We Need To Talk About The FA Cup

[@lucaslonchampt613]

Alfie, we need to talk about your need to talk

[@bernhardsonn7758]

Xd

[@robmclean4352]

We need to talk about your need to talk about Alfie's need to talk!

[@RolandPeteur]

And his intonation. It drives me up the walls.

[@RespecTheLevYT]

@@robmclean4352We’ve come full “we need to talk” 😂

[@ibearlymadeit6237]

i don't agree, Hoever, I'm Shaw you have your reasons

[@djremster3755]

"I was in Prague on a hiatus from work" is how Gary Neville describes a holiday.

[@needfoolthings]

To be fair, holidays are paid, so Alfie must dothe legally correct thing and not call it holidays in front of himself.

[@ldkellandshaw]

Neville doesn’t have a holiday, he takes mini retirements.

[@rohithraman6488]

Simon Jordan as well

[@solarmaru49]

BUUUT

[@leorogers8541]

At this moment in time

[@Serena_Lunar]

As a fan of Exeter City, it's worth going into more detail to emphasise just how important our FA Cup run was. After being subject to asset stripping owners (who eventually went down for fraud, something about Uri Geller alerting police after double checking the accounts, don't ask), we had £5m of debt and went into administration. The CVA took this down to £1m, but that still looked like extinction for the club which was taken over by the supporters. Cometh the cup run. The first couple of rounds proper helped a bit, but getting United at Old Trafford was worth around £650k back in 2004, and the replay got rid of the rest of the debt. The FA Cup, replays and all, saved my club.

[@Serena_Lunar]

Also I'm glad it's not just us who always got drawn against the same divisional rival every goddamn season - RIP Bury, maybe one day we'll see us drawn against each other again

[@preflightarc4835]

It's stories like that, that show how disgusting this all is. Completely ruins and rids us of the best heartwarming stories in football. I'll likely never see Leyton Orient do something like this, now. (not that I want them to get into debt!)

[@gbreadburnsu306]

It I'd true the replay against united saved our club, many other teams have probably been saved toobut I just fear, top many teams going under and that will just increase with a potential revenue stream taken away

[@KingAlanI]

I know replays are huge for small club finances, but could that be alleviated by giving them more for the first match?

[@Serena_Lunar]

@@KingAlanI yes, it could also be alleviated by giving up more premier league money

[@someguynamedmike4766]

Guys come quick the yappinator is back (I have no friends)

[@RachelTurner81]

I'm just here to pick up some Yapanese

[@bababababababa6124]

To be fair the “we need to talk about” title works, it’s eye catching

[@DrZaius3141]

It's football's version of "x is bad, and here's why".

[@eX1st4132]

FA Cup Situation Is Insane

[@Mdksupreme1]

IT MOST DEFINITELY DOESN'T WORK AND IT ISN'T ALL THAT EYE CATCHING

[@kennyajcampbell79]

After seeing what the FA down south has done with the FA Cup I think it's time for all leagues in the UK to adopt the German style of their Pokal where every club goes into the hat round one. No ducking or hiding as the rules allow the teams outside the top two leagues the right to play at home no matter who is drawn. This helps smaller teams get more revenue and the chances for upsets are massive. Just look at this year's competition in Germany as Saarbrücken took out 3 Bundesliga teams in a row on way to semi finals. We have a team from 2nd division in final as well. This also comes after the longest running cup competition in America was thrown under the bus by the MLS and its Greed.

[@alanwylie7207]

I don’t see what the big deal is, though the Cinderella stories always end to a bigger club anyways so it’s not like anybody is really missing out on anything. Also, I think anyone could be greedy for money. That’s why MLS pulled out of U.S. Open cup. It’s not that big of a deal to me. If that helps the MLS to be competitive and they don’t have to play meaningless games then that’s fine.

[@martinwhiteii6971]

Your idea makes sense. That means it’ll be ignored.

[@nd-mind]

The reason why every DFB-Pokal participant start at the same round is that the qualification to participate in the DFB-Pokal for teams below the federal levels (top 3 levels) are arranged through Regional Championship. Teams which won the Championship of each region qualified for DFB-Pokal next season. The lower level teams still goes through long qualification process. It's just that it occurs in the previous season and in what is a tournament in its own right. Still, I think English football can borrow some of the ideas. Teams between the first four levels (Prem-L2) should be allowed to start the FA Cup at the same round. For the non-league they instead of rounds of FA Cup qualification, there could be a regional tournament such as Greater London Cup, West Midlands, East Midlands etc where winner get to participate in the FA Cup proper at the same footing (after having won the relevant regional tournament).

[@richs8754]

@@nd-mind There is also a qualification process of sorts for how the 1st Round draw is made in the DFB Pokal. All Bundesliga sides plus the top 14 finishing sides from the BL2 previous season are all placed in Pot 1 of the Pokal, whilst the next 4 (essentially bottom 4) the top 4 from the 3.Liga plus the 24 Regional Cup winners all go into Pot 2. This season, by quirk of fate, the 14th and 15th placed teams in the BL2 are facing each other in the final Round of League fixtures this coming Sunday 19th May. 14th placed Braunschweig go to 15th place Kaiserslautern with the winners going into Pot 1 of next season's Pokal. Kaiserslautern are the BL2 side that's reached this season's Final as well, so we could see the holders of the Pokal as a Pot 2 club next season. As an aside, as well as my own side Tranmere Rovers, I also follow Kaiserslautern, so am quite pleased to get hold of a ticket for this year's Pokal Final against unbeaten (so far) Bayer Leverkusen.

[@winstano]

It's not just about replays at Premier League clubs. Lincoln City (national league at the time) got a replay against Ipswich (championship) at home, won and then went on to the quarter finals in 2017. That run funded a training ground and set the club up to be within a whisker of the Lg1 playofffs 6 years later. Also, the Premier League scrapping replays from round 1 and 2 is an absolute joke. They don't even play in those rounds!!

[@rohithraman6488]

Yeah if the prem are deciding on the future of replays it would have made more sense to keep them until round 2

[@jordanbooth4470]

I’ve always maintained that a way to lessen fixtures for the big teams, and enhance opportunity for the rest, is have all the teams in that given season who are playing in European competition removed from the League Cup. That way the sides in Europe have 5-6 games fewer to play, and it gives all the other clubs a much better chance of winning silverware. Could even have the prize be the English slot in next seasons Conference League, therefore guaranteeing there’ll be new winner every year

[@TristanSpow]

Seems really weird to exclude successful teams from a major competition

[@12thMandalorian]

The problem is the FA lied, they claimed they consulted every team in the EFL but many came out to dispute this, even the EFL released a statement confirming they were not consulted.

[@robertswaine2673]

The EFL admitted that their representatives were consulted and agreed to the changes. It's their fault the clubs weren't informed

[@ninjabiscuit1095]

Same with the National League, a load of non-league teams and their fans and furious about this cause it's nakedly obvious who it's done for and who's not been consulted

[@Aura_322]

Warra Seahawks fan

[@12thMandalorian]

@@robertswaine2673 that is simply not true.

[@martinwhiteii6971]

Boy, I hope someone got fired for that blunder.

[@Zazzy280]

Even De Bruyne, who’s a well established Footballer, gets a little envious at times for how much chattery Alfie accomplishes on the daily.

[@ZEVM2]

In the US, we've had our version, the US Open Cup, crippled by the MLS owners this year as most won't participate or only send their farm team to make more way for their own tournament with some teams from liga mx, and the federation just rolled over for it

[@michaelwalker7400]

They normally send the second team anyway, but this year they didn't even pretend that they wanted to send the better squads to the tournament.

[@pslee1983]

I feel like it's a generational thing regarding the popularity of the FA Cup now. I grew up in the 80s and 90s where Cup final day was an event. We sat infront of the TV first thing in the morning watching the build up, it really felt special and ill always remember as a 10 year old at my grandparents' in 1993 watching my team win it for the first time in my lifetime. One thing that makes me sad nowadays is on the occasion my team wins the FA Cup all people say is 'mickey mouse cup' and 'you never win anything' showing how far its fallen since its prime. 🤨

[@martingreen3177]

Quite simple really, don't allow any Premier League side to compete in the FA Cup, they can create a Cup competition themselves, like they did with the League. The FA Cup would thus be back to how it used to be with the winner being any club unlike now were it's any of the top 6 (except Spurs of course)

[@calculator17]

Or even just have it so the £2 million in final prize money goes to the EFL or non league club that made it the furthest rather than as pocket change to a rich 6 member

[@jackmorris9952]

do that and the premier league splits from the efl and will mean no promotion or relegation

[@lordpelagius5078]

It's called the vase

[@gm2407]

The Premier League clubs are the big draw. The history of the cup allows the early rounds to have gravitas. It is a damned if they do and damned if they dont as the big clubs have bully boy tactics.

[@shawklan27]

​@@gm2407 this

[@lenton06]

I (a football fan from Germany) have never understood why England has the two-game rule in the FA Cup. You were able to explain it to me well, even though you're against it yourself. Respect, that's what makes quality contributions. 21:50: Since most small teams are (usually) eliminated earlier than the big clubs, it is still possible, even likely, that the big clubs will meet in the early rounds. In Germany, where the rules are the same as in Spain, you can see this quite clearly this season. So in the end, there was only one team from the Bundesliga, namly Bayer Leverkusen, left in the semi finals. Not despite, but because lower teams always have home games against bigger clubs. And in Spain too, Real have had to play Atletico early this season. Saarbrücken's cup run probably wouldn't have been possible if they hadn't always had home games. 29:30: That's only half the truth. The DFL Ligapokal was a cup competition without a great history, which was only held in 1972/1973 and between 1997 and 2007 and always had low spectator interest. The reasons for abolishing the competition and creating a successor competition in the form of the DFL Super Cup (which is also not very popular and which I first had to look up to see if it even still exists. Yes, it still exists) was because the fans didn't want it, rather than giving FIFA or UEFA a free hand.

[@catmeowing4329]

That's not even the worst part. They used to have replays for Cup Finals too. At one point they had a Cup Final that lasted 3 matches at Wembley.

[@thargoff]

To 21:50: seeding is only applied in the first two rounds in the DFB-Pokal and later it is an open draw from the round of 16, with the only caveat being that if a 3rd tier or lower tier team draws a 2nd or 1st tier team, the lower league team plays at home.

[@MrSniperfox29]

@@catmeowing4329 No they didn't, the FA Cup has never had a final go to a second replay There has only been 5 FA Cup finals that went to a replay at Wembley (old or new) and all were concluded in the replay

[@martinwhiteii6971]

Hello, German fan. All I can say is this: just enjoy your 50+1 and being what the Internet hopes all soccer in Europe is.

[@TheSt1092]

The thing is this is mainly to help English teams playig in European competition So why have they scrapped replays in round one and round two which Premier League and Championship teams don't partake in.?

[@lostmuhh]

Push the fixtures of the FA cup to earlier in the season

[@stevenbanks2938]

Problem is the extra qualifying rounds by non league teams start almost after the end of the previous season.

[@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986]

@@stevenbanks2938where else could you put them though? There’s so many lower league teams playing qualifying rounds you need to start the matches very early

[@stevenbanks2938]

I have some skin in the game being a Forest fan. There definitely needs to be a bigger redistribution of money from the EPL to the EFL. It's not healthy to have so many teams racking up debt. As a quid pro quo I personally would make the league cup just for the EFL which would release fixtures for the Klopps and Artetas bemoaning fixture congestion. The prize money should be significantt enough for EFL teams to take the competition seriously with this coming from part of the increased redistribution from the EPL.

[@neilbiggs1353]

@@stevenbanks2938 The trouble is, the PL teams don't have the money to match Bayern, Real and Barca, especially since the PL money is distributed in a much fairer fashion than any other top division (Ratio from top to bottom in the PL is a bit less than 1.5:1, ratio from top to FOURTH in La Liga is about 2:1, about 3.5 to the bottom, and Bundesliga is a little over 3:1). For the big teams to have equal budgets to compete in Europe, they could make the distribution less fair, leaving the mid table PL teams with less of a chance to catch up. It's also hard to argue that the EFL clubs should get more money when they are spending in such a reckless fashion as to have an average wage/turnover ratio of 1.08 in the Championship. It's just rewarding stupidity at that point

[@Cold_Logic]

Alfie, we need to talk about you *still* working for HITC

[@maxchan9537]

We’ll never see a collab with the Irish Guy unless Alfie leaves HITC 😢

[@philipreid2542]

Regular work without having to build up a whole new channel? Sounds pretty good to me tbh

[@Cold_Logic]

@@philipreid2542 Do you regularly watch any other HITC channels? They tried to replace Irish Guy & it flopped overnight 😅. Why should Alfie give a huge chunk of his earnings to HITC when he's the one who's built this audience? As soon as he leaves everyone will follow him

[@soundscape26]

​@@philipreid2542It depends on how they split the revenue though I assume Alfie is happy with the arrangement.

[@philipreid2542]

@@soundscape26 I imagine so. Not sure how the finances work, but this arrangement seems it could be better than having to worry about all the more boring aspects of managing a channel. This way he only has to focus on writing scripts etc.

[@InternetVegetable8541]

Instead of turning the FA Cup into a devalued joke, they should scrap the Carabao Cup instead, which is already a joke.

[@thomasrochester2916]

On a similar note the US Open Cup (the American equivalent of the FA Cup) is going through a similar scandal where MLS made a deal with the USSF without the consultation of the lower leagues in which MLS pulled all but a quarter of their teams from the Cup in favor their developmental sides (PL 2 sides) in the name of “fixture congestion”

[@michaelwalker7400]

The most annoying bit about that was that they basically send their second teamers and the reserve players anyway. so they could have just done that and no one would have cared. With Seattle, most likely Miami and possibly Columbus Crew, playing in the Club World Cup, I'd expect the same thing that happened this year to happen next year too.

[@businesssecretsofthepharao8901]

As a Coventry fan, no we fucking don't!

[@Hiccup_-gz8nm]

Wow Alfie, you really inspire a sort of deep grey hopelessness and a real heart blackening anxiety within me which other KZbinrs or football content creators never seem to be able to match. Thanks for the video

[@gm2407]

FA Cup final had been held before the last top division games before. It has happened many times.

[@Kyleterp1]

The funny thing about fixture congestion as well is that Coventry city is that they played more games than Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, Manchester United, Tottenham, etc and you won’t hear them complaining about fixture congestion.

[@ringosimon1]

Not the first time the FA Cup final has been before the end of the season. 2001 FA Cup final was on 12th May with the final games on 19th May

[@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986]

I remember 2013 Wigan beat Man City in the final and then got relegated by arsenal in the league a few days later

[@aaaabbbb2483]

And when Leicester won it in 2021 that was before the end of the PL season

[@rohithraman6488]

I think the difference between now and 2001, is that back then, there were no prem games that whole weekend. Yes it was before the Prem season ended but that was a week where it was just the cup final. Now there are PL games during that week

[@ezraezra2928]

@@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986 If you don't know, the FA Cup Final that year was pushed back because of Wembley Stadium hosting the Champions League Final. Sadly though, FA didn't made changes for this year's FA Cup Final, which is played only 7 days before the Champions League Final itself.

[@ezraezra2928]

@@aaaabbbb2483 I still remember it because the opponent was Chelsea, who somehow went on to win the Champions League that year.

[@cj_bandit1278]

We need to do a bundesliga and own our clubs 51%. I think their fan owned system keeps football enjoyable there, based of of what the community really wants.

[@motorkent]

Too many foreign owners.... 😢😢

[@BethGuilfoyleWAFC]

The FA Cup gave me my best football memory when I was 11, to see the greed ruining the show just hurts so much

[@cbwilson86]

2:50 that was down to pressure from both the UK government & the FA, as a way to sway votes for the 2006 World Cup hosting rights. My god, that turned out in hindsight to be a stupid decision by all parties.

[@martintielemans]

God, this channel still produces good content :)

[@Strangegloves]

I'm a Bristol rovers fan, we earned a replay against Norwich City at the Mem this season in a game which was easily our biggest attendance of the season, despite there only being about 20 or so gap in the pyramid, it was a big money gainer for us.....these games are too important for clubs like us to have them dictated to by the greedy prem clubs, who didn't give a crap about travelling to a shit ground on a cold rainy January afternoon.....

[@TruthisclassifiedLiesisnews]

Currupt bias f.a - var is match fixing 😂

[@nealfirstofhisname]

What I believe is always true about power is that power always reveals. When you have enough power to do what you always wanted to do, then you see what the guy always wanted to do. - The years of Lynden Johnson (by Robert Caro).

[@CCNYMacGuy]

Is this a Robert Caro reference in an HITC Sevens comment section?!? Two great tastes that taste great together. (I think he also said that in the Power Broker about Robert Moses, although it definitely applies to both.)

[@nealfirstofhisname]

@CCNYMacGuy Thank you, yes. I have found the exact quote and changed my original comment.

[@danielcunningham6727]

This is just another nail in the coffin of the smaller lower league teams who rely on the income from replays.

[@petesmart1983]

Yep home games can bring in so much money for small clubs especially non leagues, which can fund there clubs for month's

[@danpreston564]

@@petesmart1983isn’t it the away games that make them the money, given the 50-50 gate receipts?

[@lordpelagius5078]

If a club needs the luck of an fa cup replay to survive then its a very badly run club

[@danielcunningham6727]

@lordpelagius5078 or maybe because there's no money in lower league football....

[@danpreston564]

@@lordpelagius5078 tell me you understand nothing about football and finance without telling me you understand nothing about football and finance.

[@ifan_1234]

the Welsh cup final was on Sunday 28th of April between the new saints and Connah's quay, it was a thrilling game that Connah's quay eventually won 2-1 thanks to a screamer from from Josh Williams, but there were only 1,246 people in attendance. it would be great if you could do a video on the Welsh football pyramid, the situation it's in, and why it attracts so little attention. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@MJScrivens89]

4:50 There was a good period of time where the FA Cup final wasn’t the final game of the domestic calendar. I recall that being the Division 1/Chanpionship play-off final for several years around the turn of the millennium.

[@jonfranklin18]

Exactly. Manchester City besting Stoke in 2011 was played on the same Saturday as some Premier League games (which kicked off at lunchtime), and Chelsea v Liverpool in 2912 I believe, with the finsl round of Premier League fixtures the week after. Chelsea v Leeds in 1970 wasn’t the last game of the season as both had First Division fixtures invetween the final and the replay, and, most famously, Liverpool beating Everton in 1989 about a week before they lost the title to Arsenal in the last match. So the FA Cup hasn’t always been the “last match” of the English football season. How can it? Did you know Aston Villa are the only team to win the League and FA Cup double on the SAME DAY, as they beat Everton in the 1897 final and Derbys result in the First Division going for them, meant they won both the First Division and the FA Cup on the same day. These people who say the Final should be a 3pm kick off? Joe many of them know thst second FA Cup final in 1873 kicked off at 11 in the morning to allow spectators to see that and the Boat Race, which was a bigger event at the time. Do these people who onto these “traditions” meed to look at history first and realise they haven’t always been the case.

[@joecurrie2381]

Alfie, great vid btw, we should also talk about how well Stockport county are doing and what a brilliant video it would be!

[@owenobinna1281]

They should take a page out of Germany's book and just put the lower ranking teams at home against the higher ranking in the 3rd to 5th round so at least those teams can generate revenue through TV rights and ticket sales

[@neilbiggs1353]

That's misinformed though - the FA Cup gates are split 10/45/45, with the 10 going to the FA. If it's about making sure the smaller teams get more money, then you want it the other way round, maybe even with seeding so more big PL teams are drawn with lower league teams

[@adamdickinson2894]

That would literally result in significantly less revenue for every non league club and every EFL club bar a couple

[@MrSmith1984]

The alternative would have been to expand the senior squad player limit from 25 to 35-40. Which would instantly kill off any player fatigue & fixture congestion concerns that are currently in place.

[@dev0nSA1nt]

Replays have been an absolute staple of the FA Cup since the inaugural competition in 1872. "F*ck the FA"'s what I say. I am a Southampton fan and in 1976 my club, who were in the equivalent of the Championship, beat First Division title contenders Manchester United 1-0 in the Fa cup final. This is our only ever major trophy (discounting the 2010 johnstone's paint trophy) and our run to the European cup winners' cup quarter finals the following season (still, I might add, as a second-tier team- this was literally like Cardiff or Bristol City getting to the Europa League quarters today) pretty much promoted us to the top flight two years later, and by 1984 we were finishing 3 points off the first division title. We weren't relegated until 2005. Without that cup win, which started with a 90th minute equaliser at Villa before winning the replay, literally changed our history, not only our trophy case but league positions for the next 50 years as well. Being an underdog rather than a big 6 fan who expects to get to the final without even trying, that's what's killing it all. We were the third Second Division side in the Cup final in four years... can you even begin to imagine a single one doing so today?? A mid-table championship outfit in Europe at all?? It all stems from hooliganism, and clubs trying to prevent it by forming the premier league which was a massive pig-out on money anyway, and big clubs getting bigger, small ones getting smaller. The gap between the Premier League and the Championship is bigger than the one between the Championship and the national league!! THAT IS MENTAL!! Revenues for already struggling non-league teams (I literally watched my local semi-pros today) will plummet and the Yeovil's, Torquays, Scunthorpes, Southends, Rochdales, Oldhams, even clubs like Morecambe, will barely, if at all, manage to stay afloat. Scrapping replays is like scrapping the bloody final or banning non-league teams. Biggest tournament in Britain being treated like a Mickey Mouse cup by the rich cash-grabbers cough Saudi Arabia cough and that atrocious attitude to such a big and romantic competition is being further enhanced by its own organisers. I can't remember who it was that said, in the 1980s, "English football is diseased, and it looks terminal," but it still rings true today. If I've just made that up, I bet Sheffield United's chances of getting relegated that it'll still ring true in another 40 years. If you've read all of that, cheers. And cheers alfie for letting everyone know. Disgrace

[@maxmay3352]

Another brilliant video Love how sarcastic you are How about giving the position of Head of the FA to Lady Louise Windsor who’s just turned 20 Or Lady Margrita Armstrong Jones with her bespoke jewellery brand in Paris 🤣🤣🤣

[@efeetham15]

Brentford opposing replays is the very definition of a club making it then wanting to pull the ladder up. Imagine telling a Brentford of 15 years ago this.

[@NateManSoup]

Surely mandating that all FA games be played at the larger capacity stadium would be an easy ‘fix’ for the financial benefits of getting a replay. Why not do that? What am I missing?

[@lightdrizzle8015]

I agree with scrapping replays, but the premier league needs to contribute way more back into the lower leagues than they do. My thoughts were why not have it so that (where possible) the fixtures are always played at the bigger stadium of the two teams, with the away team getting 60% of the gate. . It's not perfect, but it's something?

[@jasonrollins1385]

What make it worse is that they have given the FA cup to TNT Sports so less matches on the BBC and ITV😢

[@he_football]

The only context where the phrase we need to talk doesn't give me anxiety

[@TheHackersboss]

By any chance, is the background noise at the very beginning of the video from Morocco?

[@nikoshurricane]

If ive said that a million times then i havent said it enough. Alfie your channel is amazing. YOU are amazing. Eveytime the themes you put out in your videos are always interesting and i add that while alot of the times you put your personal opinion forward i agree 150% of the times. Wellspoken, humourous and intelligent

[@bigjim8550]

Could probably say I'm a traditionalist but I enjoy a replay against any level and it fills my calendar of possible days out. Its unique to the FA cup and gives teams another go at knocking a side out in normal time. The European game is growing rapidly and that's because its easier to access for people across the globe. its not all situated in one country this works against the FA Cup so I agree its needs to start reaching out more across the world. id like to see an end to e.g. premier league Asia trophy and other pre season tournaments to have an extended season for the FA Cup to keep its Replays. I also on the side where there should be a 2-3 week winter break in January (The January Transfer window should also coincide)

[@tims9100]

Of all of the things they’ve changed, the one that irks me the most is that they’ve moved the final to the weekend before the premiere league. It’s not right and the FA are basically selling out. The last day of the premiere league season not worthy of the last domestic game of the season. It should be the FA cup as it is a competition for all. I have feeling that they will go back on a lot of these things especially with the new independent regulator hopefully putting the premiere league teams in their place.

[@u1rtc7t5f64t157856v8]

Make it like the dfb-Pokal: lower league teams get home right in the first round.

[@paulsteier8146]

Part of the 'magic' of the cup,is the totally open draw. Plus, it's not always about money. Drawing a Prem or other top club at home could be a once in a lifetime event for non league clubs and this potential should not be lost

[@kalmenbarkin5708]

Half of the etihad receipts is probably more money than a home fixture in a league 2 stadium

[@jamm8284]

There may be more upsets in a single match, but realistically they might only get one more match anyway and both matches could be played at home with 1000 seats. The chance of finishing off a draw in the extra 30 minutes or penalties potentially against a team that, as you say, are far more athletic, are more likely to have the extra legs for that 30 minutes and the extra skill and experience for the penalties. I'm a top 6 fan, but I still think this is shocking. Non of this means that there is a better chance that lower league teams might make it to the final, let alone win it. That money is worth more than getting to the next round, because surely there have been more replays than there have been non and lower league teams in the final or even semi finals.

[@needfoolthings]

All fair points, but what in all blazes is a "top 6 fan"!?

[@robfortune6]

​@@needfoolthingsProbably a fan of either Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur

[@richmerch]

What if... now hear me out, what if the FA cup brings in more money and it actually helps the lower league rather than the lottery of getting a draw with a big team.

[@DS9TREK]

Brings in more money how?

[@AquaMoye]

Moribund, but absolutely right. Keep up these great vids, Alfie!

[@highentropy2468]

When are you going to produce a video on my team Ipswich? We've had two quite staggering years.

[@stingersplash]

Forgive me if I'm wrong but I'm almost certain at least one FA Cup final happened the week before the final PL games before?

[@shanebennett2864]

Video idea. Go through premier leauge history and see what was the longest amount of time a team has stayed in a certain position Example 1st is city with 5 months

[@poppyharlow4448]

Alfie, my man, we need to talk about Bruno.

[@ILikedGooglePlus]

We don't talk about Bruno.

[@therealruckus5263]

Can you make a video about the FA trophy and FA vase? Maybe covering each winner from the last 10 years or something?

[@carltonleboss]

Keeping FA Cup games to weekends sounds like a solid idea, actually.

[@staidgaming5714]

Televised more fa cup fixture get more money from the premier league so you can double the fa cup prize money maybe triple and if a team is in the division below they get 10% more of the ticket after expensive to bring back the magic

[@schlicktown]

Every cloud has a silver lining ! great you find always a positive note at the end! thanks :)

[@RyuzakiTaiyou]

Best German players in the premier league of all time. (Day 628) I will not give up until the video is made or Alfie himself tells me to stop. Everyone else telling me that will be ignored. If you don't believe my number, just go back to the previous videos. I'm at the bottom most of the time, but I'm there.

[@sammythige9028]

I admire the dedication

[@De70222]

So you've done this one year plus now 🤔 mmh I like year dedication

[@De70222]

So you've done this one year plus now 🤔 mmh I like year dedication

[@Lgx-ie4if]

One day

[@ian_r125]

That video would not generate many clicks. And it would be his own opinion, which doesnt really matter

[@Wojtinho]

Just wanted to say I love listening to your videos, thanks to the extensive vocabulary used in them. As a neutral not even close to England, I do agree with the replays being scrapped due to fixture congestions not just for the Top 6, but also anyone outside the Prem - not only you do have 46 league games, but you also get EFL Cup, FA Cup and the Papa John's Trophy (or whatever it's called). That easily can make it... 70 games a season, with the worst case being L1/L2 teams. Isn't it too much, especially with Fixture Congestion worries?

[@DS9TREK]

If they want to reduce fixtures, reduce European games.

[@thomasthornton2002]

Sounds like what’s needed is more opportunities for small teams to make it into the same rounds as the big boys, how about a round of 128, 92 pro teams+the conference and enough from the qualifying competition to make up the numbers. If the champions league can add 4 games to increase revenue they can have 1 more to give some more money into the pyramid

[@benitofranklyn4237]

I've read comments from guys from South America and realized how spoiled we are here in Europe. South America constantly has some of the best players in the world but they always leave for the Big Five (Europe). Here in Europe you either have a high likelihood of your players staying in your country, or if you from one of the smaller countries; I'm from Switzerland; you're kind of proud when your players makes it to the big leagues, and they're still kind of around, since all the big games are shown on TV somewhere, and the best get to play each other in the Champions League, UEFA Cup etc. It's the same with Basketball and Ice Hockey over here, the real good players all leave for the NBA and NHL. Switzerland always has to hope their best Ice Hockey players team's don't make it far in the NHL play-offs, so the players can join the National Team for the World Championship.

[@Zanduk05]

Massively agree on the VAR at premier league grounds and not elsewhere, probably a fairly extreme point from me but it pretty much invalidates the competition in my eyes.

[@WS_UK]

Scrap VAR in the FA Cup! ALL should play by the same rules.

[@oldhsnk]

You need to talk about FIFA signing a deal with Aramco

[@petesmart1983]

Eastleigh got there biggest crowd and made there best gate and was on TV with the reply against Newport 🙄 which basically funded the club for 3 months

[@Jakenh84]

Please what is the name of the background music in all of your videos?

[@cal9062]

i was baffled when he mentioned kidgrove. I played for the youth setup since i was 12 and know the owner. Had to rewind to make sure i wasnt hearing things😂

[@paulsheehan2998]

It's needs to be a CL place FFS How is 4th in EPL more worthy of a CL spot than the biggest domestic cup competition in the world.

[@aaaabbbb2483]

Because teams can have an easier route to the final. Man City in 2019 beat Newport County, Rotherham, Burnley, Swansea, Brighton and Watford Is that worthy of a champions league place?

[@RossParker1877]

When Clyde beat Celtic in the Scottish cup in 2006. The players were a bonus for drawing 10x that for winning. I find it pretty distasteful that a League Two or non-league team losing 6-0 at Anfield is a better outcome than winning

[@junewalker9341]

If you want smaller clubs to benefit just rebalance the payouts. You don't need to play extra games in an already brutal schedule to do that. Also, winning in a replay is significantly harder than penalties for the underdog. This change will see more efl teams reach higher stages.

[@nicolassalamanca8051]

Alfie this is insane what a video how do you get all this info it's amazing

[@mavm7473]

You have an awesome voice, im addicted to this channel

[@punkrokkme7]

Been trying my hardest not to be blackpilled about English football recently, but this video is making it very difficult Love it tho, keep em coming

[@chrisfraser5088]

29:53 this reference…is appreciated 😂

[@donermeat]

Will there be a video about the new premier league spending cap?

[@booradley6832]

35:00 My god Eric Cantona's unibrow is legendary.

[@businesssecretsofthepharao8901]

I think a compromise could be if there is a game with two teams in the same league, it's decided on the day. If there is a game with two teams in different leagues it goes to a replay.

[@amaCaspar]

can someone explain the meme at 20:39 i dont get it

[@MrReese]

The real problem with cup competitions in England and maybe elsewhere as well is that it's not lucrative money-wise whatsoever. Big clubs still win it, but I don't think they care a lot about it - especially not the business side of the club. If each round would provide proper financial incentive for the persons who run the club then the "issue" would solve itself.

[@konstantinpobedonotsev5589]

Surely Maidstone United has quite the windfall this year, which is good to see

[@randomfremen98]

Can we get a video on the new spending cap being proposed in the premier league and if there are any other plans to change the spending and revenue sharing structure with lower leagues?

[@Nitro9526]

We need to talk about frank schmitt… brought heidenhiem from the 5th tier to the bundesliga, is the longest serving manager in the world, and managed to beat bayern

[@jediknight5600]

Alfie, you need to talk about Ipswich Town.....

[@akunwanneprosper7016]

Done

[@gregmathurin4670]

Fantastic video, not really a fan of English football yet this video made me yearn for the good Ole FA Cup

[@ilzuab8467]

Let's say, as a german, who absolutely adores our DFB-Pokal system, which is simply amazing, removing replays makes sense from a sporting and entertainment perspective. However, i can absolutely get behind keeping the tradition and not changing a system that really doesn't hurt anyone besides the top 10 clubs in the country.

[@frederikklitgaard209]

Would like to see a video on “forgotten GOAT candidates” or something alike. Players like M. Laudrup being called top 4 of all time by Romario (before Messi obviously), best player of the 90’s by Beckenbauer and the statement “ballon D’or is worth nothing because Michael Laudrup never won it” by Guardiola. Watching his highlights makes it clear to me, that somewhere in modern football history, the great Michael Laudrup has been forgotten (at least outside of Denmark and Spain). It is a shame, because if his nationality was Brazilian, it would likely be very different.

[@theamericanbrotha]

I'm American (obviously) so it's not my culture or league. But I'm thinking go the other way and have the top flight leagues start the FA Cup in the first round, random draw, no seedings, lower level leagues get the home games every time. Go all the way with it. Arsenal away at Ebbsfleet United. Make it really crazy.

[@scottmcnaughton539]

Clubs don't want to play more games, what they want is a chance to make more money. Absolutely everyone should have been consulted. Let the clubs in league one and below, who are the lower tiered team, pick where they play a fixture. As far as when the final should be played, think having it as the last game makes more sense.

[@mikezey9742]

Can we get a video on the US Open Cup? It's getting dark out here in the States

[@thelittleicon1430]

In the 2010/11 season the fa cup final was played with still a round of fixtures still to be played

[@lamplightimage2929]

Lol the AI hands on the Kidsgrove Athletic FC tweedted pic.

[@aliamirdivan8333]

1:35 Look at Frank James Lampard Senior at the right , The Legendary father of a Legend

[@carlspannard]

The FA Cup has never been quite the same since moving semi finals to Wembley. .

[@WS_UK]

Now that’s a thing that should definitely be scrapped!

[@nellypringle2875]

Is it too much to suggest that one of the Premier League's fundamental aims was, if not to destroy the FA Cup, at least relegate it to comparative irrelevance in the background? The way the final is periodically moved from the last day of the domestic season in favour of the last round of PL fixtures is particularly glaring. I was just reading about this in an archived Guardian article in 2013 following Wigan's FA Cup win and subsequent relegation from the PL. It was an issue 10 years ago and is again now.

[@MadVybez]

Another great video Alfie 👌🏿

[@e-landhistory4866]

Ive been to the stadium at 8:53 and could walk there right now

[@oliverprice114]

If they are going to scrap the replays, there should be a compromise, as the FA Cup replays are often very financially lucrative for the small clubs. One idea I had is that every time the draw is done, the home tie goes to the lowest team in each pairing, even if it wasn't picked first. The best solution however, is that the Premier Clubs are "taxed", having to give a percentage of their massive earnings into a giant pot, which is then shared by the EFL clubs.

[@Franciscog555]

Make a series of videos, "the best 11 from each league on the 21st century" you go to the different leagues and select the best 11 players from this century that have played in that league. Like La Liga... idk, casillas, sergio ramos, puyol, dani alves, marcelo, busquets, modric, iniesta, suarez, ronaldo, messi, this is just an example, I didnt give this much time to think

[@Franciscog555]

Btw, dont just do the big 5, I am portuguese and I got this idea thinking about the portuguese league and the best players that have played there in my lifetime

[@joemackenzie5951]

Alfie mate, the FA Cup final hasn't always been the season finale. In 2012, when Wigan beat Man City, it was held on May 11th. The reason I know this is because I was at the Emirates Stadium (Arsenal fan), when we relegated them, and they'd already lifted the cup.

[@aaaabbbb2483]

* 2013

[@Pizzacake20]

Have u made a video about the breakaway of the PL? Would be interesting