Fan Letters: "The romance of the FA Cup appears to have withered on the vine"
Yesterday at 01:00 AM
It's a packed RR mailbag today, as our readers have their say on Saturday's cup exit, potential January signings, and areas for improvement. Got something to say? Email us: RokerReport@yahoo.co.uk
Dear Roker Report,
I was musing on the FA Cup paradox after our awful exit to Stoke and also whether I cared that much anyway?
Unfortunately, the romance of the cup seems to have withered on the vine.
In our current football structure, the FA Cup is important to the mid-table Premier League clubs in order to give their season meaning and a faint hope of glory. It also matters to the 'big six', as they need silverware to fuel their juggernaut and if it's scarce, heads will roll.
For the fans of top flight clubs, it also provides a unique opportunity to watch their team in the flesh as the season ticket holders with the ability to finance their fandom have all the league games locked up before a ball is kicked.
As a result, other fans are starved of access and these games have a good atmosphere. Last but not least, the cups provide an unexpected payday to those at the bottom of the pyramid who are living hand to mouth, but less so since replays were eradicated.
These brief respites created by a big third round draw are not a sustainable way to run the finance of these clubs anyway, so not meaningful in the bigger arena of football financing.
For EFL clubs, particularly those in the Championship with any remote hopes of promotion- and that'll be dozens of teams in January- it's an unnecessary distraction from the primary mission of getting higher up the pyramid across a gruelling forty six-game schedule.
More parochially, we've been harmed and not helped by our recent cup participations.
In 2022/2023, we all got excited by Chris Rigg's debut at Shrewsbury and a couple of high-profile games with Fulham, but that's where we lost Ross Stewart and maybe our promotion hopes were also badly injured in that game at Craven Cottage.
The less said about last year's FA Cup third round tie, the better, as it was the catalyst for a rift in our club that hasn't yet healed to this day. On Saturday, we lost Aji Alese and I have some foreboding that it might've been his last game for us.
I hope I'm wrong for his and our sakes as he has so much potential and is a smart, hardworking lad. In conclusion, our recent cup involvements over many years have been woeful and often damaging.
That brings me to my controversial position, and I agree that it's tinged with recency bias, but I would abandon the League and FA Cup competitions.
Sports don't need secondary and tertiary domestic competitions if the primary competition is strong enough. We currently have leagues with promotion and relegation, playoffs that are knockouts, and European Cups for those who finish top of the pyramid, and for me, that's enough excitement.
With the international schedule also impinging too much, we could benefit from a more level loaded fixture list.
In American sports, their leagues culminate in teams qualifying for the knockout stage leading to a Super Bowl, Stanley Cup or World Series, and that seems to work really well for them.
Before readers start howling 'heresy' and accuse me of trying to destroy the romance and tradition of our game, I contend that there'll be no more days like our 1973 win, the Hereford win over the Mags, our humbling at Yeovil, Blyth Spartans' cup run, and so on.
The modern game makes such happenings so improbable they are as likely as a lottery win. Yes, people still buy lottery tickets, so maybe there's still value still in these competitions, but at what price?
I would also terminate the League Cup immediately before another ball is kicked.
Bernard Gilpin
Ed's Note [Phil]: Hi, Bill. Thank you for your letter.
You raise some very valid (if perhaps slightly uncomfortable for the traditionalists) points, and fundamentally, my view of the FA Cup and to a lesser extent the League Cup, is that it's a competition that's desperately trying to find a place in a football schedule that's becoming ever more unforgiving and increasingly tilted in favour of those at the top of the game.
As a Sunderland fan, I've been fortunate enough to enjoy some memorable cup runs over the years, including our 1998/1999 Worthington Cup run and of course our unforgettable trip to the 2014 League Cup final, and those are memories that I cherish.
However, I do feel that with domestic leagues growing ever more lucrative and TV companies exerting greater control over the sport, cup competitions are definitely losing their former appeal and as you say, the notion of a fairytale Wigan Athletic-style FA Cup victory now seems an ever more remote possibility.
The scrapping of replays, thereby denying clubs further down the pyramid the opportunity to play a top flight club in a lucrative second game, was another step towards the permanent devaluing of the competition and offered more proof that the elite clubs simply don't care about it.
I accept that this is a divisive topic and that older readers may well stand by their belief that cup competitions should be respected and protected. I do see the merit in that, but as fans, we're somewhat powerless against the changing tide and I don't see an easy way of changing it.
It's sad, but it's simply the nature of modern football.
Dear Roker Report,
I'd just like to say we're so consistent in assisting opposition teams' goals from our possession of the ball, particularly from throw ins going backwards from the halfway line.
For Swansea's first and second goals, Dennis Cirkin was in possession in the six yard box. He rolled it to Jobe, it ended up in the net, and we were 2-0 down from our own possession.
Against Stoke, Dan Neil took the ball right back to our box and lifted a poor ball back to Simon Moore. He rolled it to Luke O'Nien, and it was 0-1 to Stoke.
Moore could've launched it, just as Cirkin could've done against Swansea. We simply can't play out from the back as we don't have the quality, so why do we still do this?
The second goal against Stoke was completely embarrassing, and we can't give cheap goals like this away on a constant basis. Why can't we throw the ball forwards into the opposition half like the DNA of football dictates, getting the ball quickly and regularly into the opposition box to score goals?
Gary Bennett has already picked up on this many times: 'play scruffy when required, and launch it when needed'.
Modern-day football doesn't suit us and the top two will not be possible if we don't wake up to this problem.
Jeff Angus
Ed's Note [Phil]: Hi, Jeff. Thank you for getting in touch.
I do agree that at times this season, we've been guilty of perhaps trying to be a little bit too elaborate as we build from the back, and it's fair to say that neither Anthony Patterson nor Simon Moore have the kind of elite-level distribution that allows us to do it effectively on a consistent basis.
I've no real problem with us trying to be efficient in possession and to build slowly and steadily, but as you rightly say, there's a time to launch it and with a pacy centre forward spearheading the attack in Wilson Isidor, it gives us plenty of scope to change things up and to play long balls over the top for him to chase every now and then.
Definitely something to consider for the remainder of the season.
Dear Roker Report,
I really do think that we should sign Morgan Whittaker. He's an excellent player and very tricky for defenders to deal with.
As Ben Brereton Diaz isn't that keen on joining us, why waste time? Let's go for Whittaker. I know Burnley are after him but it's worth a try, and maybe we can offer a player like Jewison Bennette plus cash?
I'm sure Whittaker will be a brilliant signing and the crowd will be buzzing.
If Tom Cannon and Whittaker both sign, it'll be a magnificent statement from the management.
Harish
Ed's Note [Phil]: Hi, Harish. Thank you for your letter.
I'm a big fan of Morgan Whittaker and as I recall, there were quite a few Sunderland fans eager to see us make a move for him last summer.
That said, I'd be very surprised if we were in for him this January. Plymouth are in a relegation battle and are under no pressure to sell, and I can't see Sunderland being willing to pay the kind of price Argyle would doubtless demand for him.
As for Tom Cannon? He's a very good striker at this level and a player that I'd like to see us bring in this month. His goals could potentially make all the difference between finishing in the top two and finishing in a playoff position, so it could potentially be one to watch.
Dear Roker Report,
Regarding Borja Sainz's suspension, why can't those responsible be more thoughtful and nuanced in their decision making, given the fact that they deemed a six match suspension appropriate for his disgusting offence?
The return match with Norwich City ought to have been automatically one of the six matches when he would be suspended, and it's only fair that this should be the case .
Why should Sunderland suffer? Of course, this thinking could be applied to all such suspensions of this nature.
Arthur Gray
Ed's Note [Phil]: Hi, Arthur. Thank you for getting in touch.
In the first instance, the punishment dished out to Sainz was absolutely fair and justified after his disgusting behaviour during the Canaries' trip to Wearside, and it was good to see the FA take a hard line.
When it comes to the games he'll miss, it's obviously in line with the fixture calendar itself, so it's simply a stroke of misfortune that he'll be available for our trip to Carrow Road, but hopefully we can keep him as quiet in that game as we did at the Stadium of Light.
Dear Roker Report,
I've read a few reports about the low turnout in the FA Cup. Yes, it was a low turnout in comparison to other ties, but a sign of the times in a cup game, and I blame the fixture list made at the start of the season.
My partner and I are season ticket holders and car park permit holders, at a total cost of over £1200 for the season.
We travel up from Darlington for every game. This is a sixty-mile round trip for each game, which means for night games it's midnight before we're back at home and on Saturdays, up to 8:00pm.
Over a nine-month season, on at least three occasions, we play two home league games in the space of three to four days,
January 1 (H) 8:00pm kick off
January 5 (H) 3:00pm kick off
Six days later, we were at home in the FA Cup, so by January 12, three home games just after the festive period was one game too many for myself.
If I was in charge of the fixture list, how hard is it to play week one at home and week two away all the way through the season? This would ease the cost over a longer period for the fans.
Now we're out of the cup, we can concentrate on the push for the top two.
Haway the lads!
Mark
Ed's Note [Phil]: Hi, Mark. Thank you for your letter.
It's true that the regularity of home games over the course of a forty six game Championship season can mean very short turnarounds between fixtures, and it's easy to see why this would be challenging for fans such as yourself who make lengthy journeys to and from the Stadium of Light.
It becomes even more congested during the Christmas and New Year period, as we all know, so perhaps that played a part in the lower turnout for Saturday's game against Stoke, although the dedication of the 15,000 who did attend should be praised as well.
I don't think there's an easy answer to the question, and especially with the new Sky Sports broadcasting deal which sees games regularly rescheduled with kick offs often moved to times that aren't exactly ideal (the home clash with Sheffield United on New Year's Day being proof of this).
It all amounts to a perfect storm, with the fans simply not considered, and it was no surprise to me that there was a lot of indifference towards Saturday's cup tie as a result.
