National League Board supports new cup competition.

[spiritofeastleigh]

The board wants the top 16 National League clubs to play in a new tournament with Premier League under 21 teams. This is why they want our non league clubs to support the removal of FA Cup replays. When are these idiots going to see the penny drop, new games mean more financial strains to watch the matches and it will be poorly supported in my opinion. You will never get the financial rewards of an FA Cup replay with a league club and possible television coverage as well from these unwanted games. The top 16 clubs will, I believe be made up of the fourteen clubs who remain in the league from the previous season, plus the two relegated sides from League two. However, the clubs have to vote on this, and all the other clubs who make up the National League North and South get a vote too because they will share the financial rewards. It might be good for the young players, but it comes down to finance. Even if it is £5 to watch, there are at least four games for every group until it gets to the knock out rounds. The Premier League are not doing this to help small clubs, they are doing it for their own ends, what has scrapping replays in round one and two got to do with them anyway!!!!

[usspitfire]

What an absolute crock of ****! If this nonsense is forced through I'd urge ALL NL teams to sign a bunch of supporters to short term contracts and play them against the PL teams. Also charge 1 penny entrance fee to treat this ridiculous excuse of a competition with the utter contempt it deserves!

[unknownquantity]

Interesting that there appeared to be nothing about the proposal on either today's Non-League Paper or the National League website.

I think the plan is to run it like the EFL Trophy which with a Wembley final is probably an attractive proposition for teams in League 1 and League 2arely reach the final in either the F A Cup or the Football League Cup

However even if a Wembley final was made available for this proposed competition teams would have to play seven matches to reach this final if they adopted this format whereas in the F A trophy they would only require only five. Also with the group format teams would have to play a minimum of three, mostly on their own pitches which may have already suffered a certain amount of wear and tear during the season.

The idea of scrapping F A Cup replays has already been mentioned on another thread, but I think that that in the 2023/24 season there were just eight F A Cup replays between a football league club and h non-league club and of these eight ties Aldershot were the only non-league team to win their tie (ignoring the fact that Horsham were subsequently reinstated).

Actually Aldershot, Barnet and ourselves were the only teams from the top flight of National League football to be involved in these replays and it is also worth mentioning that both Halifax and Gateshead neither of whom had a single F A cup replay to contend with ended up playing two midweek matches in the final week of the season.

In summary I will say that if the aim of abolishing F A Cup replays is to reduce fixture congestion this proposal if adopted would almost certainly increase it.

[bomber]

Just don't go. Simple.

[nkc]

Very strange is that Chairman Jack Pearce has around 50 years at Bognor (although I can only remember them in a replay with a league side against Swansea resulting in a 2nd rnd game with Reading). Other than the General Manager Mark Ives the rest are all club representatives. Surely they should all be in line with the clubs.

[unknownquantity]

I personally would not go to a game in this new competition if it was introduced. However appears that Mark Ives of the National League has written to the National League clubs saying they support the axing of F A Cup replays Certainluy our club and I expect many others do not agree with this

I think the National League are having talks with the Premier League on many issues including this new competition, and it is not totally clear what their 9the National League) is on this matter.

However if they support the idea of this competition which is I have already explained puts more fixtures in the calendar, while also telling clubs that dispensing of F A Cup replays makes the fixture list less congested I think the dissatisfaction from clubs will grow.

I think that problems would come if this competition was introduced and cup ties get postponed due to adverse and knowing which comments take precedence.

I think Grimsby were once in a position where their next opponents were either of two clubs in the F A Trophy or a league game if th4e F A Trophy match was postponed and I think that travel was involved in these alternatives. I expect that there will definitely be more scenarios like this if the new competition was introduced,

[drewdavis]

Where is the official information?

[rocky]

There isn’t any. People have jumped the gun on it

[unknownquantity]

This did receive a mention in yesterday's Non-League Paper. It says that thew Athletic has reported that the competition will start next season, but when I googled The Athletic it merely stated that there had been talks between the Premier League and the National League about it. The non-league paper stated that the National League are not commenting on the reports.

In the non-league paper it also stated that fans have indicated that if this competition was introduced they would boycott the games and I personally would not blame them. It would in my view be hypocritical of the National League to quote easing fixture congestion as one reason for the abolition of F A Cup replays and then support a competition which increases fixture congestion more than the abolition of F A cup reduces it.

Although I am clearly against the proposal I can still see that clubs might benefit from subsequently signing some of the under 21 players they play against.

Actually if the idea talked about is to have 16 under 21 teams and 16 National League teams and 16 under 21 teams what determines which 16 National League teams will take part, but as has already been stated nothing formally has been agreed.

[callumefc]

So would this be for the lesser sides u21 teams who don't participate in the League 1 and League 2 tinpot Cup? If so, that's even less attractive. Ipswich have gone from playing Man United u21s 2 years ago to playing their first team.