The FA Cup replay debate

This is my take on the [b]FA CUP REPLAYS[/b] debate. I Posted a more diffwrent version on FB,, but have cleaned it up for here in case anyone would take offence at it.

When I heard Darren Fletcher's views on the the Friday Football social two weeks ago I found myself completely agreeing with him 100%.

He spoke from the heart not just as a journalist & presenter, but as a football fan as well, and I'm pretty sure there are way, way [u][i]MANY[/i][/u] more of us who pretty much echo his views too. The FA & the PREMIER LEAGUE should hang their heads in shame.

I know there are probably some clubs within the EFL CHAMPIONSHIP who To be honest, both the FA & PREMIER LEAGUE now need to be honest and say PUBLICLY which clubs WERE RESPONSIBLE & INSTRUMENTAL in taking this decision. I do NOT believe that ALL 20 PL clubs EVEN wanted this.

I also felt OLIVER HOLT'S view in the Dily Mail the next day - probably explained things better - "the PL is getting way bigger than the game itself and is ramming it's position, poison - call it what you will - back down on the the rest of the pyramid" and us fans, and it feels like to me, it does not care for 'The Beautiful Game' in this country ANYMORE.

THE FA CUP is & ALWAYS has been the world's oldest cup competition, and is the envy of the rest of the footballing world and the world in geeneral - with it's glamour and strutcure. It is UNIQUE. To remove replays from it may save time, calendar wise but it has its consequences further down the pyramid. They should have left replays alone altogether, it keeps the glamoutr and glitz of the competition very much alive.
But moreover, it is the very bread and butter that the rest of the football pyramid clubs rely on in these difficult times, and I urge the FA & PL to THINK AGAIN ON THIS.
Those clubs need to look back when they were in the old Football league structure days and within the old First Division - think back when your players BACK THEN played 50 - 60 games A SEASON, with League, European cup competitions and FA CUP games all thrown in and did we ever hear those players then, ever complain ONCE in the major press, that they were tired? NO.

I know some of you may not even agree with me on this view but I wanted to share my thoughts that I posted on FB on this, (and I did get some comments supporting my view). I was going to post it here after I'd written it, but felt it needed in parts some adjustements to make sure I wasn't going over the top on here. RANT OVER,

This, like many other things in football is a consequence of the gravy train culture of the game. Quite simply the amounts of money in the game now are obscene.
As in life generally the gap between the rich and poor grows wider by the day.
The so called big clubs at the sharp end of the Premier League might claim to care about clubs lower down the pyramid but I tend to deem their approach as disingenuous at best and downright dishonest and greedy at worst.

The reality now from the clubs point of view is that top four is deemed more important than cups.
Money is more important than fans.
The expansion of the European competitions has created more competitions and more fixtures that act as money spinners.
And of course the clubs that qualify for these will inevitably moan about fixture congestion and blame the domestic authorities for it.
They will be in favour of abolishing replays because it plays it's part in cutting congestion but also because they deem progress in Europe as more financially viable.

Do they give two hoots about lower league clubs? No of course not. They are just in it for themselves, consumed by self interest to the absolute last. It's predictably appalling.

The interests of the cartel are clearly more important than the overall structure.
Fairness and integrity long since gone.

FA Cup replays are just a mere inconvenience shunted out the way to help the cartel maintain and boost it's power over the rest.
Shameful but true.