

 

[RolandG]

The CL qualification is decided by UEFA not our own FA.

Ta...

 

[doctor_mac]

The CL qualification is decided by UEFA not our own FA.

Yeah, but if the FA bunged them a few bob and a holiday in Mauritius I'm sure that they'd agree to any proposal.

 

[Mystic]

I've always thought that at least one premier league game should air on the BBC every week, doesn't have to be a big game, any game. Same should happen with the FA cup, one tie, any tie, should air on the BBC every round. You can save the bigger ties for those bidding the money, but having consistent and good coverage on the TV would be a huge boost.

 

[jon545660]

The premier league is too lucrative for clubs to give a shit about domestic cups anymore. Top clubs will prioritise Europe and challenging for the league, smaller clubs will prioritise not getting relegated.With so many in debt they must be terrified of relegation. Look at Wigan; won the cup and got relegated in the same season. That worked well for them.

Sadly the cups will continue to decline in importance.

 

[Gerry_A_Trick]

Probably been already mentioned, but do clubs get a share of the broadcasting fee if their match is shown? If not, then it's an obvious way to increase it's importance to them. If the home clubs were given control over selling their cup match to TV, splitting the proceeds with the away side, then you'd definitely see stronger sides be put out by clubs. If their are stronger sides, then more people will show up to watch.

 

[darkstarexodus]

I

Make the Carling Cup a u21 tournament and allow clubs to field 3 overage players. Make Premiership Clubs play earlier in the FA Cup and offer the FA Cup winner the CL play-off spot that 4th placed team would get. Sorted!

I like this suggestion (notwithstanding the EUFA picks fact). Would suggest winner of FA Cup has 1 game playoff with 4th in the league to determine CL spot. Would join Championship playoff as massive money-earning Wembley final.

Also really like League Cup essentially being a U21 (or U23) trophy. Would be good step towards better reserve system overall.

 

[RolandG]

I

I like this suggestion (notwithstanding the EUFA picks fact). Would suggest winner of FA Cup has 1 game playoff with 4th in the league to determine CL spot. Would join Championship playoff as massive money-earning Wembley final.

Also really like League Cup essentially being a U21 (or U23) trophy. Would be good step towards better reserve system overall.

Exactly the point I was trying to make. Enhance the FA Cup and make it a money spinner while making the League Cup real competitive for the U21's. The Reserve League Systems needs massive improvement. Possibly let them play curtain raisers to the big weekend matches. Improving the domestic game will raise the standards and should boost the national team too.