We Can Be Heroes, Just For One Day

By: Rob | November 7th, 2009

fa-cup This weekend, is a magical weekend in English Football, it’s the first round of the FA Cup. While in other countries knockout cup trophies don’t seem to have the same romance, or weight, there is something genuinely special about the FA Cup.

Over the last few years, as English Football has grown and grown, talk comes that the Romance of the Cup is gone, and indeed, that it just isn’t as important in the Champions League age as it was years ago.

But as I stood watching my team lose yesterday, I realised that is all wrong. The FA Cup is still incredibly exciting, and gives small teams a chance to put themselves up against absolutely anybody.

Besides, try telling Bath City, Barrow or Kettering Town fans that the Cup has lost its magic – they’re all into the next round and ready to face up against even bigger teams.

Perhaps my perspective comes from supporting a lower league club (Bristol Rovers since you ask). Our success in recent years has been as measured by Cup scalps as it has by league position finishes. Even when we flirted with the basement of what is now League Two, we could still look forward to the chance of a Cup Run.

In the 2007-8 Season we had a moment in the sun, in which we made it to the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup (including a win over Southampton who vanquished us yesterday). It was an amazing buzz, to know we were in the last 8 teams in a cup competition which everyone is involved.

It isn’t a cheap cup run, like the League Cup either. I think big teams still care about the FA Cup. If you look at the winners over the last 10 years, there is that Portsmouth year, but other than that, by and large, it’s big four teams that take the final prize.

There is something magical about the fact that your team might get a chance to line up against a team of multi-million pound players all playing the game of their lives in the hope of a scalp. I have to wonder why the Cups don’t generate so much excitement in Spain and Italy, for example – unless they do and its passed me by.

So catch a Cup game this weekend and revel in the romance, and blow a big raspberry to those who would have you believe that there isn’t any magic in the FA Cup. Because it quite simply is not true.

Although fans of Paulton Rovers might not agree. Ouch.

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Thomas

I totally I agree with Kabir. It was a nice fairytale story for a little while, and than you realized they'd be going into Europe...I would have preferred it if any team in the top ten in Ligue 1 went instead of them.
kabir

Drabik,
The cup would still have a point. The money involved would surely help the team who won, and if the team could invest in more players so that they could finish in a better league position. Plus, winning the cup is still an honor, and it will be a prestigious thing to go down in the club's history.
But my point is that the league team might be able to do a bit better, no? Let's look at the example of Guingamp, a 2nd Division team in France who managed to shock everyone on their run to the final, eventually winning. However, they simply had a magical season, and they could not repeat it in Europe. Consequently, they were booted out of the Europa League quite easily by Hamburg in the 1st round.
The French might prefer to have a league team like Rennes, PSG etc. representing them than a team that stands no chance. Having Guingamp probably harmed their UEFA rankings as well...
I'm just saying, the league team probably has a better chance
Drabik

Kabir...

Then what's the point in having a cup competition at all? Sure I agree that finishing 7th in league is a great accomplishment for some teams. However, cups give that extra bit of magic - the feeling that just one game can change your season - screw up once and you are out. A team that can go a whole competition without losing should be rewarded.

It may not have the magic of the FA cup, but tell that to Middlesborough and Leicester fans, who have used it as a route into Europe in recent years. Middlesborough even made it to the UEFA cup final through the league cup - although I'm sure they'd rather not think about what happened...
2nd Yellow

My favourite football season EVER was 1990/91 when our local part-time club, average attendance 100, reached the 1st round of the FA Cup and played Northampton Town.

It's occasions like that that give the cup it's magic and that set it apart from other competitions.
kabir

i actually think that the teams who finish higher in the league deserve to go into europe more than cup winners for 2 reasons
1) the cup winner could be some crap 2nd division team (im looking at you guingamp) who completely flops and doesnt stand a chance against european competition
2) the team that finishes higher in the league has worked harder and played better all season, whereas the cup winner might only have played well in the cup itself. so therefore, the higher-in-the-league team is probably better and more consistent. besides, after a whole season of playing well (and better than the cup team) it would be frustrating not to get into europe
Drabik

With the new competition editor on Football Manager, I wanted to create an FA cup style competitions between all the top European leagues. Unfortunately I dont think you can make continental competitions (so ive been told).
Drabik

I think having two cup competitions is good. A league cup winner has more rights going to Europe than a team finishing 7th.

Currently its top 4 to Champions League. 5th goes to Europe League. Then the FA cup winners and League cup winners go to Europe (with 6th and 7th position qualifying if the winner has already qualified for Europe).

I personally think that a team finishing 10th winning the league cup has more right to go to Europe than a team finishing 7th.

There are other countries that have two cup competitions arent there? France, Germany (although different)
CSD

We should broaden that idea to encompass all of Europe.. possibly the world... oh wait...
k

Nice Bowie reference, Rob.
Rob

The anglo-scottish cup thing, I still think is the way forward.
Thomas

France has two cups as well. It's not particularly unusual, I don't think, and there's also the same difference in France. The Coupe de France is open to all sides, while the Coupe de la Ligue is Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 only.
Daryl

Its' definitely the lesser tournament because the FA Cup has way more tradition. So most top sides send out borderline reserve teams for League Cup games now.

I guess it's just hard to get rid of the League Cup now that it's here. There are sponsorship deals in place etcetera.

Rob proposed something interesting on EPL Offside a while back though. Since Scotland also has an FA Cup and a League Cup, why not merge both League Cups and have an Anglo-Scottish Cup instead.
Fwembt

The League cup (or Carling Cup) is not regarded highly by most of the media and a good deal of football. It is, however, the silverware that everyone thinks they have a chance to win.
Jose39

ooooohhhh.. that makes sense. But why still keep two? I've always been told (perhaps incorrectly) that the League Cup is way less prestigious than the FA Cup (due to there being more competition)..
Daryl

Jose39,

Here's how I understand it based on a little personal knowledge and a lot of Wikipedia reading.

The FA Cup and the League Cup are a little different. Any team can enter the FA Cup. Literally hundreds do every year. Whereas the League Cup is only for the 92 teams in the English professional divisions (Prem, Championship, League 1, League 2).

The League Cup started in the sixties because of floodlights. League games and FA Cup games were always at weekends, but the introduction of floodlights opened up the possibility of midweek games. So, the League Cup was created so teams could play midweek.
Kartik

Jose, im guessing you're talking about the Carling Cup and the FA Cup
Jose39

I meant the ones that non-English people hear about. You know, involving Premiership sides.
kabir

in italy there was some romance, there was a surprising final of lazio-sampdoria, who beat juventus and inter respectively in the semifinals which was pretty unexpected
Shazback

England has SIX cup competitions. For mens' clubs. Not TWO.
Jose39

My only question is why England has TWO cup competitions...
Daryl

My nearly home town team Stourbridge lost 1-0 at home to Walsall. Good on them for making the first round proper though.