Truth is both sides have a point or two. These will no doubt be bandied around in the media over the coming weeks as any future changes to the competition could be implemented as early as next season.
Firstly the problems we're currently witnessing with the FA Cup. It has clearly fallen well below the Premier League and Champions League in the pecking order of the elite clubs. But now relegation-threatened sides are fielding weakened teams in the cup and even those Championship promotion-chasers have started to re-prioritise, with the FA Cup missing out time and again.
Fans have cottoned on to this fact and have started to stay away from the games, saving their hard-earned cash to spend on something seen as being worthwhile. With attendances dwindling, advertisers have started to drum up panic as they shy away from investing in the tournament.
So what are the options? Changing the kick-off time to 17:30 or maybe even 20:00 on a Saturday evening seems most likely to happen. Great! The Champions League final worked a treat last year in its innovative Saturday night kick-off.
The traditionalists will scream foul, but it wouldn't affect supporters or teams and could only really help to improve future advertising revenue. So that is 1-0 to the bigwigs.
Next was the idea of midweek games during the earlier rounds of the competition. I don't really see this working what with packed fixture schedules already existing. Weekends are earmarked when the fixture lists are drawn up at the start of the season. Squeezing them in between weekend league fixtures, alongside Carling Cup, Johnstone Paint Trophy and Champions League football wouldn't make sense. So let's call that 1-1.
Abolishing replays is another idea that has been suggested. I think that this idea has both good points and bad. The idea is to eradicate replays thus causing less fixture congestion, pretty simple really. But what about those small, non-league clubs who can get a big payday if they can take one of the 'big boys' to a replay? I think we need to look at the good of the competition rather than the good of the clubs involved. Therefore I agree with this principle, so the bigwigs have re-taken the lead: 2-1.
The final point that seems to be being mooted is the idea of seeding the 'bigger' clubs, especially in the earlier stages to avoid a 3rd round brimming with all-Premier League ties. But why is that even a suggestion? Mainly because advertisers will want a Manchester United v Chelsea final rather than Macclesfield v Hartlepool. (No offence Jeff)
But that takes away the fairness of the competition, the fun of sitting and watching two mediocre ex-footballers rattling the balls in the bowl and drawing out dream ties for the small fry. This would be the single worst idea if implemented and should be roundly rejected.
So that's it. A hard fought 2-2 draw, stalemate. Back to the drawing board FA, any more ideas?
The thing is the competition doesn't need overhauling, it requires a small amount of tinkering. No replays and/or a 17:30 final, not massive changes in the grand scheme of things, but changes that can rejuvenate the FA Cup and give it a much needed shot in the arm.
