VOTE: Should FA Cup winners be awarded a Champions League spot?

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29th, August 2007

9 Comments

74194551.jpgMeddling Michel Platini’s idea to restore some respect to the FA Cup is to award the winners the fourth and final place in the Champions League.
Of course, top four managers like Sir Alex Ferguson think that the idea is ‘ridiculous’. The Man United manager even went as far as taking a swipe at last season’s winners, Chelsea, claiming they didn’t have to play anyone until the final – where they met Man Yoo of course.
It could put pressure on the bigger clubs to take the competition more seriously while offering an incentive to smaller clubs. But, as all of the winners in the last 12 years came from the so-called top four, will it really make any difference?
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9 Comments

  1. Chopper says:

    Personally I’d like to see the return of the Cup Winner’s Cup. I do think the F.A. Cup winners probably have more reason to consider themselves Champions than the team that finishes 4th, but would it really make that much difference to the league or the cup? Probably not.

  2. Gonoa says:

    I would love you to give more details on this very important issue – in what ways can we encourage teams to strive to reach the top? How can the middle clubs compete? If the cup is kept with the 4 top clubs, maybe a change of rules is dew. Good point.

  3. Chringle says:

    before every season, four league places should be drawn from a hat and kept secret until the end of the season, when they are unveiled and the teams who finished in those places go into the champions league. Same should be done with relegations and promotions too.

  4. Rich says:

    That’s probably Wednesday’s best chance of promotion, Chringle ;)
    but on topic, drop the 2nd, 3rd and 4th qualifying positions and just let people who actually ‘win’ something in instead.
    If a team won 2 trophies then let the next placed team down the list in, etc.
    a team finishing 4th gets to be seeded in the tournament ahead of a team that won their country’s league? only in football :)

  5. simon says:

    I think it’s a good idea as atleast it gives the chance for teams that don’t drop millions upon millions on transfer fees each season. Sure Chelsea, Man U, Liverpool and Arsenal will typically win, but it gives a much better chance to other teams.

  6. Daniel says:

    I’ve long thought this would be a good idea. It gives more credentials to a “Champions” league. It will make the FA Cup much move valuable and competitive.

  7. Dan Clough says:

    Although it isn’t really relevant to the general point of this article I’d like to say, in regard to Ferguson’s quote (“The Man United manager even went as far as taking a swipe at last season’s winners, Chelsea, claiming they didn’t have to play anyone until the final”):
    Did he watch the semi-final? We (Blackburn) battered Chelsea and, had it not been for the lack of aerial ability of MGP in the final moments would have been playing Man Yoo in the final ourselves!
    Back on topic – Yes the FA Cup should replace 4th place in the league for a Champs League spot. If not just to piss Spurs off!

  8. Manton says:

    Ridiculous. Being 4th in the league means that you’ve done well in 38 fixtures while winning the FA cup is what, 6 or 7 ties? Also, what if a team is in the top 3 and also wins the FA cup, it just goes back to the 4th place team? Rubbish. Platini is dead set on changing the current system, and I have no idea why….

  9. joe says:

    In most cases recently the winner of the FA Cup already had a top three position, and therefore a champs league spot. It’s that filthy Platini trying to toy with things, arsehole.