Source: Telegraph
I love the FA Cup but Harry Redknapp is right
The reason he does is because the rewards for success and the price of failure have never been higher. If you were Redknapp, which would you choose: FA Cup final or relegation from the Premier League? Let me tell you, every time you would choose staying up. [LNB]When I won the Cup with Liverpool in 1986, it was better than the Champions League final; I felt that it was a majestic competition. But priorities have shifted dramatically since then, particularly for those clubs who are struggling and sense that they are about to be relegated. Their priority would be top-flight survival, it is just the way of the world. Financial considerations have taken over the competition and you will find more and more evidence of this, because ultimately, Premier League survival or ascendancy are 10 times more important than the Cup. [LNB]You can argue whether this is right or wrong but essentially, the argument does not matter. What matters is how, financially, a club's decisions about their involvement in the Cup are going to work out. In financial terms, the difference winning the FA Cup and staying in the Premier League is one of night and day. In many owners' minds it is a 'no-brainer', and that causes problems. [LNB]The warning signs were there as early as two years ago. When covering Reading's fourth-round Cup match against Manchester United I recall that they played a weakened team even though their league status was relatively safe. [LNB]This applies to so many clubs: if you are struggling in the league then clearly your priorities lie elsewhere, but equally if you think that you can take your team into the Champions League then you are not going to put out a strong side for the Cup. [LNB]This is what is wrong – the top four will not name their strongest sides, neither will those vying for a European place, and neither will those who fear relegation. Ultimately, it will be to the detriment of the Cup but you have to remember that it is not just happening now – it has been going on for five or six years. [LNB]To the latest Premier League owners, what is the Cup? [LNB]Half of them do not understand it anyway. I would rank winning the Cup as one of the greatest moments of my life, but the owners have no such sentiment. [LNB]Lifting the Cup does not equate to money; all that does equate to it is being in the Premier League. [LNB]It is wonderful, emotionally, if you go on and win the Cup, but you can understand where Redknapp comes from when he claims that it is secondary in his priorities. [LNB]At least he is being honest – and the fact is that it is not just Tottenham who are guilty of weakened teams, the top clubs are playing at it, too. [LNB]I believe that the only time one of the top clubs would name a strong side is when a manager is convinced that his players have a bit of momentum, and he wants to keep that going. These clubs do not do it specifically to honour the Cup, they do it to make a statement or because it is plainly a big game for them. [LNB]In an owner's judgment Premier League survival is going to come before progress in the FA Cup nine times out of 10. The Cup is a fantastic competition to win but as far as the consequences of survival are concerned, it pales into insignificance. For many owners, or for those who are putting in, this is not something even to think twice about, and the trend will only become more pronounced. [LNB]In the 70s and 80s, when I was playing, the FA Cup was a huge competition. By the 90s it was still big, but now we have reached a situation where the top clubs will make or break the Cup. [LNB]While the Cup is represented as a 'David and Goliath' battle it is, fundamentally, the big clubs on whom it depends. [LNB]The smaller teams, the giant-killers, are important in the early stages but the big clubs have to decide whether to play a weakened side because they are concerned with generating revenue elsewhere. I have seen a competition that I loved suddenly become a bystander. [LNB]
