The FA cup final (A discussion)
Discussion
OK,
When I was a kid in the late 50's, early 60's, The FA cup final was the highlight of the season,
After 2pm, streets were deserted all over England, shops closed early, to a lesser degree, same with The Grand National.
Now, it's just another game, in a very long season, I remember about 1974, I could rhyme off the teams in every final from 1957, scores, and the scorers.
Now, it has been devalued, especially as both the semi finals are now played at Wembley.
When I was a kid in the late 50's, early 60's, The FA cup final was the highlight of the season,
After 2pm, streets were deserted all over England, shops closed early, to a lesser degree, same with The Grand National.
Now, it's just another game, in a very long season, I remember about 1974, I could rhyme off the teams in every final from 1957, scores, and the scorers.
Now, it has been devalued, especially as both the semi finals are now played at Wembley.
It’s a casualty of the abudance of live sport, as simple as that.
The FA Cup was something special, as you say. Now it’s only watched if your team is in it.
It’s also why they had moved it to a 5pm kick off I believe.
It’s the same with boxing, everybody used to watch the big fights, now live fights are everywhere.
The FA Cup was something special, as you say. Now it’s only watched if your team is in it.
It’s also why they had moved it to a 5pm kick off I believe.
It’s the same with boxing, everybody used to watch the big fights, now live fights are everywhere.
Wacky Racer said:
OK,
When I was a kid in the late 50's, early 60's, The FA cup final was the highlight of the season,
After 2pm, streets were deserted all over England, shops closed early, to a lesser degree, same with The Grand National.
Now, it's just another game, in a very long season, I remember about 1974, I could rhyme off the teams in every final from 1957, scores, and the scorers.
Now, it has been devalued, especially as both the semi finals are now played at Wembley.
City fans couldn't even be arsed to post on their own thread last night. I didn't watch it, and apparently one of the worst finals for many years. Is it because it was City and people associate them with cheating the rules to be where they are ? Certainly the FA Cup generally isn't as big as it once was due to the rise of the CL and Premiership. When I was a kid in the late 50's, early 60's, The FA cup final was the highlight of the season,
After 2pm, streets were deserted all over England, shops closed early, to a lesser degree, same with The Grand National.
Now, it's just another game, in a very long season, I remember about 1974, I could rhyme off the teams in every final from 1957, scores, and the scorers.
Now, it has been devalued, especially as both the semi finals are now played at Wembley.
I may not be as old as you but I remember when I was a kid the build up started at about 10 on tv. Was it always the BBC then?
If your team was in it then the excitement was unbearable,
I would agree that having the semis at Wembley does dilute it somewhat - used to be Villa Park and Hillsborough didn’t it?
Mind you, getting rid of replays was a good thing.
If your team was in it then the excitement was unbearable,
I would agree that having the semis at Wembley does dilute it somewhat - used to be Villa Park and Hillsborough didn’t it?
Mind you, getting rid of replays was a good thing.
Wacky Racer said:
OK,
When I was a kid in the late 50's, early 60's, The FA cup final was the highlight of the season,
After 2pm, streets were deserted all over England, shops closed early, to a lesser degree, same with The Grand National.
Now, it's just another game, in a very long season, I remember about 1974, I could rhyme off the teams in every final from 1957, scores, and the scorers.
Now, it has been devalued, especially as both the semi finals are now played at Wembley.
The year they let Manchester United opt out to compete in some meaningless word super cup or whatever it was called.When I was a kid in the late 50's, early 60's, The FA cup final was the highlight of the season,
After 2pm, streets were deserted all over England, shops closed early, to a lesser degree, same with The Grand National.
Now, it's just another game, in a very long season, I remember about 1974, I could rhyme off the teams in every final from 1957, scores, and the scorers.
Now, it has been devalued, especially as both the semi finals are now played at Wembley.
Blacklab1 said:
I may not be as old as you but I remember when I was a kid the build up started at about 10 on tv. Was it always the BBC then?
If your team was in it then the excitement was unbearable,
I would agree that having the semis at Wembley does dilute it somewhat - used to be Villa Park and Hillsborough didn t it?
Correct.If your team was in it then the excitement was unbearable,
I would agree that having the semis at Wembley does dilute it somewhat - used to be Villa Park and Hillsborough didn t it?
Always used to watch the build up, teams coming out of their hotels at 10.30 etc. Kenneth Wolstenholme interviewing the players on the pitch at 1pm,
I watched the FA Cup final yesterday, as someone who’s watched it since Leeds v Chelsea in 1970 I can safely say there have been a lot worse finals. My team Arsenal competed in a couple of stinkers, v Sheffield Wednesday that went to a replay and early 2000s v Manchester United that went to penalties.
I was at the game yesterday. I agree it's not what it was but it's still a great thing to win and it's great getting to the final.
Although my team lost, we were a lot more competitive than I expected us to be and it was quite a pleasing performance given how bad we've been of late.
It was by no means a great match, but it wasn't awful either. And it was a great goal that won it (he says thru gritted teeth).
I think many things have contributed to the decline in interest. One of them is that the gap between the top teams and the rest is so huge, that the competition is now largely dominated by a few teams.
This century, Man City have appeared in 7 finals, Chelsea in 12, Liverpool in 4, Arsenal in 7 and Man U in 6. There's only been one final this century that didn't feature one of those teams. And 12 of the finals have been between 2 of those 5 teams.
A tier 2 team won the FA Cup in 1973, 1976 and 1980. But since 1980, no team from outside the top tier has won it.
Although my team lost, we were a lot more competitive than I expected us to be and it was quite a pleasing performance given how bad we've been of late.
It was by no means a great match, but it wasn't awful either. And it was a great goal that won it (he says thru gritted teeth).
I think many things have contributed to the decline in interest. One of them is that the gap between the top teams and the rest is so huge, that the competition is now largely dominated by a few teams.
This century, Man City have appeared in 7 finals, Chelsea in 12, Liverpool in 4, Arsenal in 7 and Man U in 6. There's only been one final this century that didn't feature one of those teams. And 12 of the finals have been between 2 of those 5 teams.
A tier 2 team won the FA Cup in 1973, 1976 and 1980. But since 1980, no team from outside the top tier has won it.
Blacklab1 said:
I may not be as old as you but I remember when I was a kid the build up started at about 10 on tv. Was it always the BBC then?
If your team was in it then the excitement was unbearable,
I would agree that having the semis at Wembley does dilute it somewhat - used to be Villa Park and Hillsborough didn t it?
Mind you, getting rid of replays was a good thing.
It was on ITV and BBC at the same time, and there was bugger all other channels to watch.If your team was in it then the excitement was unbearable,
I would agree that having the semis at Wembley does dilute it somewhat - used to be Villa Park and Hillsborough didn t it?
Mind you, getting rid of replays was a good thing.
It was a big national event, even if your team wasn't in it most watched the match.
Wacky Racer said:
ffs! Change the record. 
People do associate city with that whether you like it or not. Until there's an agreed outcome either way (or a non event and it's closed) then it'll be mentioned throughout football fan circles. Chelsea also don't bring much to the table currently given their ongoing issues, no romantic fairytale final this year round.
Put the semi finals back at neutral venues. I hate city but it makes sense to at least have the semis somewhere close to halfway between the two teams.
Would have been difficult this season with city v soton and Chelsea v Leeds but Wembley semi finals take the shine off the whole thing.
Remove teams qualified for Europe from the league cup too, Brighton, Everton Fulham a chance at a trophy and a Wembley day. Less pressure on the teams in Europe having to play so many games and then at a disadvantage to PSG etc who play less games.
Would have been difficult this season with city v soton and Chelsea v Leeds but Wembley semi finals take the shine off the whole thing.
Remove teams qualified for Europe from the league cup too, Brighton, Everton Fulham a chance at a trophy and a Wembley day. Less pressure on the teams in Europe having to play so many games and then at a disadvantage to PSG etc who play less games.
I’m of an age that remembers the whole day being a collective national event.
I think the deterioration of its importance started with live TV coverage of the first division in the mid-80s and accelerated with the advent of the Premier League in 1992. European finals aside, it was the only club game shown live on TV.
Since then there’s been a huge increase in live coverage of club football in general and the Premier League in particular, the advent of the Champions League, scrapping of replays, the influx of overseas money creating a wider wealth gap, semi-finals at Wembley and even mucking around with the kick-off time.
Having said that, two of my oldest pals are Crystal Palace fans and they are happy to admit that the 2025 final was the greatest day of their lives (and both of them are married with two kids each).
I think the deterioration of its importance started with live TV coverage of the first division in the mid-80s and accelerated with the advent of the Premier League in 1992. European finals aside, it was the only club game shown live on TV.
Since then there’s been a huge increase in live coverage of club football in general and the Premier League in particular, the advent of the Champions League, scrapping of replays, the influx of overseas money creating a wider wealth gap, semi-finals at Wembley and even mucking around with the kick-off time.
Having said that, two of my oldest pals are Crystal Palace fans and they are happy to admit that the 2025 final was the greatest day of their lives (and both of them are married with two kids each).
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