The FA Cup. The People’s cup. It is about the excitement of upsets, drama and controversy. It happens once a season. Embrace it. For the Prima Donna’s out there – Guardiola and Klopp, their bitterness towards cup competitions are only felt by few.

The FA cup usually starts in January for the Premier League and Championship clubs, which in theory isn’t ideal due to the numerous amounts of competitions the ‘Elite’ are in however with the squad depth which they possess, is the whining necessary? Earlier this week Pep Guardiola was suggesting to get rid of the league cup. Now for the clubs in Leagues one and two this doesn’t affect them however for all the Championship clubs and the majority of the Premier League clubs that don’t play in the European Competitions, they would only play in only two competitions for the season. Financially that would be a strain because most clubs nowadays lose money per season rather than making profit.

For the ‘Elite’ clubs, why should it matter? Television money, kit sponsorships and shirt sales to name a few, whilst teams such as Shrewsbury are lacking financially and would benefit from a cup run or a replay against a big team. The reason I mention Shrewsbury is the fact that they faced Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round at home. Earlier in the week manager Sam Ricketts said,

‘We are a self-sustaining club. If we can bring in extra income then it gives us a chance to invest. Does this mean we can invest in the training ground with drainage and video analysis equipment? Maybe it does.’ 

This just goes to show the importance of how money can improve football clubs. Shrewsbury fought back to draw 2-2 against Liverpool, forcing a replay. As a result of this it means more money will be generated into the club for further investments.

And for Liverpool, another game cramped into the hectic fixture schedule. Some might feel sympathy for Liverpool especially with Sadio Mane out for the next couple of games but on the other hand, Klopp made eleven changes to the team from Thursday night against Wolves. In theory he shot himself in the foot, but eleven players of that quality should be able to see out a 2-0 lead with 45 minutes to go.   

For the relief of lower league clubs, cup competitions will remain in England for the foreseeable future however having already stopped replays at the fourth round of the FA Cup, they are in jeopardy. The importance of replays and the cups are undermined by many. They need to remain.