fa cup

watching the birmingham v wolves fa cup match and can not believe the amount of empty seats especiallf for a local derby is it down to the fa cup being a second rate competition personally i would offer a champions league place as a trial to see if this would help reinvent it or is football in serious decline has the sky and premier league greed actually killed the game.

argyledj wrote:

watching the birmingham v wolves fa cup match and can not believe the amount of empty seats especiallf for a local derby is it down to the fa cup being a second rate competition personally i would offer a champions league place as a trial to see if this would help reinvent it or is football in serious decline has the sky and premier league greed actually killed the game.

I'd forgotten it was on and was sat watching golf! Yeah it's half empty and you would think that with Brum now in the Championship and at home to near neighbours, they would have sold the place out. Is it because it's the FA Cup and Brum know they can't win it? Or financial? Not sure myself but I saw with interest Ken Bates calling for clubs who field weakened teams to be punished. All very well for him to say that now but if he was still Chelsea chairman and they were fighting for the Premier League, still in the Champions League etc, he would advocate a weakened team.

Personally I think it's upto clubs what team they put out on the pitch and it's their own fault if they get knowcked out. The romance of the FA Cup is all but over now. I didn't even watch the final last year because I knew Stoke would try and spoil and Man City would be just too strong for them. Now what you need to rekindle interest is a League 2 club reaching the semi-final next season

Forgot to say as well, the game is on ESPN which doesn't help. For me it died a bit when BBC stopped having coverage.

Just think, we may never take part in an FA Cup match again............

greenjock wrote:

argyledj wrote:

watching the birmingham v wolves fa cup match and can not believe the amount of empty seats especiallf for a local derby is it down to the fa cup being a second rate competition personally i would offer a champions league place as a trial to see if this would help reinvent it or is football in serious decline has the sky and premier league greed actually killed the game.

I'd forgotten it was on and was sat watching golf! Yeah it's half empty and you would think that with Brum now in the Championship and at home to near neighbours, they would have sold the place out. Is it because it's the FA Cup and Brum know they can't win it? Or financial? Not sure myself but I saw with interest Ken Bates calling for clubs who field weakened teams to be punished. All very well for him to say that now but if he was still Chelsea chairman and they were fighting for the Premier League, still in the Champions League etc, he would advocate a weakened team.

Personally I think it's upto clubs what team they put out on the pitch and it's their own fault if they get knowcked out. The romance of the FA Cup is all but over now. I didn't even watch the final last year because I knew Stoke would try and spoil and Man City would be just too strong for them. Now what you need to rekindle interest is a League 2 club reaching the semi-final next season

Forgot to say as well, the game is on ESPN which doesn't help. For me it died a bit when BBC stopped having coverage.

If you're on Virgin, ESPN is free for a week (I think). Turnip Rovers versus Villa is on.

Chemical Ali wrote:

greenjock wrote:

argyledj wrote:

watching the birmingham v wolves fa cup match and can not believe the amount of empty seats especiallf for a local derby is it down to the fa cup being a second rate competition personally i would offer a champions league place as a trial to see if this would help reinvent it or is football in serious decline has the sky and premier league greed actually killed the game.

I'd forgotten it was on and was sat watching golf! Yeah it's half empty and you would think that with Brum now in the Championship and at home to near neighbours, they would have sold the place out. Is it because it's the FA Cup and Brum know they can't win it? Or financial? Not sure myself but I saw with interest Ken Bates calling for clubs who field weakened teams to be punished. All very well for him to say that now but if he was still Chelsea chairman and they were fighting for the Premier League, still in the Champions League etc, he would advocate a weakened team.

Personally I think it's upto clubs what team they put out on the pitch and it's their own fault if they get knowcked out. The romance of the FA Cup is all but over now. I didn't even watch the final last year because I knew Stoke would try and spoil and Man City would be just too strong for them. Now what you need to rekindle interest is a League 2 club reaching the semi-final next season

Forgot to say as well, the game is on ESPN which doesn't help. For me it died a bit when BBC stopped having coverage.

If you're on Virgin, ESPN is free for a week (I think). Turnip Rovers versus Villa is on.

Yeah it's the first Virgin I've been on in years mind. I got upgraded to the full package to watch us against Stourbridge lmfao.

Freathy wrote:

Just think, we may never take part in an FA Cup match again............

Why the hell not, thats the most stupid thing youve posted ever.

125+1 wrote:

Freathy wrote:

Just think, we may never take part in an FA Cup match again............

Why the hell not, thats the most stupid thing youve posted ever.

As from next season we have to qualify for the competition through the preliminary rounds. And I can't see us surving more than a season or two as a non-league club before we fold.

Freathy wrote:

I can't see us surving more than a season or two as a non-league club before we fold.

That's my biggest concern, too.

It's all very well being told 'we won't go down, and even if we do we'll be the biggest club in the conference and we'll come straight back up', but people were saying that last season.

We're a club in a city with a (very) low wage economy, and a lot of our support travels some distance from Cornwall or North Devon for matches. We've also got a huge exiled following (which, by the way, explains the big crowd against Torquay: when I lived away, the xmas / new year fixtures were always some of my handful of home games). How many of those travelling from West Cornwall, or living several hundred miles away, are likely to carry on turning up to watch non-League football?

When I first moved up that London, I fed my football habit by going to watch Chelsea every so often: I knew somebody who was a supporter and it wasn't a good idea for a young woman to go to matches on her own back in those days. (There was no women's toilet in the Shed, but that's another story for another day). Lots of other exiles do the same: keep Argyle in their hearts, but get a regular fix of live football elsewhere. If Argyle aren't in the League, who knows how many of them will switch their allegiance permanently?

Yes, there'll always be a core of fans who'll keep turning up regardless of whether we're in the League or not, but I really hope the powers that be aren't overestimating the size of that support. With money the way it is for so many, next year's season ticket (and travel costs and so on) could be a step too far.

BSP Clubs only have to play one qualifying match, so thats just an extra round, Argyle will still be in the FA Cup. Whether we ever reach the third round and the chance of a "big club" is a different matter.

The qualifying rounds don't count.

That's a bit like saying that Scotland played in the last World Cup.

Freathy could be quite right in his predictions.

This is the reason that this free-fall simply must stop this season. Only two go down from a very poor league. We must not be in the bottom two come May. We must pull out all the stops to avoid relegation. Not that anyone on here doesn't realise this. I wish I could be assured that Brent does. On the other hand, he might make a couple of token signings of players already here on loan to make it look as if he tried to keep fans on board, whilst concentrating fully on the property development deals he's doing with the uni...

Peggy wrote:

Freathy wrote:

I can't see us surving more than a season or two as a non-league club before we fold.

That's my biggest concern, too.

It's all very well being told 'we won't go down, and even if we do we'll be the biggest club in the conference and we'll come straight back up', but people were saying that last season.

We're a club in a city with a (very) low wage economy, and a lot of our support travels some distance from Cornwall or North Devon for matches. We've also got a huge exiled following (which, by the way, explains the big crowd against Torquay: when I lived away, the xmas / new year fixtures were always some of my handful of home games). How many of those travelling from West Cornwall, or living several hundred miles away, are likely to carry on turning up to watch non-League football?

When I first moved up that London, I fed my football habit by going to watch Chelsea every so often: I knew somebody who was a supporter and it wasn't a good idea for a young woman to go to matches on her own back in those days. (There was no women's toilet in the Shed, but that's another story for another day). Lots of other exiles do the same: keep Argyle in their hearts, but get a regular fix of live football elsewhere. If Argyle aren't in the League, who knows how many of them will switch their allegiance permanently?

Yes, there'll always be a core of fans who'll keep turning up regardless of whether we're in the League or not, but I really hope the powers that be aren't overestimating the size of that support. With money the way it is for so many, next year's season ticket (and travel costs and so on) could be a step too far.

With the legendary fickleness of our 'support', losing fans on a permanent basis would be a potential pitfall, but I don't think Lutons attendances are that different from when they were in League 2, and they are the only side down there we can realistically compare ourselves to.

What's worrying, is they are a scary example of how difficult it is to get straight back up.

That said, handing out rediculous contracts to pretty crap players is a huge part of what got us in this mess. That, it's safe to say, won't be happening again any time soon, so going out of business I don't think is a scenario we'll face any time soon.

Mock Cuncher wrote:

The qualifying rounds don't count.

That's a bit like saying that Scotland played in the last World Cup.

Freathy could be quite right in his predictions.

This is the reason that this free-fall simply must stop this season. Only two go down from a very poor league. We must not be in the bottom two come May. We must pull out all the stops to avoid relegation. Not that anyone on here doesn't realise this. I wish I could be assured that Brent does. On the other hand, he might make a couple of token signings of players already here on loan to make it look as if he tried to keep fans on board, whilst concentrating fully on the property development deals he's doing with the uni...

Meanwhile the superfans continue to travel the length and breadth of the country, looking down on those not sad enough to do likewise and Brent seems to think ALL football people are that stupid and that these specimens are natural leaders ?

How very wrong can he be ?

Mock Cuncher wrote:

The qualifying rounds don't count.

That's a bit like saying that Scotland played in the last World Cup.

Freathy could be quite right in his predictions.

This is the reason that this free-fall simply must stop this season. Only two go down from a very poor league. We must not be in the bottom two come May. We must pull out all the stops to avoid relegation. Not that anyone on here doesn't realise this. I wish I could be assured that Brent does. On the other hand, he might make a couple of token signings of players already here on loan to make it look as if he tried to keep fans on board, whilst concentrating fully on the property development deals he's doing with the uni...

It was talk like that that got me banned on pBay!

I just really really hope it doesn't turn out the Brent was being advised by the CPers until he formed his board and that decision doesn't cost us our club

But the CPers don't exist anymore, it was just simple coincidental that Newell and Webb bumped into Brent in the directors Box!

Tringreen wrote:

Meanwhile the superfans continue to travel the length and breadth of the country, looking down on those not sad enough to do likewise and Brent seems to think ALL football people are that stupid and that these specimens are natural leaders ?

How very wrong can he be ?

Thing is, though, if I was new to football and a small group of people kept telling me they were representative of the fans as a whole, I might listen to them too.

The reality, of course, is that we're all individuals with nothing in common except our support of a particular football club. Yes, sometimes (or even often) we do find we've got other things in common, but that doesn't make us all the same. Which is why our representatives should be elected by the widest possible constituency.

GOB wrote:

pBay!

Excellent!

The president role should be something that is voted for by the fans. People nominate just like the n-power fan of the year and then the finalists are voted for, not given the job because they're the chairmans mate.

What about putting in a bid or two for our rivals best players? I'm not saying we're quite big enough to pluck players from the Gas or Bradford, but could clubs as small as AFC Wimbledon refuse a bid of £50k for their captain or top scorer? How would Barnet cope without McLeod? Hereford must have one good player who'd improve us and cripple them, etc?

TBH I'm amazed that it is nearly a third of the way through the transfer window and we've not signed anyone who wasn't already here yet...was it naive to think that we'd have a couple lined up on Jan 1st?

There's not even a sniff of a rumour about any signings. Nothing. Northampton are now pulling away to safety after making three signings as soon as the window opened. And they replaced their duffer of a manager. What's brent done? F*** all!

Freathy wrote:

There's not even a sniff of a rumour about any signings. Nothing. Northampton are now pulling away to safety after making three signings as soon as the window opened. And they replaced their duffer of a manager. What's brent done? F*** all!

Remember Freathy, we've signed Chadders and Purse..... that'll be the, 2 signings we need from being a decent team done!!

Mock Cuncher wrote:

TBH I'm amazed that it is nearly a third of the way through the transfer window and we've not signed anyone who wasn't already here yet...was it naive to think that we'd have a couple lined up on Jan 1st?

In a word, yes. these people think it only needs a bit of tinkering... one, maybe two at the most. How about a sweepstake for the date Nool and Gool reminds all us thickos we can loan players in February.
Still, let's look on the bright side, we haven't got the mighty bathing Ape and Ponty boring us rigid. What's happened to Ponty, Have they closed down the link to Wales ?

I often wonder that, he seems to have gone to ground. Anyone?

He's returned to the strong, silent routine. He was getting a bit of a pasting on here for various activities with his chum and I seem to remember him saying that someone close had died and it had made him reconsider life in general.

Freathy wrote:

There's not even a sniff of a rumour about any signings. Nothing. Northampton are now pulling away to safety after making three signings as soon as the window opened. And they replaced their duffer of a manager. What's brent done? F*** all!

I agree Northampton have made changes, but pulling away to safety, do you even look at things before you type this crap freathy, that was their first win in 14 games, and they were lucky with that one. i have no doubt Northampton will stay up as they have a very good manager whose footballing style suits the lower league's, but come on really.