This article explores the growing disparity in the FA Cup, highlighting the financial pressures on smaller clubs and the lack of commitment from some Premier League teams.
Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 tactics have little place in English football, it was said. Recent Manchester United performances of the resurrected Harry Maguire in tandem with Lisandro Martínez and Matthijs de Ligt suggest it can work if with sufficient energy in midfield to protect the trio. Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo offer that, and the wing play of Alejandro Garnacho in setting up Bruno Fernandes’s goal, plus Amad Diallo’s raiding runs at the Emirates Stadium, suggest the framework of a team.
Penalty hero Altay Bayindir revealed he is a capable goalkeeper, a possible cult hero. There are complications. The club’s finances, chickens of the Glazer ownership now coming home to roost, may trigger selling “pure profit” youth products like Garnacho and Mainoo to fund recruitment. There are significant miles to travel, but the previous weekend’s, and this 10-man heist at Arsenal are signs of a motivated team playing for their manager, closely following instructions. About time, too.Plymouth won’t care and nor should they, but there is something depressing about the refusal of sides like Brentford to play their strongest lineup in the FA Cup. “It’s a massive missed opportunity. We are disappointed,” said Thomas Frank. But at the same time he acknowledged that collectively Brentford had “dropped 10%”. It’s true that they have Manchester City and Liverpool as their next two games in the Premier League but equally Brentford haven’t beaten a top-flight side in this competition since 2005-06, and even that was only a Sunderland team on their way to a then-record Premier League low of 15 points. Even when they reached the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup this season, it was a much-changed side that. Perhaps that makes financial sense, but it inevitably raises questions about the point of football when prioritising the league means compromising the chance of actually winning something.Despite Bristol City’s 2-1 loss to Wolves on Saturday, the team and their supporters had something to take away from the match: a sensational free-kick goal from Scott Twine. The 25-year-old midfielder, who had an earlier free-kick saved, stepped up just before half-time to take the set piece. Twine, who signed permanently forlast summer, bent the ball around the wall and slotted it into the top right corner, giving Sam Johnstone no chance. “It’s not coincidence, he practises it,” said the Bristol City manager, Liam Manning. “I’ve seen him do it numerous times. A moment of real quality. I thought Twiney spoke really well just now in the changing room about belief. I think we showed second half, we took care of the ball and showed a bit of belief and purpose. We took the game to them a little bit instead of being on the back foot, so a lot of positives to take from it and a lot of lessons.”proved the perfect encapsulation of the selling of the FA Cup’s family silver. Now that replays are considered below the elite’s purview, the Lambs – the heroes of this season’s early rounds – were denied their trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and a sample of the luxury life. Spurs no longer have to pay for failing to beat a team of part-timers, of accountants, a zip salesman, bricklayers, teachers, retail workers, a personal trainer and college support workers. As the Uefa competitions bloat up, 25-man-plus squads of players are now deemed incapable of playing any extra matches, the world’s oldest competition is instead custom-designed to rich clubs’ needs. All while the Premier League is yet to agree a trickle-down settlement to the EFL and further down the pyramid. A game that embodied the romance of the FA Cup during 90 minutes ended up displaying the game’s unapologetic self-interest.third-round matches against teams higher up the pyramid are about much more than just 90 minutes on the pitch. They bring publicity, finance and, in Harrogate’s case, an increased fanbase. The finance earned from their loss to Leeds will help the bank balance but the more significant matter was they had 4,000 fans in the away end, around 1,200 more than attend home fixtures in League Two, where they sit 21st, five points above the relegation places. “I think the challenge for all of us, even the fans, is please come to see us against Cheltenham to sustain our life in the Football League,” the Harrogate manager, Simon Weaver, said. “We need that vocal support and we need numbers. We had 4,000 for an away trip tonight. We’d love dearly to have 4,000 regularly at home and be proud of their team.”goal, the opener in the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace in a Premier League match on 16 December 2023. Pep Guardiola said: “Of course I’m really pleased, I want the best for my players, all of them; I want them to perform well. But in the end they have to deliver. I see him in the year of the treble – he was a main player for us, but after that there are two options: think it’s me or think about what you can do better. Not Jack, everyon
FA CUP FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE SMALL CLUBS PRIORITIES
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