How the F.A. killed the F.A. Cup

The F.A. Cup final used to be the climax of the season - the last match of domestic football before the summer break.

T.V. and radio used to spend the whole day building up to the 3 o'clock kick off - we'd catch up with the teams having breakfast, getting on the team coach, Keith Chegwin would host silly games of supporters of the two teams playing against each other, there'd be the F.A. Cup final songs. Even my mother, a fervent opponent of sport on television, would watch and, on occasions, even wear a rosette!

The F.A. Cup final would transcend football. It was more than just 90 minutes of sport, it was a social event - a national event.

But, in recent years, the F.A. has done its best to kill the F.A. Cup final.

It's been a long slow death but the F.A. Cup is close to the end. It needs to be saved from the F.A... and from television schedulers.

I guess the first nail in the coffin was the play offs. This meant that the domestic season, even though it was just in the lower leagues, went on beyond the natural end of season, and meant that the F.A. Cup final couldn't be the last match of the season.

Then the F.A. decided to remove the possibility of a replay in the final (and semi-final?). Yes, I know the players and managers complain about how many games are played in a season but if they were truly concerned about burnout they wouldn't take their teams on long far eastern tours pre-season, or would agree to reduce the number of teams in the league and, consequently, the number of fixtures.

Sure, if the score is level after extra time in a replay then a penalty shoot out makes sense, but not at the first time of asking. There haven't been many F.A. Cup final replays but that is no reason to stop them happening in the future.

Let's not forget the year that Manchester United were given a bye to the 4th round to enable them to play in the utterly futile World Club Championship.

For the last few years the F.A. Cup final has been a week before the end of the Premier League season. The F.A.'s logic was that wanted the Premier League to be the biggest trophy, the one that counted. Of course, in reality, the league has often been won and most issues done and dusted well before the final weekend, leaving dead rubbers and pointless fixtures as the grand climax to the season.

This season, not only are there Premier League fixtures tomorrow but there's one today - on the same day as the F.A. Cup final (though, admittedly, a few hours earlier). And if you support a League One or League Two side, and go to watch them play this afternoon, the chances are you won't be able to get to a television in time to see very much of the F.A. Cup final.

Then the F.A. decided that the semi-finals would be held at Wembley. It started back in the '90s when Arsenal drew Spurs in the semi-final but is now, apparently, the norm. It should ONLY be the final that's held at Wembley. That's what makes it special. If the semi-finals are held there, why not the quarter finals too? Why not selected matches from the third round?

This year, things were worse because one semi-final was Liverpool vs. Everton. So all the fans travelled down from Merseyside to London (around 225 miles) instead of the match being hosted at the neutral ground of, say, Old Trafford (just 34 miles away). It was an imbecilic decision that brought the game into disrepute and, of course, created a mammoth carbon footprint.

I don't think the years that the F.A. Cup final took place in Cardiff, at the Millennium Stadium (while the new Wembley was built) helped much either. Yes, the Millennium Stadium is a tremendous stadium, fans seemed to like it, but in FIFA and UEFA terms, it is in a foreign country. They may as well have held it at Hampden, or Stade de France, or at the Yankee Stadium in New York!

Playing the F.A. Cup out of the F.A.'s domain took away some of its significance. It dulled the silverware and made lifting the trophy less important.

This year, the F.A., in it's infinite wisdom, has bowed to pressure from television broadcasters and moved the F.A. Cup final from its tradition 3 o'clock k kick off to a 5.15 kick off. 5.15?! WTF?! This is simply nonsensical. Rarely do I find mysf agreeing with Akex Ferguson, but he has spoken out about this saying that the oldest cup competition in the world (it started in 1871) should be saved from the whims and fancies if television schedulers. As far as I am concerned this, alone, is a good enough reason to stop ITV having the broadcasting rights to the F.A. Cup ever again.

This year Chelsea play Liverpool in the final and then, on Tuesday, they'll play each other again in the Premier League totally belittling the final and making a mockery of footballing history.

Teams, of course, have increasingly taken the F.A. Cup less seriously too. It's not worth as much financially, as achieving a higher league position due to the way television money is paid out, and so "squad rotation" has meant several top sides, serious contenders for the trophy, have fielded heavily weakened sides in early rounds. Thankfully, the situation hasn't got as bad as the League Cup whi h is now a discredited and Mickey Mouse trophy. It is time that the League Cup was scrapped or, at the very least, the European place given to its winners was removed.

The F.A. Cup should be the F.A.'s crowning glory. It helped to bring football to the world, but, I suggest, it is no longer safe to be left in the hands of the F.A. Something needs to be done to rejuvenate this great, world-famous trophy and put it back at it's rightful place as the climax of the football season.

COMMENT: Video technology - why not?

Why on earth FIFA, or UEFA, or even just the FA, hasn't introduced video technology is beyond me. This evening the FA Cup Semi-Final became a nonsense after Chelsea were awarded a goal that despite the fact that the ball hadn't crossed the line.

It's been a bad weekend for British sport, what with the bloodbath that was the Grand National and now goals being awarded that clearly weren't goals, and in both instances it's the authorities who are to blame.

Ok, so the ref was unsighted - it happens - and apparently neither if his assistants could see either - I guess that can happen - but despite not seeing the ball cross the line the ref still awarded the goal. Why? What made him decide that the Chelsea celebrations were more genuine than the Spurs players' protests? Surely, if he didn't see it he shouldn't award it?

And what of the Chelsea players who did see that the goal hadn't crossed the line, but still celebrated as if a goal had been scored? I do hope that the FA take action against these cheats. John Terry, in particular, should never be chosen as England captain again and, I'd go as far as to say, he shouldn't be selected for the national team ever again. Today he blatantly cheated to ruin an important match. If there was any justice he should be banned for life from all football - his cheating was as bad as Ben Johnson or Dwayne Chambers drug offences. He is morally corrupt and his prescience on any football field again is unwelcome.

So what should happen?

The FA should order an immediate re-match. The ref should be struck off - you can it award something you didn't see. And the Chelsea cheats should be banned for life.

I know it won't happen. The football authorities don't act in the interest of fair play. After all, they upheld Shaun Derry's red card for QPR against Manchester United last week, when everyone who saw the replay clearly saw that Ashley Young cheated by taking a dive. This weekend the same cheat took a dive in the match against Aston Villa, again resulting on a penalty for Man U - he shouldn't even have been on the pitch.

Football must weed out the cheats. They subvert the sport, they ruin the game, they make a mockery of the rules of the game. Ashley Young, along with John Terry, should be banned for life.

And then video technology has to be introduced. It happens on cricket and rugby, why not football? The delay, at crucial moments, is a matter of seconds, but it ensures fairness, justice and the correct result.

If Chelsea win the FA Cup, Manchester United win the league, and John Terry represents the national team they may as well insist that, in future, all players wear a red nose and have a squirty flower.

OPINION: Football finances

Football (soccer) finances in the UK have been a mess for decades now. Clubs overspending on players who receive gargantuan salaries, underwritten by sugar daddies as hobbies, few clubs, in their current state, are sustainable.

Television money, instead of helping the situation, has made things worse with the bulk going to hyper-inflate the greed of players and their agents and most times, it seems, a club gets into financial difficulty there's an outcry and everything is done to keep the club going. New owners, new money (often temporary and with no guarantees) and just a few years until the same problems happen.

Other clubs, like Manchester United, are in so much debt that if they were any other business they would have been buried long ago.

The troubles at Rangers, probably the biggest UK team to go into administration, have, surely, given a number of clubs a wake up call. It is only a matter of time before a major club, or two, ceases to exist.

Yes, it would be sad if some clubs go to the wall but if they are not sustainable then that should happen. A few clubs going out of business would be a good thing for football because it might mean that the rest get their Ccounts in order and learn to live within their means, or, at least, within reasonable overdraft facilities.

But is the current system sustainable in the long term? I don't think so.

I maintain that the UK, not just England, can only really sustain 16 top flight teams. Too many at the bottom half of the Premier League spend heir time going up and down between the Championship and the Premier League. It could probably be argued that there are only 10 or 12 genuinely Premier League teams. This is a nonsense and, added to the financial chaos that is found at man clubs, it is not a sensible way to continue.

I think it's time that the F.A. took a look over the Atlantic and seriously considered a franchise system.

A franchise system would require financial certainty and propriety, and would be a positive way to ensure no more Rangers or Portsmouthhs happen.

Yes, those teams who don't make the cut will be upset but, hey, that's life. the clubs could continue as semi-professional or amateur teams and, consequently, have a much stronger and safer future.

As part of the franchise system, I think it's important that we move to a UK league. Having separate leagues and FAs for each constituent part of the UK is just a nonsense.

So I'd suggest a Franchise Premier League would have 3 London clubs, geographically spread around capital and neighbouring counties, a Welsh team, a Northern Irish team, possibly 2 Scottish teams, a team in North East of England, 2 or 3 North West teams, a southern team and a south west team. One team in East Midlands and 2 in the West Midlands.

And that's it.

If a club develops financial problems they lose their franchise, simple.

A franchise system would demand greater financial openness.

And, to help the clubs, I'd suggest an "average salary" cap for the first team squad.After all, it is the greed of the players that has caused many, if not quite all, the financial woes of clubs.

COMMENT: Rangers FC goes into administration

With the ongoing financial worries for many clubs it was, perhaps, thought that the major problems were restricted to the likes of Portsmouth and Darlington. No one, it seems, was prepared for a big club to get into trouble and go into administration, but that's exactly what's happened today.

Rangers has a long and successful history in the Scottish League and many would see them and their fierce rivals Celtic as clubs who were surely safe from financial woes. The past couple of years have, though, been financially problematic for Rangers, despite big crowds and revenue being generated. Today they have announced that they're going into administration. This could save them or it could end with the club going out of business.

Surely, Rangers are too big a club to go bust?

It's time football sorted itself out. The UK can only really sustain 16, maybe 20, fully professional clubs. Players have to play their part and accept that their excessive wage demands are at the heart of many team's worries. And we need a UK league.

A UK league has been discussed many times before and, in all reality, it would be an Anglo-Scottish league, but that could the one saving grace for Rangers.

Alex Salmond won't like this because it shows how fragile many Scottish businesses already are. How many will go to the wall if he manages to win independence?

Personally I'd favour a franchise system for UK football, as in American sports, so that each part of the UK was guaranteed a team. Sure, it bucks with history but a new approach is what is needed. After all, if Rangers go bust, how long til Celtic follow? Liverpool? Manchester United?

Rangers would, in all likelihood, struggle in the English Premier League but the television money might help savd their scalp.

The FA and SFA need to act now to stop the implosion of lots of clubs on dodgy financial footing, or being propped up by one wealthy benefactor who could turn their back on a whim. HMRC would be doing the future of football a lot of favours if they forced some of the clubs with huge tax bills hanging over them out of business. It's time for a professional game fit for the 21st century.

OPINION: Suarez and Evra's non-handshake

After the fuss, the ban, the calls for a line to be drawn under it and for everyone to focus on the football, Luis Suarez, returning for Liverpool today after an 8-match ban following him racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra, opted to not shake hands with Evra before today's match between the two old rivals.

The pre-match handshake is a recent innovation in Premier League games, having been adopted from internationals and the Champions' League. Last weekend, when John Terry and Anton Ferdinand faced each other in a match, the FA told Chelsea and QPR to not shake hands - but that case, with police charges and a court case due n July, is still very much live. The Evra/Suarez issue is, supposedly, over and settled. far from it, it seems.



As he moved along the line, Suarez shook hands with the match officials and then opted to miss Evra out. Evra grabbed for Suarez's hand, but Suarez withdrew it, spurning the offer of peace from Evra. It was a good job the match officials were close otherwise this could have turned even more nasty.

Surely, though, Suarez ungentlemanly conduct should resulted in a booking?

Quite what effect this will have on the game, who knows! By the time most read this, the result will be known, but, clearly, Suarez still feels victimised by the charges and the suspension, even though he was found guilty by the FA of racially abusing Evra. Liverpool's insistence that he should never have been banned, the players wearing provocative t-shirts supporting him a few weeks ago, and Kenny Dalglish's utterances on the matter won't have helped Suarez realise that his racism is unacceptable in society.

Let's hope the match is a good one, but let's hope the FA look at the handshake before and have another little word with Suarez.

OPINION: FA wins Rooney appeal

This morning, the FA won its appeal and had Wayne Rooney's three-match ban at the Euro 2012 tournament reduced to two matches.

This means, assuming that Capello selects Rooney, he will be available t play in the final group stage match against the co-hosts, Ukraine.

But what sort of message does this send out to youngsters, as well as other players?

At best, Rooney's tackle was petulant. At worst, it was thuggery of a type Rooney regularly exhibits. He'll feel he's got away with it to some extent.

Rooney, and all other footballing thugs, should be banned and fined far more dramatically. When Eric Cantona Kung fu kicked a fan in the crowd he was banned for the rest of that season. That is the sort of punishment that Rooney deserves. And, if there is a repeat (and there have been many repeats from this dullard yob) he should be banned for life.

He is a danger to himself, to the teams he plays for and, more seriously, to the opposition because, the chances are, his violent tendencies will, one day, lead to a player being seriously injured.

Today, UEFA lost my respect. The FA, by appealing the original decision, had already lost my respect. Rooney is scum, sporting detritus, and should not be allowed to play again, in any competition, until he cleans up his act and learns how to play within the rules ofthe game.