Saturday, January 3, 2009

What is this, Ligue 1?

Looking at a spread sheet of all the scores from the 3rd round of the FA cup, I was surprised to see how many low scoring games there were. I am not a master statistician, so maybe the results were not all that shocking, but 14/24 of the games had 2 or fewer goals, and 4 of these games were 0-0 draws. I think that the FA should change the format of the FA cup to eliminate replays for a few reasons:

1. The promise of a replay promotes defensive play by lower league sides.
2. The replays just compound the problem of fixture congestion.
3. Most other leagues in the world realize one and two and have changed their cup format so that after normal time, there is extra time and then penalties. No silly replays.

If Nottingham Forest's 3-0 win against Manchester City (in Eastlands!) can tell us anything, it is that the minnows stand a chance when they come out and play. The promise of penalties will still attract the attention of the most conservative coaches,  but for the reasons above and the hope that teams would come to play, I strongly believe they should abolish replays. 

Do you think the FA should keep the replay system?

1 comment:

  1. The FA cup is all about tradition.

    (that's why people get mad that a lot of top teams don't take it seriously)

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