- Non-league Tamworth valiantly held out to force Tottenham into extra-time
- But with FA Cup replays scrapped they were then knocked out of competition
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! Why Manchester United may have to sell Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho
Well, that didn’t take long. Ten months after replays were scrapped without proper consultation and the FA Cup shows the decision up for what it was, a betrayal of the lower reaches of English football.
This wonderful old competition is like that. It can strip away pretence. It’s the beauty of it and one of the key reasons for its enduring popularity.
This time last year, Tamworth’s reward for keeping out Tottenham for 90 minutes would have been a replay at the finest stadium in the country and the chance for Andy Peaks to have another shot at Ange Postecoglou’s team after his part-time players had got their breath back.
The chance to earn a share of up to £6million, which is the estimated match-day revenue from a game at Daniel Levy’s magnificent temple to corporate fandom.
Accounting for costs and the probability that tickets would have been priced more cheaply than usual but adding another live TV fee, and there’s a chance Tamworth might have banked the thick end of a million from a replay.
Let’s not forget why replays had to be scrapped. They were unpopular with the biggest and richest clubs in the country. And why? They cluttered up the fixture list.
Tamworth were cruelly denied a replay after holding Spurs to a goalless draw after 90 minutes
Just one year ago their performance would’ve been enough to secure a money-spinning rematch at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Clubs whose managers moan about the fixture schedule while signing up to bloated UEFA competitions, postseason friendlies on the other side of the world and extensive summer tours.
Or in the case of a certain six, including Spurs, by dabbling with the breakaway Super League.
These is the road to profit for the big clubs. For the small clubs, profit comes from the FA Cup. Marine made £800,000 from the tie against Tottenham four years ago and they have been transformed.
There is a strong argument to suggest Exeter City owe their very existence to a replay against Manchester United and Burton Albion built their status as an EFL club on a replay at Old Trafford.
This trickles down and helps small clubs develop in the way the windfall from European competition helps Premier League clubs develop and progress.
It might be the difference between going full time and establishing in the fifth tier.
Don’t forget Tamworth’s players have hectic schedules, too. They play twice a week and hold down full-time jobs. They get up at 5am to spend time in the gym working on their fitness.
They were flagging, fatigue taking its toll, so it was hardly a fair fight against Spurs in extra time. The professional athletes will win out in a longer game against part-timers.
Instead the fifth-tier side are left to wonder what might have been after the FA made the controversial decision to scrap replays
The part-timers’ heroic effort came undone during an additional 30 minutes of football that previously would not have been played
The result only highlights the magic the FA Cup can bring in the face of a sport that is increasingly geared towards the richest clubs
True, had a replay been in the air then we would probably have seen Dejan Kulusevski and Heung-min Son sooner, and Tottenham would probably have still won but that misses the point.
The trouble is the top of football cares less than ever about that. The rich and powerful are in control. And they have other priorities. What of those for whom the priority is the FA Cup?
What of those not interested in the money? Those who watch their local team because it represents their community.
They will cherish the time they held Spurs over 90 minutes but are not heading for N17.
Bravo Tamworth, not only for providing a couple of hours of compelling FA Cup drama by showing what can be done by industry, organisation and belief, and no shortage of footballing talent.
But for reminding us why it is important to guard against the self-serving elite determined to drive the national game beyond the reach of the common man in the name of profit.
