Not Pressed-up and going nowhere

[dave.woodhall]

www.thebirminghampress.com

Read it and weep.

[Legion]

Duly wept.

[Nev]

I used to rage against the way the FA Cup was going but I can't find the anger anymore. Perhaps it's my age, cynicism or a combination of both but I've all but given up. Our owners will value staying in the PL above the cup and from a financial point of view I can't really argue. I do hope we give it a go on Wednesday though, anything else will increase my cynicism 10 fold.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Half a dozen players, properly coached (I know…) and our future would be a lot more promising

It's something we can dream of, as is winning the trophy. To those of us that still see it as the Holy Grail I'm prepared to wait until we have a team that not only reach the final but actually win it which is partly why I wasn't bothered by the result yesterday. Probably the first time ever for a FA Cup game. That and I'm still shellshocked from 2015.

[TopDeck113]

I'm with you, Nev.  The F.A. had arguably the greatest football competition in the world, with a history, traditions and values ingrained into the nations's psyche.  It then preceded to kill it through first its complicity in creating the money monster that is the Premier League and then a further thousand other cuts at the behest of the bigger clubs for whom a tricky tie at Tranmere or a second replay at neutral Nottingham is too much bother.   

[SaddVillan]

For a certain generation  of fans, it's the final piece in the jigsaw. The one that completes the collection.

 When we were growing up it was the pre-eminent cup competition, and nothing else compared for romance, history, tradition and glory

Would I take winning the FA Cup and relegation in the same season?

In a heartbeat.

Others may think differently.

[dave.woodhall]

For a certain generation  of fans, it's the final piece in the jigsaw. The one that completes the collection.

 When we were growing up it was the pre-eminent cup competition, and nothing else compared for romance, history, tradition and glory

Would I take winning the FA Cup and relegation in the same season?

In a heartbeat.

Others may think differently.

So would I. But realistically,  except in exceptional circumstances, if you aren't good enough nowadays to be at least mid-table in the Premier League you won't be good enough to win the cup.

[ChicagoLion]

Summed up my feelings about Villa and the FA Cup perfectly.

[itmustbe_it is!]

4-4-3 and we still lost 

[mike]

On the council estate I grew up on, there was not a person out on FA Cup Final day, irrespective of who was playing. I can reluctantly accept that relegation would be so catastrophic to the club that we have to prioritise, but why teams that are safe don't give it respect is beyond me.

[VILLA MOLE]

On the council estate I grew up on, there was not a person out on FA Cup Final day, irrespective of who was playing. I can reluctantly accept that relegation would be so catastrophic to the club that we have to prioritise, but why teams that are safe don't give it respect is beyond me.

Yes I remember back in the day watching from about 12pm. With tv cameras on the coaches , celeb fans on Saint and greavsey flicking from bbc to itv and back . Actually walking to the tv and turning over the box

[TopDeck113]

Kids, if you want a flavour of what the Cup once was, get on that there YouTube and look up "Meanwhile Back In Sunderland".   Filmed around the town on the day of the 1973 final, in terms of social history and an understanding of how football in general and the F.A. Cup in particular could galvanize and unite a community, I think it's one of the greatest football-related documentaries of all time.

[dave.woodhall]

On the council estate I grew up on, there was not a person out on FA Cup Final day, irrespective of who was playing. I can reluctantly accept that relegation would be so catastrophic to the club that we have to prioritise, but why teams that are safe don't give it respect is beyond me.

This is what I don't understand. There are teams who haven't won a trophy in decades, won't go down or finish in the top four, yet they still put their reserves out in the FA CUp.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

On the council estate I grew up on, there was not a person out on FA Cup Final day, irrespective of who was playing. I can reluctantly accept that relegation would be so catastrophic to the club that we have to prioritise, but why teams that are safe don't give it respect is beyond me.

Yes I remember back in the day watching from about 12pm. With tv cameras on the coaches , celeb fans on Saint and greavsey flicking from bbc to itv and back . Actually walking to the tv and turning over the box

Don't forget It's a Cup Final Knockout.

[PeterWithesShin]

FA Cup final day was massive back when I was a kid, although that's probably in part due to it being a rare chance to watch a live game on telly.

It's weird to think that there's now a generation that would find it hard to believe that FA Cup games were once massive, pretty much regardless of who the away team were the cup games were nearly always well above the league average attendances.