Canary Jedi 579 Posted June 28, 2020 In a parallel universe, the draw for the FA Cup Semi Finals includes these teams: Norwich City Newcastle Leicester Sheffield United Instead, we now how Manure, Man Citeh, ****-nal and Chelski - YAWN 😴🙄The pundits will probably rub their hands, but honestly what a shame that none of the 'lesser' teams (perhaps Leicester aside) made it through. AND, quite incredibly all were away wins. That can't be a conicidence, it really seems to be true that the crown are the 12th man, what a shame. It really feels like the magic of the FA Cup just died. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex Moss 2,165 Posted June 28, 2020 Even Alan Shearer tried his very best to help Newcastle by pulling them out in the inconsistent Arsenal side of the semi finals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Duncan Edwards 2,236 Posted June 28, 2020 It is a bit depressing but isn’t new. Since the Premier League became a thing there have been 27 finals. 1/3 of them have been between “the big 6”. 24 of the 27 have been won by just five clubs: Arsenal - 8 Chelsea - 7 United - 5 BinDippers, Citeh - 2 Maybe that’s what makes the victories of Wigan and Portsmouth “magical”? Or maybe it’s just boring as ****. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flying Dutchman 744 Posted June 28, 2020 The bitterness on here in the last 24 hours is insane. Good teams win the cup more often than 'lesser' teams. What a shock. But the possibility of winning it, and occasionally it actually happening, is the magic. As it smaller teams getting far in the competition. But my word, this seems bitter for the sake of being bitter. Can't you just enjoy how well we did? How far we got? How we came very close to being amongst the last 4? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canary Jedi 579 Posted June 28, 2020 @Flying DutchmanSorry if my post came across as bitter, that was not the intention. You are right, and I'm proud that we made it to the QF and gave such a good account of ourselves. The OP is not about Norwich, it's about the fact that there are no 'lesser' teams in the SF. Personally I would always support an underdog, that's the magic. But there are no underdogs now. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Duncan Edwards 2,236 Posted June 28, 2020 28 minutes ago, Flying Dutchman said: The bitterness on here in the last 24 hours is insane. Good teams win the cup more often than 'lesser' teams. What a shock. But the possibility of winning it, and occasionally it actually happening, is the magic. As it smaller teams getting far in the competition. But my word, this seems bitter for the sake of being bitter. Can't you just enjoy how well we did? How far we got? How we came very close to being amongst the last 4? Who is bitter? All I was trying to demonstrate is how winning the cup has become much more unlikely since the advent of the Premier League. For context, in the 27 years prior to the Premier League coming about (using 27 as the same sample size), fifteen different clubs won it. Of course, good teams still won it more often: Liverpool, Spurs, Man U - 4 Arsenal, Everton, West Ham - 2 Wimbledon, Coventry, Southampton, Sunderland, Leeds, West Brom, Chelsea, Man City and some other team - 1 I don’t think it’s particularly bitter or outlandish to suggest that the FA Cup had a more magical feel to it prior to the development of the Premier League, mainly because there was a seemingly reasonable chance your team could win it. The chances of that are demonstrably less now. Partly because of the increased chasm between the elite and the rest, money and also because it is seen as secondary to being desperate to finish 17th in the top flight. I don’t think it’s unfair to think that the magic has been systematically stripped away and that thought isn’t based on yesterday at all, I thought we played well, battled hard with 10 and at least deserved the chance at pens. It wasn’t to be. Would have been nice to have been there but... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wcorkcanary 4,334 Posted June 29, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, Duncan Edwards said: Who is bitter? All I was trying to demonstrate is how winning the cup has become much more unlikely since the advent of the Premier League. For context, in the 27 years prior to the Premier League coming about (using 27 as the same sample size), fifteen different clubs won it. Of course, good teams still won it more often: Liverpool, Spurs, Man U - 4 Arsenal, Everton, West Ham - 2 Wimbledon, Coventry, Southampton, Sunderland, Leeds, West Brom, Chelsea, Man City and some other team - 1 I don’t think it’s particularly bitter or outlandish to suggest that the FA Cup had a more magical feel to it prior to the development of the Premier League, mainly because there was a seemingly reasonable chance your team could win it. The chances of that are demonstrably less now. Partly because of the increased chasm between the elite and the rest, money and also because it is seen as secondary to being desperate to finish 17th in the top flight. I don’t think it’s unfair to think that the magic has been systematically stripped away and that thought isn’t based on yesterday at all, I thought we played well, battled hard with 10 and at least deserved the chance at pens. It wasn’t to be. Would have been nice to have been there but... Dont think Dutchmano is referring to you specifically Duncano. There is a fair bit of sour grapes on here though. We were beaten in a game in which we had a decent chance of winning , for some of the match we looked decent enough but not clinical at crucial moments. Disappointed ,yes. Robbed, nah. Pleased that we mustered a decent performance, definitely. Agree that the likelihood of a team outside the top six winning it is ever diminishing as the rich get richer........can't say I like it though. Edited June 29, 2020 by wcorkcanary 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
essex canary 496 Posted June 29, 2020 We have been as good as any provincial side in the country in reaching the QFs. That said how will football improve the mood of the nation if only London, Manchester and Merseyside teams can win anything? 30 years ago the playing field was at least a little more level and the game was much better for that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites