Fixed Fa cup draws

[livvy145]

So i take it you werent one of the delusional masses who kept insisting that Arsenal was an 'excellent draw' then?

I wonder where all those people are now...

They're probably starting threads on how the draw is fixed.

[Shaggy]

So i take it you werent one of the delusional masses who kept insisting that Arsenal was an 'excellent draw' then?

I wonder where all those people are now...

Absolutely not. Who in their right mind would ever consider Arsenal in the 3rd round of the FA Cup an "excellent draw"? Home advantage? I'd sooner be away at Coventry. Or at home to Reading or Norwich like those poxy c**ts today.

[Craig_H]

Absolutely not. Who in their right mind would ever consider Arsenal in the 3rd round of the FA Cup an "excellent draw"? Home advantage? I'd sooner be away at Coventry. Or at home to Reading or Norwich like those poxy c**ts today.

Haha...we all say that now, but back when the draw was made, it was a different story.

Dont make me bump the thread

[The Glove]

Chelsea v Blackpool or Norwich
Watford v Ipswich
Preston v Manchester City
Plymouth v Derby County
Manchester United v Reading
Arsenal or Bolton v Blackburn Rovers
Bristol City or Middlesbrough v West Brom
Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur



And the QF Draw will be

Chelsea v Watford
Arsenal v Preston
Utd v Plymouth
Middlesboro v Spurs.

[The Wolfman]

spurs to win it would be a good bet mate.

lennon the other day was ****ing awesome.

[The Glove]

spurs to win it would be a good bet mate.

lennon the other day was ****ing awesome.

Wasting your money there mate.

[The Wolfman]

Wasting your money there mate.

worth a quid though.

The bookies will be giving pretty long odds with arse, mancs and chelsea still left in it.

[Red_Polo]

So i take it you werent one of the delusional masses who kept insisting that Arsenal was an 'excellent draw' then?

I wonder where all those people are now...

Oh come on, I don't think there were 'delusional masses' actually wanting us to get a tough draw or insisting we'd got an 'excellent draw'. One or two people maybe but not delusional masses.

There were those of us that took the attitude that if you want to win it you have to knock out the better teams at some stage anyway, whilst some (like AA) moaned as though we were ****ed before a ball had been kicked. I know which attitude is the right one to have and the results do not change that.

Before the draw there was a thread about who people wanted us to get in the FA Cup, have a look through the teams people mentioned.


This is one of your own comments on the cup draws...

"Granted though, Arsenal in both cups is a bit harsh. But we can do them at home."

That was the typical view of the draws anyway.

[lfc4ever]

Well, let's go the whole hog and really "fix" the draws:

http://football.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,2001752,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=5

Time to rig the Cup and give every underdog home advantage


Kevin McCarra
Tuesday January 30, 2007
The Guardian

It is time for some match fixing. Yesterday's draw for the FA Cup fifth round showed that the tournament cannot be left to its own devices. The competition has been almost entirely without charm or surprise this season, with the major clubs virtually insulated against danger by being given home ties. Liverpool may have been ejected at Anfield, but only because it was Arsenal who came calling.

By and large, the potent teams are adept at employing their ever-increasing advantages. So comprehensive was Chelsea's superiority over Nottingham Forest that it was uncomfortable to keep watching on television, as if the viewer had become voyeur at a shabby episode. The manager Colin Calderwood spoke candidly afterwards, never hiding his sheepishness about this anti-climax. He would, however, have been merrily loquacious following an earlier encounter with Premiership opposition.

Article continues
On their own patch Forest beat Charlton 2-0 with much aplomb in the third round. While that was no equivalent to an engagement with Chelsea, the arrival of Jose Mourinho's squad at the City Ground would have had the makings of a special occasion. Lower-division underdogs ought always to be granted home advantage when pitted against the Premiership elite.

That policy does not carry an absolute guarantee and Luton Town, having sold many of their best players and seen others get injured, were swamped 4-0 by Blackburn Rovers at Kenilworth Road. None the less, the potential of the match was enough for the BBC to provide live coverage. Those cameras would never have been dispatched to Lancashire had the game been at Ewood Park.

Some will resist any proposal to alter the FA Cup, claiming that you meddle with its very soul by interfering with the spontaneity. That viewpoint, however, turns a blind eye to the fact that football is already rigged. Arsène Wenger complains of "financial doping," but to those in Forest's circumstances every club in the Premiership, including Arsenal, is high on extraordinary doses of money. Even more cash is to be injected by a new contract that will give £26m of television revenue to the side finishing last.

In deciding what is best in football it is a useful principle to shun whatever the most prominent names have in mind. Until a few years ago the French Cup guaranteed that a team equivalent to Forest, who were two divisions or more below the top flight, would automatically play at home when drawn against Ligue 1 clubs. The scheme worked so well that it caused intense annoyance.

The better-off were beaten quite regularly and protested about such factors as the state of the pitches they had to tread, ignoring the fact that this was the point of the exercise. These flustered members of the establishment, led by the influential Guy Roux of Auxerre, got their way. As they now stand, the regulations ensure only the absolute pipsqueaks of French football have the supposed right to play at their own ground. These stadiums are so unsatisfactory that ties often wind up at neutral venues.

The FA Cup ought to pick up the principle the French dropped. Trips to the unfamiliar venues can still prove to be dangerous ventures into the unknown and Manchester United had a goalless draw at Burton Albion last year. The visions of a late goal for Nigel Clough's team were tantalising, even if they were actually delusions. The reverse of such a fixture is an entirely different affair. Albion were walloped 5-0 at Old Trafford, condemned to talk mechanically about what a great experience it had been to play there.

The FA Cup needs more than that to sustain its appeal. Though the competition got lucky with the astounding episode when Birmingham City devastated Newcastle United 5-1 in a replay at St James' Park it has not had much of a tale to tell in the past month.

On the whole, it has maintained a position of importance despite the scorn of critics who view it as an anachronism in an era where allure belongs solely to the Premiership and the Champions League. Yet this season's programme is a reminder that the FA Cup cannot leave its appeal to chance. Some light engineering is in order to deliver appetising ties. The last thing it needs is the unfettered luck of the draw.

[Speedy]

Well, let's go the whole hog and really "fix" the draws:

http://football.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,2001752,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=5

Time to rig the Cup and give every underdog home advantage


Kevin McCarra
Tuesday January 30, 2007
The Guardian

It is time for some match fixing. Yesterday's draw for the FA Cup fifth round showed that the tournament cannot be left to its own devices. The competition has been almost entirely without charm or surprise this season, with the major clubs virtually insulated against danger by being given home ties. Liverpool may have been ejected at Anfield, but only because it was Arsenal who came calling.

By and large, the potent teams are adept at employing their ever-increasing advantages. So comprehensive was Chelsea's superiority over Nottingham Forest that it was uncomfortable to keep watching on television, as if the viewer had become voyeur at a shabby episode. The manager Colin Calderwood spoke candidly afterwards, never hiding his sheepishness about this anti-climax. He would, however, have been merrily loquacious following an earlier encounter with Premiership opposition.

Article continues
On their own patch Forest beat Charlton 2-0 with much aplomb in the third round. While that was no equivalent to an engagement with Chelsea, the arrival of Jose Mourinho's squad at the City Ground would have had the makings of a special occasion. Lower-division underdogs ought always to be granted home advantage when pitted against the Premiership elite.

That policy does not carry an absolute guarantee and Luton Town, having sold many of their best players and seen others get injured, were swamped 4-0 by Blackburn Rovers at Kenilworth Road. None the less, the potential of the match was enough for the BBC to provide live coverage. Those cameras would never have been dispatched to Lancashire had the game been at Ewood Park.

Some will resist any proposal to alter the FA Cup, claiming that you meddle with its very soul by interfering with the spontaneity. That viewpoint, however, turns a blind eye to the fact that football is already rigged. Arsène Wenger complains of "financial doping," but to those in Forest's circumstances every club in the Premiership, including Arsenal, is high on extraordinary doses of money. Even more cash is to be injected by a new contract that will give £26m of television revenue to the side finishing last.

In deciding what is best in football it is a useful principle to shun whatever the most prominent names have in mind. Until a few years ago the French Cup guaranteed that a team equivalent to Forest, who were two divisions or more below the top flight, would automatically play at home when drawn against Ligue 1 clubs. The scheme worked so well that it caused intense annoyance.

The better-off were beaten quite regularly and protested about such factors as the state of the pitches they had to tread, ignoring the fact that this was the point of the exercise. These flustered members of the establishment, led by the influential Guy Roux of Auxerre, got their way. As they now stand, the regulations ensure only the absolute pipsqueaks of French football have the supposed right to play at their own ground. These stadiums are so unsatisfactory that ties often wind up at neutral venues.

The FA Cup ought to pick up the principle the French dropped. Trips to the unfamiliar venues can still prove to be dangerous ventures into the unknown and Manchester United had a goalless draw at Burton Albion last year. The visions of a late goal for Nigel Clough's team were tantalising, even if they were actually delusions. The reverse of such a fixture is an entirely different affair. Albion were walloped 5-0 at Old Trafford, condemned to talk mechanically about what a great experience it had been to play there.

The FA Cup needs more than that to sustain its appeal. Though the competition got lucky with the astounding episode when Birmingham City devastated Newcastle United 5-1 in a replay at St James' Park it has not had much of a tale to tell in the past month.

On the whole, it has maintained a position of importance despite the scorn of critics who view it as an anachronism in an era where allure belongs solely to the Premiership and the Champions League. Yet this season's programme is a reminder that the FA Cup cannot leave its appeal to chance. Some light engineering is in order to deliver appetising ties. The last thing it needs is the unfettered luck of the draw.

That is the worst article i have ever read.





EVER!

[Nicey]

Great to see Arsenal having to play a replay at Bolton, I am happy to see the other 3 teams in as many completions except for the Champions Lg for as long as possible.

[Milan_Milan]

That is the worst article i have ever read.





EVER!

I think its a cracking article and a very good idea. Think how much it would benefit lower league clubs to play against big sides on their own patch, sure some fans would only go for the day to see the big team, but some might enjoy it and start going more regularly.

Lets face it prem clubs don't really need the extra revenue they get from a home cup tie compared to the lower league clubs. Plus it would make the competition a bit more interesting, it's going the way of the league cup in terms of priorities at the moment.

[Speedy]

I think its a cracking article and a very good idea. Think how much it would benefit lower league clubs to play against big sides on their own patch, sure some fans would only go for the day to see the big team, but some might enjoy it and start going more regularly.

Lets face it prem clubs don't really need the extra revenue they get from a home cup tie compared to the lower league clubs. Plus it would make the competition a bit more interesting, it's going the way of the league cup in terms of priorities at the moment.

I think this reveals your age.

Two words: 'History' 'Tradition'

Infact, we can learn a lot from the french cup - watched by millions around the world, it is arguably the greatest cup competition there is (sic). I doubt there is a football fan anywhere who cannot name the current holders.

we should go further. lower teams should be allowed to bar stars of the premier teams from participating. say one player for every 15 places in the league tables. if were playing watford, good bye Gerrard. wrexham and it's good bye Alonso, Carragher and Kuyt (no, I haven't counted). of course, this would totally spoil the cup for Rafa, but there you go.

actually, maybe the top sides could be banned from participating at all. and the cup could be renamed the auto ldv cuplet or something.

the magic of the cup..... the luck of the draw..... the dream of a tie at Anfield or Old Trafford...... let's take that away. most teams would rather play on their own mudpatch in front of a handful of fans anyway. so what if Liverpool win the cup without any of their fans actually being able to watch them? lucky *******s.

[Speedy]

Do you realise that smaller teams make more money going to the away games as well milan_milan?

[Milan_Milan]

But in the long run if some of the extra that turn up to their local ground start going regularly as they enjoyed the day, they would surely make more.