When does it start and will it be on FSW again? I really enjoyed seeing some of the lower division clubs playing all out for the glory of the tournament.
FSW may be able to carry Saturday games on a 3-7 day delay (picking up Sky's feed) and probably will carry any midweek replay involving an EPL team live. Setanta has the rights to live Saturday and Sunday Cup games, some are available in your own home (you don't necessarily have to go to a pub to see the FA Cup).
FSW schedule says: FA Cup 11/7/03: 2:30- 5pm & 8-10pm EST Thurrock vs. Luton Town 11/8/03: 4-6pm EST Yeovil Town vs. Wrexham Quango
First round is next weekend (as indicated by Quango's TV times). 40 matches (the 48 Second and Third Division teams drawn from a pot together with 32 qualifiers from Non-League football). Second Round is 20 matches between the 40 winners of these games. Third Round is when the 44 Premiership and First Division teams join the 20 Second Round winners. Scheduled to take place on 3rd Jan 2004. The Third Round is great - it gives Onehorse Town a crack at Bigtime Charlies, with the hope of national glory and a much-needed payday from a big crowd and TV rights. I really like the FA Cup. Any team affiliated to the FA can take part, and could theoretically win it. If you can beat your opponent on the day, you go through to the next round. Mess it up and you're out.
So when do the non-league teams actually begin the FA Cup? How many non-league teams actually participate in the Cup? Are amateur teams allowed in? Lots of questions, thanks for the replies.
Check out this page: http://www.thefa.com/application?or...eName=facup_thefacup&pillar=facup&navMax=true The links on the left should tell you all you want to know.
Thanks michaec. What a great website. I never knew that the FA had a site and I'm sure I will visit it now, DAILY!
It truley is The Greatest Cup Competition In The World. I love it, this weekend my beloved Blackpool FC will be taking on Non-League Borham Wood in the first round proper, Borham will of probably had to play 4 or 5 matches just to get to the first round proper so there sense of achievement coming into the game will already be sky high, they are going to be well up for the game hoping they can cause a "giantkilling" performance. The fact that, Blackpool as a second division team, are classed as one of the the "Big Guns" is also cool, because the non-league sides and there fans really look forward to playing us, because are grounds and facilities are normally much better than what they are used to. I will be there this weekend, because i love watching my team and when they play in the FA cup it adds that bit extra, every FA cup game has a big match feel to it.
Thanks.... Thanks for the website michaec, that answered all of my questions. Blackpool FC, I'm in complete agreement with you, I love the idea that some small town, non-league team could knock off one of the "giants" of the Nationwide divisions. I'm sure it's on the FA website, but someone here probably already knows this, what is the lowest division team to win the FA Cup?
Re: Thanks.... well the FA Cup predates the league by 17 years, so determining the lowest division team before then is kind of tough as I don't think there were any divisions. The last non-league team to win the cup were Spurs in 1901 (although the cheating gits handballed on the line in a cup tie v Reading and won the replay) when they were in the southern league, but back then the southern league was quite strong and was close to rivalling the football league. At the time the football league contained sides predominantly from the north & midlands (in 2 divisions) and the southern league was regarded as being at least on par with division 2. Many southern league sides defected to the football league and the majority of the rest of its clubs were invited to make up Division 3 in 1920. The football league then realised theat Div 3 was now mainly full of southern teams and hastily invited a number of northern teams to make up a northern Div 3, despite the lack of an equivalent strong northern league. Since then no team from outside of the top divisions has made the final, although there have been a few semi-final appearences. Off the top of my head I remember Plymouth in 1984 and chesterfield in 1994(?) Chesterfield were 2-0 up in the second half and had a shot cleared from behind the line, but the ref mistakenly didn't give the goal. Middlesbrough pulled it back to 2-2 and won the replay. Still, they say these things even out over a season.
Re: Re: Re: Thanks.... well it was the quarter final. It was right near the end as well and the ref didn't even give us a corner. We lost the replay 3-0, although we weren't helped by one of our players eating a large steak & kidney pie just before kick-off - he had to be helped off the field after only 10 minutes. Just to illustrate that the Southern League wasn't quite what we'd term non-league these days, the 15 clubs, in order, that season were Southampton Bristol City Portsmouth Millwall Spurs West Ham Bristol Rovers QPR Reading Luton Kettering New Brompton (Gillingham) Gravesend Watford Swindon while the football league still contained 'giants' such as New Brisghton Tower, Glossop North End, Burton Utd & Gainsborough Trinity. Getting back on topic, one of the Boreham Wood players due to play at Blackpool is actually a convicted hooligan who is currently banned (for throwing a lump of concrete at a policeman) from every professional ground in the country. He's been given special permission to play by the police.