FA Cup

[YeltzDoc]

As an aside, our friends from the other side of the viaduct have a trip to Loughborough.
Treason though it is to suggest it, shouldn't they have had a bye to later in the competition?
Back in the days of black and white telly when we made the 1R Proper 7 times on the bounce, a win in the 4Q pretty much guaranteed a bye to the next year's 4Q.

Now, while this seemed overly generous, I'd have thought that them lot would have earned something similar with their recent, "heroics"?

Perhaps it just done on which league you're in now, regardless of scrappy wins over ailing lower league professional teams?

I know that TRM lurks on here for intellectual repartee (Ok, now that's just too much) and he's generally a font of knowledge, so perhaps he knows?

[Seamus]

FA cup entry point all now based on the league level the team competes at.

[The Reasonable Man]

The system YeltzDoc recalls was last used in 1997/98. Since then all FA Cup entries have been based solely on what level clubs are at in the pyramid.

Up until then 20 Non-League clubs were exempted until the 4th Qualifying Round based on "previous performances", although it was never announced how those 20 clubs were arrived at. Four Clubs were also exempt until the First Round Proper - two on the same basis, and the other two the previous season's FA Trophy Finalists.

As YD says, if you had an exemption to 4Q and won that tie then it was almost always good enough to maintain that exemption the next season. You had exemption five seasons on the trot (88/89 to 92/93) and beat Chelmsford City, Wivenhoe Town, Ruislip Manor and Baldock Town the first four times, before losing to VS Rugby, and with it losing your exemption. I know I'm biased but I'd say that's pretty thin grounds for five years worth of exemptions!

That said, you had scrambled from 1Q to the "Proper" Rounds three years in a row to gain the exemption in the first place.

And it also puts the records of clubs like Altrincham, Telford and Yeovil into a little perspective. Yes, they beat a lot of League clubs over the years but they were spared the slog of the Qualifying Rounds most seasons, unlike a lot of others. Of course, they had done well enough to "earn" that right in the first place, granted.

I think the catalyst for it ending was when the Conference finally threw its toys out of the pram at half its teams having to start in September. In practical terms it distorted their fixture list and League table, and it didn't do their prestige any good either (aah, diddums!).

To be honest though, I think that's fair enough. Remember Plymouth reached the semi-final in 1984? They still had to start in the First Round the following season. Why should Non-League clubs be treated differently.

Some of you will remember that through to 3Q the draw was in "mini groups" so you knew who you would play in advance up to that point. It was unofficially seeded so that no two Conference teams were ever in the same mini group. In 1996/97 all Conference teams were drawn away in 1Q to teams three levels below them.

GATESHEAD 5-1 St Helens Town (replay)
Oldham Town 2-3 HALIFAX TOWN
Brandon United 0-6 MORECAMBE
Yorkshire Amateur 0-1 STALYBRIDGE CELTIC
Rossendale United 0-5 SOUTHPORT
Rocester 0-3 KETTERING TOWN
Westfields 0-4 RUSHDEN & DIAMONDS
HEDNESFORD TOWN 6-0 Wednesfield (replay)
Arlesey Town 0-3 STEVENAGE BOROUGH
Stotfold 0-2 HAYES
Three Bridges 1-6 FARNBOROUGH TOWN
Southwick 1-2 WELLING UNITED
Mile Oak 0-3 DOVER ATHLETIC
BATH CITY 3-1 Devizes Town (replay)

A few close games on paper, and three replays, but no shocks. Nine of the fourteen made it through to 4Q. I think the Conference put their foot down after that, rightly or wrongly - what was the point of making their teams demean themselves in games like this? It lasted one more season and was scrapped in favour of what we have now.

[AwayDayYeltz]

Presumably back then, any exempt sides, would still 'earn' the prize money for the rounds they were exempt from.

Otherwise it seems more of a punishment than a prize - financially.

[The Reasonable Man]

What prize money? Not sure there was any back then, and if there was it was peanuts.

[YeltzDoc]

Great answer TRM, I'll even let you get away with the dig that our right to be there was "thin" (mostly because you're right).
I didn't realise that it had been 20 years though - shows how long it's been since we did any good in the Cup (Yeading excepted).

And ADY - I doubt they gave you the money for the "victories" in the early Qs, so yes, you would have lost out a bit.
I suspect Messrs Slater or Moseley will probably know.

[The Reasonable Man]

Prize money only really took off once the Cup became sponsored, which was certainly less than 20 years ago. People talk a lot about how much clubs can make from Cup runs these days but I never remember money being mentioned at all until relatively recently. Possibly because we never used to earn any...

[andy]

Excellent post TRM. Thanks for that. To be fair to us in our '7 on the trot' first round appearances we acquitted ourselves well and never got trounced by a league side. Could have took something from the Tranmere game and were robbed at Cardiff. Not up to Stours recent exploits but we gave it a go. It may be a long time before we see the like again.

[andy]

Basford currently top of NPLSouth with maximum points. Bodes well.

[YeltzDoc]

It's looking like a very big game.
A really poor start in the league, an admission in the press that the players brought in haven't been good enough and an early cup exit - with the loss of money and the lack of the opportunity to "do a Stourbr*dge" (shudder) - could be very tricky for the management.
The previous de facto Chairman was quoted as saying that JH was untouchable.
I wonder if our new Chairman has (or is allowed?) a different opinion.