Why demolishing the FA Cup replay will hurt the next league team, the Magic of Destruction

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou is undergoing a post-match interview about 20 minutes after his low profile defeat of Tamworth in the third round of the FA Cup. He said he was satisfied with his side and he was ready to get on the convoy home. But, as he spoke, a small group of Tamworth supporters chanted, “We want our replay!”

Tamworth held Tottenham – a five-goal to the ladder from their national league base – scored no points, over 90 minutes, but in overtime with Lost 3-0. Previously, 0-0 was enough to get a lucrative replay at the Spurs at home, but in this new FA Cup format they had to play for another 30 minutes and probably endure a progressive penalty shootout. Finally, their legs stretched out. Tottenham Hotspur brought £70m worth of stars (son Yangmi, Dejan Kulusevski, Djed Spence), and that's it. Tamworth players are proud, but also have this trivial feeling, they are stolen for a lifetime.

“It's a shame there was no replay: that's what we mean.” Afterwards, the player mentioned the missed replay- and Tottenham Hotspurs' trip – surpassing their golden chance to win the game in the seventh minute of adding time.

“I think it's obviously a lot of money,” said Tamworth manager Andy Peaks. “It's annoying because we have enough free Tuesdays to add replays, but I want to be big.” The boy doesn't seem to have dates anymore.”

This year, the FA Cup has become a victim of increasing numbers and nudity in football. People in European games say they have too many games, and Maheta Molango, CEO of the Professional Football Association (PFA), told ESPN in August that “the fixed calendar has been broken and has become unfeasible until now.” It is the FA Cup that has taken a piece out of it: the iconic replay, a lucrative reward for smaller teams that stick to pairing with big clubs, which is now a thing of the past.

On the one hand, you might say that this makes sense: lightening fixtures is a helping hand, but the reduction in the FA Cup is difficult in the context of the 36 teams, the eight-man season Champions League and 32 teams Understand below. This summer. To offset the losses, the FA added bonuses early on, but for replays often, it wasn't life for the next league club.

Sources say Tamworth costs about £850,000 in the absence of Totterham Hotspur Stadium: the receipt between the two clubs is a receipt for tickets/offering, and TV partners will have additional broadcast revenue.

An unexpected FA Cup running can change the prospects of the club, or in some cases retain its presence. Ocean Football Club has earned money from entering the third round and hosted Tottenham Hotspur in 2021 – £800,000 – to see them undergo a full renovation. “To be honest, we still pinch ourselves, which has changed the club's changes,” Chairman Paul Leary said in 2023.

Exeter City believes their 2005 FA Cup bounce, which included a third-round replay against Manchester United, helped save the club from extinction.

“The importance of the FA Cup replay for smaller clubs may be whether they exist,” Exeter Club Committee Chairman Nick Hawler told ESPN. “Our replay against Manchester United will bring Erics to Erics.” Sett City’s track is placed in a sustainable future.”

Cambridge United brought Manchester United into the fourth round of replay in 2015, earning £1.5 million this time. Chairman Dave Doggett called it a “game-changer,” although his idea of ​​where to invest has nothing to do with his squad, saying: “It's fair to say that our toilets are terrible. , so we should certainly be able to serve everyone now with better service.”

National League Southern Boreham Wood and Maidstone United recently received the benefits of a fairy tale FA Cup run, both of which take Lincoln City as possible example. Back in the 2016-17 campaign, Lincoln became the first non-league team to enter the quarterfinals of the match, where they met Arsene Wenger's Arsene Wenger's Arsenal (Arsene Wenger). They made £1.3 million from their journey – defeating the Gunners 5-0 and building a new elite performance centre.

Manager Danny Cowley said in 2018: “The key to the money we get from the FA Cup is not just to throw it back into the game budget and then just one breath. The infrastructure keeps us successful. ”They are now in the league.

Boreham Wood entered the FA Cup third round in 2021 and 2023, but entered the fifth round in 2022, with them 2-0 defeat at Everton. Although they were relegated to the National League South at the end of last season, the money generated from the FA Cup helped the club make ends meet under chairman Danny Hunter. When Covid-19 hit, Boreham Wood was one of three clubs in the national league, continuing to pay players instead of giving them a leave of absence.

“When we got to the fifth round, I really felt the football god (hunter).” Boreham Wood manager Luke Garrard told ESPN. “We are growing, But I just feel that the Cup running helped us build the infrastructure and put us two or three seasons ahead of schedule.”

The same goes for Maidstone. They are the Cinderella story of 2023-24, reaching the fifth round, eliminating the town of Ipswich along Portman Road. A source confirmed the run brought a £400,000 club.

“They use this money to be sustainable, and I think that's important,” Craig Fagan, assistant manager at Maidstone, told ESPN. “We don't want to do it when they can't continue to be what they've been doing for years.” Things to get the club in the case of getting the club.”

However, with such a run, people have attracted people's attention. “It's down because everyone wants to beat you because of how you're doing with Ipswich, how you're doing with other league clubs,” Fagan said. “We have a little goal on our backs, but they deserve that.” We're going to end the anniversary and we think it's a loss for the players' mental exhaustion. Without those cups, we might have more opportunities to automatically advance, but you know, you're never going to say no to the cup.”

Maidstone is third in England's National League South, a professional-level professional-level team, and while the team's game budget and spine remain unchanged from last season, Fagan believes , entering the fifth round of the club added momentum.

“I will never look down on the running of the FA Cup,” he said. “The FA Cup, especially the people at our level, have something incredible. People are talking about Manchester United all the time.”

Prior to the third round of the year, Postecoglou, Manchester United's Ruben Amorim and Manchester City's Pep Guardiola all spoke affectionately about the FA Cup, as if it were a loved relative. But for big clubs, cups are about the function of romance: it gives them another trophy for the cabinet, the route to Europe. Lower the pyramid, it provides opportunities for transformation. Replays can create a rare opportunity to consider growth, and the owner feels it’s all worth it for a moment.

“We were robbed,” Haller said. “Also consider the impact on supporters, the moments of glory they will lose for decades. The loss of legacy and our future replay loss.”

The legends of Tamworth, Maidstone and Boreham Wood are promptly reminding the world's oldest cups to be more than trophys.

“A lot of people are changing and being manipulated in football games, and it feels like a person, making it a reality and the past,” Garrard said. “It's a magic cup, the best cup in the world, it gives We have a chance.”