The Premier League and FA have slapped English football fans in the face

The decision to scrap FA Cup replays from the first round is a shameful episode

FA Cup replays are a vital part of English football tradition (GETTY IMAGES)

English football has a pyramid structure like no other in the world.

It is deep. It has a rich history. It is at the heart of communities. It provides the backdrop for generations of highs and lows, laughter and tears. It is something that you are often born into and cannot escape. It is part of our cultural heritage.

Football is a global game. It reaches all corners of the world and it is devoured passionately by billions. It crosses borders and it can be something that can heal deep wounds.

English football is part of that globalisation. The Premier League is, arguably, one of the most successful exports that this country has ever produced. It is a league watched across the planet and one where the best players dream of playing. Its international appeal is only continuing on its upward trajectory.

It is a competition that has made a lot of people very rich. But it is no longer in touch with a key part of what makes it special in the first place, the foundations upon which it is built. It is now a brand that must be protected for the greater good of itself, not for the greater good of the pyramid that gave it the platform in the first place.

For years we have been told about this apparent decline of the FA Cup: a competition that the biggest sides no longer valued in the way that they did due to the financial benefits of success falling short of what European qualification; or staving off relegation from the elite 20-member club could bring.

At least that is what they would have you believe.

Earlier this week it was announced that replays in the FA Cup would be scrapped from the first round proper onwards.

In a press statement, this development was heralded as a ‘strengthening of the FA Cup format’, and the commitment of £133m of additional funding to grassroots football was the shield that they used to protect themselves from the inevitable flak that such a short-sighted decision, one reached without consulting EFL, National League, and other non-league clubs first. It was done between the Premier League and the FA, because that is where the power is.

‘Be grateful for the additional money, peasants!’ That is what this is tantamount to. Additional funding should be forthcoming for the pyramid anyway, but in order for the wider game and the clubs that are the beating heart of communities to benefit, there has to be something in return, of course. The price that must be paid is something that the Premier League have long wanted to see: a slow erosion of the traditions of the English game that impairs the Premier League’s ability to play more games beyond its borders.

A statement read: ‘From the First Round, the competition will be played without replays. The current format, which has no replays from the Fifth Round onwards, has been extended throughout the "Competition Proper" in light of changes to the calendar driven by the expanded UEFA competitions.’

Those bloody expanded UEFA competitions that only impact seven teams annually in England, with six of those usually dominated by the so-called ‘big six’ of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur. Those six clubs who wanted to reshape the game entirely by signing up to play in the doomed European Super League.

A very excited Mark Bullingham commented in the official release: “The Emirates FA Cup is our biggest asset and generates over 60% of our revenue to invest into the game, so it is critical to secure a strong format for the future.

"This new agreement between the FA and the Premier League strengthens the Emirates FA Cup and gives this very special tournament exclusive weekends in an increasingly busy calendar.

"The new schedule ensures the magic of the Cup is protected and enhanced, while working for the whole of the English game. The longer summer period also allows a much-needed player break before the start of the next season.

"We have also agreed new funding for the grassroots game, disability football and the women’s and girls’ game. All football begins at the grassroots, and this is recognised by the Premier League with very welcome additional financial support."

Thanks, Premier League. A thousand times. Thank you.

Premier League chief executive, Richard Masters, added: "The Premier League is proud of the investment it provides to all levels of the game and this new agreement with the FA will see us enhance our support into grassroots football. This will improve facilities for communities and lower-league clubs across the country, through the Football Foundation and Premier League Stadium Fund.

"Throughout our discussions, both parties have been committed to enhancing the scheduling of the Emirates FA Cup, a hugely important domestic competition with a storied history.

"The FA and the Premier League have worked in partnership to deliver more exclusive weekends without compromising the excitement of knockout football and this has been achieved at the same time as allowing us to ease fixture congestion generally."

‘Both parties’. Shouldn’t that have been all parties? Of course not, the views of the rest weren’t considered because they are the voice of the old, those bound by traditions and a sense of competitive fairness across the divisions. Why bother asking those clowns what they think? They’d only kick up a fuss. Best to keep it a small group, lads.

I didn’t want to get on a soap box about supporting a lower-league football team because the connection we feel to our teams, and the passion we have for them, is the same whoever you support. There is no such thing as being a better fan because you support Mansfield Town instead of Manchester United. If that is your identity, where your heart is, and you throw yourself into it and engage with it, where it becomes a big part of who you are, then we are all equals.

But that doesn’t seem to be recognised by the Premier League or the FA here. Not at all.

I support Chester. I have done since I was five years old. Through the last 33 years, they have largely been terrible. I make my peace with that each year.

As a fan-owned club, every season is a battle to stay afloat, to raise the funds necessary to survive, but also try to thrive. Most clubs, fan-owned or not, are mostly preoccupied with keeping the lights on from year to year.

The league can be a drag at times. You win some, you lose some. There is seldom any fatalism attached to it all, though. Next season will come and you hope to do a bit better. That’s all.

But for millions like me, whose heart belongs to a club that falls outside the elite, the FA Cup still matters. As fans of clubs like Chester, Chesterfield, or Colchester United, there is often little to make us dream. We’re never getting to the Premier League, we’re never going to be in Europe, we’ll never be allowed access to the members club, even if the Premier League would tell you that anyone can. You really can’t, not unless you’re willing to bet the house in Vegas on making it happen.

We exist in these weird little pockets, where euphoria can come on a Tuesday night in Hartlepool, or a wet Monday night in Crawley.

The FA Cup provides us, these annoying pests bound by tradition, to dream.

For Chester, to get to the first round proper of the FA Cup is a valuable achievement, one that has real financial benefit. This year we could have drawn a Portsmouth or a Wigan Athletic if the draw would have been kind. It could have been at home. We could have had a chance to have a day out at a ground that has four sides, and where Premier League football used to be played. We could have had a day that would live in our collective memories forever.

FA Cup replays offer additional hope. That clubs might be able to make a brave stand and earn a trip to a big club, so that those fans who will never get to watch their team in the top flight may get the chance to sample it, if only for 90 fleeting minutes.

Let’s have this right. Footballers are human beings and the calendar has become increasingly onerous. It doesn’t matter how much they get paid, they are entitled to be cared for. But to strip away the potential for replays for lower-league clubs is not how this should be achieved. These teams have squads big enough to field three or four teams.

It has the potential to change the financial fortunes of clubs for years, and that is impactful. But for the Premier League and FA to use the carrot of additional funding as something that would somehow make the criticism go away is pathetic. It ignores who football fans are as people, and shows the deep lack of understanding of its own pyramid by both organisations.

Not consulted, not cared for. This is a massive slap in the face for the English game, and one that is done to ensure that the precious few get what they want. It is shameful.