One of the few remaining redeeming features of the FA Cup is that clubs further down the pyramid with fewer resources can beat the wealthiest at the top. Lower-league clubs – their fans, players, manager and staff – celebrate like they have won the lottery, and it’s great to see.
But are they still the “giant killings” or “shocks” or “upsets” they once were, now Premier League clubs merely use the early rounds to give fringe players and academy hopefuls minutes? It’s not quite so magical when managers use the competition to improve the fitness of key players returning from injury.
Newcastle United made eight changes to the side which lost to League One Sheffield Wednesday, including periphery players Elliot Anderson, Jamaal Lascelles, Jacob Murphy and Matt Ritchie, while record signing Alexander Isak, who had not played since September, was given 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, an even bigger shock or upset or giant killing (whatever your preference) took place when League Two Stevenage scored two late goals to overcome Aston Villa. Although a quick check of the team-sheet showed that – surprise, surprise – Villa manager Unai Emery had also made eight changes. Their front three included Philippe Coutinho, who had not previously started for the Spaniard, and Danny Ings, who the club are open to selling.
While an impressive feat for the lower-league clubs, it’s hardly David v Goliath. Unless Goliath was coming back from three months out with an ankle injury, or he was a promising teenager in the academy and the manager wanted to take a look at him. Or if he was a first-team player who had been sulking because he hadn’t started a game in six weeks.
With the unrelenting grind of ever-increasing fixtures for elite players, you can’t blame the Premier League clubs. On Saturday, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe pointed out they have a Carabao Cup quarter-final on Tuesday night, and that he had spotted signs of fatigue in his players from the goalless draw with Arsenal the previous Tuesday and they needed a rest.
And though he didn’t say it, it’s obvious that Newcastle having their first real shot at finishing in the top four for the first time in decades is a significant motivating factor. Some might say that an FA Cup trophy – and Newcastle have not won a domestic cup in over 60 years – would be worth more than a place in next season’s Champions League. Sadly not.
Finishing in the top four would completely transform their recruitment this summer, increasing their FFP potential and, therefore, their spending power, while giving them the offer of Champions League football to convince players of a higher calibre to join them. It will expedite by years their Saudi-backed pursuit of joining football’s elite.
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And things are looking up (rather than towards relegation) for Aston Villa since they replaced Steven Gerrard with Emery in October. Three wins and a draw in their last five Premier League games have moved them to the middle of the table, and only six points from sixth.
The FA Cup is nothing more than an unwanted distraction for a club that has spent big and has ambitions to qualify for Europe but had been staring at a relegation fight after a poor start to the season.
There’s no obvious solution to the problem. It would be unfair to force Premier League clubs to field strong teams – gone are the days of 1996 when Tottenham and Wimbledon were fined by Uefa for playing weakened teams in the Intertoto Cup.
One idea is to make Premier League clubs play their under-21 squads. In Premier League 2, teams can field players 21 years and under, with up to five over-age players allowed. So it would still make room for fringe and injured first-team players to get vital minutes.
And there would still be considerable excitement around whether the best youngsters in the Premier League could beat the best players from the rest of the pyramid.
While I’m on the subject of moaning about the FA Cup: if it’s not possible to have VAR in all FA Cup third-round matches, then surely there should be no VAR at all… It creates an uneven playing field, where some teams’ decisions are analysed and judged by the technology, while others are left more to chance.
There were 30 FA Cup ties over the weekend and only eight had VAR technology available. All were home Premier League sides: Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United.
Brandon Thomas-Asante scored an equaliser for West Bromwich Albion against Chesterfield when he could well have been off had VAR been there to spot him elbowing Jeff King.
And away from the prying multi-angle screens of the VAR, Josh Windass’s first of two goals against Newcastle had a hint of offside about it. If that goal is ruled out, who knows if Sheffield Wednesday would have progressed. Not that you’ll see many at the club complaining.
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