'Community shield'

[mis-e-one]

Why not change the name of it to the English Super Cup? If the FA marketed it as a major trophy, then it would lose its stigma as being a glorified friendly!

Is any team seriously concerned about losing the Community Shield? Arsenal lost it last year but still won the league!

[Caesar]

That smacks of renaming Division One as The Championship.

[mis-e-one]

But people still cared about Division 1 since who ever won it or finished second got Premiership football! Renaming it was a marketing ploy, yes, but people still put credence in the First Division and took it seriously.

The Community shield is meaningless from a footballing sense (OK it provides money for charities and community groups).

[Caesar]

My point is, however you dress it up it's the same competition. Giving the Community Shield a fancy name isn't going to make a jot of difference to how much the teams care about it.

The only way to make it important is for the FA to plough time and money into it and give a substantial financial incentive to the competitors. Then, it's not the Community Shield anymore - it's just another domestic cup. The absolute last thing England needs is another one - people already complain that the League Cup is devalued by a long premiership season, the FA Cup and an ever-increasing European season..

The Community Shield is fine for what it is - a charity fundraiser. It doesn't need to be a full-blown competition.

[Rick B]

The Community Shield is fine for what it is - a charity fundraiser. It doesn't need to be a full-blown competition.


Agreed, it's a nice day out in Cardiff for the fans and a good enjoyable friendly start to the season. As Caesar has said the absolute last thing we need is another competitive game for the top clubs. Arsenal last season played about 56 or 57 games. Another is not needed......

[Holland in 06]

I thought the 'Community shield' was suppose was to be played by the teams that finished 1 and 2 in the EPL so why did AFC play MAN U instead of Chleski

[mis-e-one]

No. The Community Shield (which used to be called the Charity Shield) is an annual match between the winners of the Premiership and the winners of the FA Cup.

In season when the same team wins the League and FA Cup (as happened in 93/94, 97/98, 01/02, certainly those are the most recent times) then the FA Cup winners play the team that finished second in the Premiership. So in the 2002 Community Shield, Arsenal (who won the League and FA Cup in 2002)played Liverpool (who finished second in the League in 2002).

[allanmc]

as jim royle would say, charity my arsse.

Community Shield changed it's name because it no longer was about raising money for charity, but about being a vehicle for sponsors

mcd's are the community academy thingy partner, and they pumped in funny money..as did the other partners.. ie pepsi, carlsberg, nationwide and umbro...

the punters pay to watch the match - none of your community stuff there, like kids in free
sky pay a few quid
the clubs participating get prize money for ******** sake

if this was raising money the FA would have a telethon on skysports.. no doubt sponsored.

it is all shlte..and I look forward to the FA announcing the name for the new Wembley.. it will have a sponsor.. a big smelly american brand sponsor.

The nation will be outraged for as long as the sun want them to be...

This message was sponsored by stickyourscorporatesupyourarse.com

[Caesar]

Whatever you say, comrade. ;)

[John L]

That smacks of renaming Division One as The Championship.

Actually, in any other country it would correctly be called division two

[Caesar]

Actually, in any other country it would correctly be called division two I seem to remember that that is what it used to be called before Division one...? I'm not up on my lower-division history, unfortunately.

[RichardL]

I seem to remember that that is what it used to be called before Division one...? I'm not up on my lower-division history, unfortunately.
They do have a tad of credibility with that idea. After all, even if 22 clubs jumped ship and set up their own league, the competition is (as the reasoning goes) still the same - the football league championship, with the winners picking up the very same football league championship trophy (which knocks spots of the childish and tacky premiership trophy) that had been picked up the the football league champions since the football league's inception in 1888. Where this reasoning falls apart though is the renaming of the lower divisions to league one and league two. For while the top division was originally known as the football league championship, the other two divisions below, when they were added, were known as division two and division 3. So if there are trying to maintain tradition then those other divisions should be known as divisions two and three - and the top division division one, as that was what it was called when there ceased to be only one division.

The real problem is that is smacks of rearranging deck chairs on the titanic, which would be understandable if the football league was in crisis, but it's actully been a massive success story over the last 20 years.

[Caesar]

The real problem is that is smacks of rearranging deck chairs on the titanic, which would be understandable if the football league was in crisis, but it's actully been a massive success story over the last 20 years. Damn straight. It's incredible how successful it's been, all things considered.

[soccerphan]

I thought the Community Shield was just a Friendly. Do the English clubs take it very seriously, or do they look at it like a pre-season game like in the States?


thanks in advance for any replies not calling me a newbie :)

[yossarian]

I thought the Community Shield was just a Friendly. Do the English clubs take it very seriously, or do they look at it like a pre-season game like in the States?


thanks in advance for any replies not calling me a newbie :)

It's not quite a friendly because the winning club does get a "shield" aka trophy but it's not taken too seriously as it doesn't count toward the table.
It's sort of a double-edged sword if you win since the winning club the last few years has gone on to NOT win the Prem.
I think the last Community Shield winner to avoid that fate was ManUnited in 1995 or so but I'm sure some United supporters will know exactly.

[Rick B]

It's not quite a friendly because the winning club does get a "shield" aka trophy but it's not taken too seriously as it doesn't count toward the table.
It's sort of a double-edged sword if you win since the winning club the last few years has gone on to NOT win the Prem.
I think the last Community Shield winner to avoid that fate was ManUnited in 1995 or so but I'm sure some United supporters will know exactly.


Just to add quickly to this, the last two hve been Arsenal v Man U. There is no such thing as a firndly between these two clubs. Ever....

[mis-e-one]

It's not quite a friendly because the winning club does get a "shield" aka trophy but it's not taken too seriously as it doesn't count toward the table.
It's sort of a double-edged sword if you win since the winning club the last few years has gone on to NOT win the Prem.
I think the last Community Shield winner to avoid that fate was ManUnited in 1995 or so but I'm sure some United supporters will know exactly.

The Amsterdam Tournament which Ajax host every year has a trophy, but it's still a friendly tournament.