The FA Cup Final

[Mister Chops 7]

...even if we''re not in it....Why on earth is the FA Cup final being played before the end of the football season?It used to be the domestic cup showpiece and the formal end of the season.  I know playoff games have superceded this in recent years, but why is the final now being held before the end of the Premier League season?The FA can hardly complain about clubs putting out weakened sides when they are prepared to devalue the cup''s importance by making it subordinate to the Premier League in terms of focus & importance.Shoddy.

[K Lo 229]

I agree. It was the last hurah for each season and often good entertainment for many neutral fans.

[I am a Banana 0]

Fully agree.

[York Canary 28]

Very stupid decision definitely

[4th floor 4]

I remember when the FA Cup was a proper event and the build up on television lasted all morning. For me it died last year when it kicked off at 5:15pm in order to avoid clashing with league games.

[J in cumbria 0]

[quote user="Mister Chops"]...even if we''re not in it....Why on earth is the FA Cup final being played before the end of the football season?It used to be the domestic cup showpiece and the formal end of the season.  I know playoff games have superceded this in recent years, but why is the final now being held before the end of the Premier League season?The FA can hardly complain about clubs putting out weakened sides when they are prepared to devalue the cup''s importance by making it subordinate to the Premier League in terms of focus & importance.Shoddy.[/quote]

Errrrr you not in it, not getting past round 4

[drurys testamonials V 15 0]

As said it was the pinnacle of the season. Not any more.

 

Who says tv hasn''t ruined football?

[flecky76 0]

It''s because the Champions League final is at Wembley this year and UEFA stipulate that no games must be played at the venue in the 2 weeks leading upto the CL final.

[Gingerpele 0]

UEFA can go find another stadium then.

FA cup final should not be before the end of the league fixtures...

[flecky76 0]

The FA would have applied to host it. Down to £££££££ no doubt!

[PurpleCanary 5,580]

[quote user="flecky76"]It''s because the Champions League final is at Wembley this year and UEFA stipulate that no games must be played at the venue in the 2 weeks leading upto the CL final.[/quote]

 

That may be true, but last season the final was on May 5 and the final round of PL matches was eight days later, on May 13.

[Mister Chops 7]

[quote user="flecky76"]It''s because the Champions League final is at Wembley this year and UEFA stipulate that no games must be played at the venue in the 2 weeks leading upto the CL final.[/quote]Well that''s clearly not the reason, as:League 2 Playoff Final is 18 MayLeague 1 Playoff Final is 19 MayChampions League Final is 25 May

[Mister Chops 7]

[quote user="PurpleCanary"]

[quote user="flecky76"]It''s because the Champions League final is at Wembley this year and UEFA stipulate that no games must be played at the venue in the 2 weeks leading upto the CL final.[/quote]

 

That may be true, but last season the final was on May 5 and the final round of PL matches was eight days later, on May 13.

[/quote]There was some nonsense last year about bringing it forwards so our players were more rested for Euro 2012.  Clearly even more nonsense with hindsight.

[PurpleCanary 5,580]

[quote user="Mister Chops"][quote user="flecky76"]It''s because the Champions League final is at Wembley this year and UEFA stipulate that no games must be played at the venue in the 2 weeks leading upto the CL final.[/quote]

Well that''s clearly not the reason, as:

League 2 Playoff Final is 18 May
League 1 Playoff Final is 19 May
Champions League Final is 25 May


[/quote]

 

That backs up my post. The truth, I suspect, is that the final day of the PL season and the play-off finals are now more eye-catching, not to mention financially significant, than the FA Cup final.

[Mister Chops 7]

[quote user="PurpleCanary"]

[quote user="Mister Chops"][quote user="flecky76"]It''s because the Champions League final is at Wembley this year and UEFA stipulate that no games must be played at the venue in the 2 weeks leading upto the CL final.[/quote]Well that''s clearly not the reason, as:League 2 Playoff Final is 18 MayLeague 1 Playoff Final is 19 MayChampions League Final is 25 May

[/quote]

 

That backs up my post. The truth, I suspect, is that the final day of the PL season and the play-off finals are now more eye-catching, not to mention financially significant, than the FA Cup final.

[/quote]And the Championship Playoff Final - the "richest game in football" - is 27 May.Looks like Jesse J was wrong and it is all about the money, money, money.It would be interesting to see the FA''s reaction if a Championship team sent out a weakened squad for a semi-final because they were pushing for a playoff place and wanted to keep their best players free from injury to go for promotion via playoffs.  I can''t see how the FA could argue with this given the priorities they''ve set out through their scheduling.

[flecky76 0]

Well I know that was the reason 2011 as both league 1 and 2 finals were played at old Trafford for this reason.

The fa cup final was played earlier last season due to the European championships, as clubs needed to release players by a certain date. The fa up final was therefore played on the same weekend as other premiership games, so they could squeeze them all in. Ours v Arsenal was on that same day.

[Shack Attack 0]

Maybe the FA have been looking on here and realise that the majority of

modern football fans would rather finish 17th in the Premier League than

win the FA Cup [:^)]I''m pretty sure I read somewhere that this season was the last time that this would happen and some provision had been made to ensure that the FA Cup final will once again be the last game of the season in the future. Or at least until the next time the FA needs to host some other event to cover the costs of owning an enormous stadium that hardly ever gets used [;)]

[ncfcstar 292]

[quote user="flecky76"]Well I know that was the reason 2011 as both league 1 and 2 finals were played at old Trafford for this reason.

The fa cup final was played earlier last season due to the European championships, as clubs needed to release players by a certain date. The fa up final was therefore played on the same weekend as other premiership games, so they could squeeze them all in. Ours v Arsenal was on that same day.[/quote]You''re right Flecky.  I''m guessing that the L1 and L2 PlayOff Finals will not be at Wembley this year.

[Muffles 8]

Apparently they are at Wembley.

 

It is a shame about the FA Cup Final. Back in my day....   I used to sit and watch the coverage from first thing in the morning, usually even the Saturday morning kids programmes got involved, following the arrival of the teams at Wembley, watching their path to the final. Then there was the match itself, followed by the trophy being lifted....