Tranmere Rovers
Winning the FA Cup
By Frank Hoiwould
November 4 2022
Here we go, Bonfire night, FA Cup 1st Round. A trip up the M6 beckons to the delights of Carlisle. Is it 8 games to the semi-final and Wembley? Who knows, the way the competition has been mucked around in recent years you can't tell.
I don't think the FA Cup,is special anymore. In fact, if you stopped it after the second round I wouldn't mind. I like the non-League clubs being involved, but once the Premier League teams get in the mix it becomes pointless. Yes, we beat Watford a few seasons back, then a club in the top flight. But Man Utd and Spurs have trounced us, and the dosh is nowhere near as bailable as promotion. Getting knocked out makes me indifferent.
I know people will say 'What about beating Everton at Goodson?' That was over 20 years ago, in that time football has changed for the worse. Top clubs field much weakened teams in the competition. If we came up against Arsenal or Man City they would send their kids out. In the past there was the allure of getting on the telly, but football on TV is everywhere. It's harder not to watch it. Ifollow means that the novelty of having Rovers in your front room doesn't quite have the same fission of excitement. I suspect, even if we got to Wembley, greater prominence would be given to a Premier League match the same weekend.
The FA Cup now represents a massive dollop of nostalgia. It's like watching an old episode of Dad's Army. Reassuring, sometimes entertaining, but no longer relevant. Are people really bothered by what happens in Carlsile tomorrow? Swindon the following Saturday is more important. If we beat Carlisle we have another chance to play against teams that are equal, before the tedium of the 3rd round. Watching the draw, hoping we'll get a 'big team', only to discover its Peterborough again.
Yet, the romantics, the people who dream, will still watch. They'll say that it represents everything good. They"ll point to Hereford United's defeat of Newcastle, that Chesterfield team that made it to the semis, or even us beating Southampton 20 years or so agai. They might even dream that this tear, with a fair wind, a dodgy ref and an injury crises at Liverpool/Everton/Man Utd, etc, we might just win it. God love them, but I reckon this competition won't be around for very much longer.
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04/11/2022 11:44
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Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2022:11:04:15:28:26 by hong kong rover.
Quote:hong kong rover
As Bill Shankly once famously quoted, ' The league is your bread and butter.'..i think we all agree with that,,,but there is nothing wrong with having a nice bit of fruity, tasty jam on top of it, that jam being the FA Cup.
Spot on. Some people seem to think it’s a binary choice of one or the other when, in reality, you can have both without one adversely affecting the other. Indeed nowadays, where serious fixture backlogs (at our level) are very much the exception, a run to the 4th or 5th round for clubs at our level will more often galvanise their league campaign rather than disrupt it.
Quote:Aldosmuzzy
Not sure what relevance winning the Cup has to do with Tranmere but, overall, in recent years it’s been good to us, and for us. Not sure if that’ll be the case this season! Although, with tomorrow in mind, anyone in L2 can beat anyone else in L2.Quote:hong kong rover
As Bill Shankly once famously quoted, ' The league is your bread and butter.'..i think we all agree with that,,,but there is nothing wrong with having a nice bit of fruity, tasty jam on top of it, that jam being the FA Cup.
Spot on. Some people seem to think it’s a binary choice of one or the other when, in reality, you can have both without one adversely affecting the other. Indeed nowadays, where serious fixture backlogs (at our level) are very much the exception, a run to the 4th or 5th round for clubs at our level will more often galvanise their league campaign rather than disrupt it.
+1
Quote:At that point the FA Cup was a more prestigious competition, and one that had alluded Liverpool FC. When Liverpool won (in 1965?) it was seen as a massive achievement.hong kong rover
As Bill Shankly once famously quoted, ' The league is your bread and butter.'..i think we all agree with that,,,but there is nothing wrong with having a nice bit of fruity, tasty jam on top of it, that jam being the FA Cup.
Quote:wow did you dream that up all on your own .if we do we will all say prenton pup has a crystal ball ,wally🙈PrentonPup
Think we'll lose tomorrow
Quote:CleeHillRoadROAR
How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers won the F A Cup
Great book. Monkey Tonks is a top keeper.
J. L Carr's A Month in The Country is also a great read.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2022:11:08:20:01:46 by Elvis .
