FA Cup replays, or the lack thereof, were back in the football press over the weekend as Vanarama National League Tamworth lost out to Tottenham Hotspur in Extra Time.
The National League side held their Premier League opponents to a 0-0 draw at Full Time on Sunday, but three goals in Extra Time as Spurs finally broke the deadlock gave the 1991 cup winners a place in the Fourth Round.
The plucky non-league side have missed out on a money-spinning replay against the Premier League giants, or so it goes.
According to the highly regarded football finance expert Kieran Maguire from the Price of Football podcast, the Lambs could have shared £800,000 if, as is tradition, a draw at full time concluded with a replay at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this week.
I thought it was about ‘The Magic of the FA Cup’? Not a get rich quick scheme. I’ve found myself dropping down the pyramid as ‘chucking loads of cash at players’ becomes the reason for a clubs existence, so maybe that’s what influences this opinion..
Replays aren’t coming back. That’s a certainty. They’re gone. No amount of YouTube videos and social media comments are going to change that.
Want a bit of magic in the old cup then? Get rid of extra time as well. Straight to penalties. A lottery. Heroes, villains, the pantomime of it all. Spurs chucking the kitchen sink in the dying minutes as heroic Tamworth hold on to make penalties.
You can certainly apply method and skill to spot kicks, England showed us that in the summer, but in the end it’s a game of chance. And a knackered Tamworth after 90 minutes of graft have a far better chance than after Spurs have chucked on their fresh as a daisy first team regulars in Extra Time.
The FA Cup is a historic competition bathed in tradition and folklore. It’s not what it once was though, we all know that, so perhaps reimagining as a winner takes all, nowhere to hide one off 90 minute match ending in a shootout is the shot in the arm it needs.
