Dyer

[Led By Donkeys @ByDonkeys]

While we’re talking about politicians and tax, a reminder that Nigel Farage works for a company that exists to help rich people avoid tax.

[James Foster @JamesEFoster]

Useful to remind ourselves of this:

"I’m closer to a Jamaican born brickie than I am Jacob Rees-Mogg.

I've got more in common with a Polish hotel maid than I do with Nigel Farage.”

💯

[Oxblogger @oxtweeter]

I've only just realised I had this.

Sound on.

[DPS @TortosaExpat]

They have 5 subs, squads of 25, rarely pick their first team in the Cup, travel huge distances for friendlies overseas, only have a 20 team league, the best recovery and conditioning science money can buy....but can't play, at most, a couple of replays. It is an absolute joke...

[Frank Hughes @frankiejhughes]

So, the FA in its infinite wisdom has decided to abolish replays from the first round proper of the FA Cup.

Skelmersdale United managed to get to the 1st Round in November 2020. The game against Harrogate Town was played behind closed doors at their place due to Covid at the time, so there was no chance of a replay on that occasion.

The game was televised on BT Sport, and had it been played during normal times, would’ve been replayed with a second chance of being televised, so from that perspective it’s as a good an excuse as any to keep replays. From a financial perspective it’s a no-brainer for me. TV money and gate revenue can be massive for a club like ours.

But let’s cut straight to the chase here. The FA Cup has continuously been devalued over the last few decades. The FA Cup isn’t what it used to be: the romance has gone, the prestige has been tarnished and its traditions all but destroyed. Sound a bit heavy…

When I was a kid everyone used to sit down from midday to watch the build up to the FA Cup. It was tradition to watch the greatest footballing showcase in the country, and it didn’t matter if your team wasn’t playing. It was just a special day, and I can’t help but find myself being nostalgic, particularly now as I feel it’s being driven even further away from its grassroots.

Once upon a time, semi-finals were played at neutral grounds as opposed to Wembley, Premier League teams played at full strength rather than field their youth players. And yet; ironically Mark Bullingham stated that the “Magic” of the competition would be protected, but has he forgot that what was so enchanting for many decades, was destroyed back in 1999 when Manchester United competed in the FIFA Club World Championship, at the expense of defending their FA Cup title? It also has to be said that United were pretty much encouraged by his employers - the FA, to compete in the competition to throw weight behind their bid for hosting the World Cup in 2006…only to see Germany get the nod!

The bright light for the FA Cup, has always been the involvement of non-league football. The opportunity for a club to go from rags to riches, is as enthralling as it is heartbreaking. It’s saved many a club from extinction, and provided so many clubs with stability for years that follow their success.

You could arguably question why non-league clubs in those early qualifying rounds should be forced into expensive replays, when it can ultimately lead to fixture congestion at the end of the season, but even then the closer you get to the first round proper the greater the interest becomes, so it would be far better not to tamper when it isn’t really necessary. But it appears that the 3% of the elite that enter the competition have a much bigger say on the future of this cup, than we will ever have.

The expansion of European football is the real reason why the FA Cup is being streamlined, and don’t be fooled by the side dish of an additional £33m being fed back into the lower leagues. The loss of profit from not having replays won’t be recouped from that particular pot or any other pot for that matter. The EFL will consider suing for compensation, but the non-league fraternity who are largely without a proverbial pot to pee in, will be left to feel like they’re being scraped out of the elites grooves with poo sticks.

It’s not the competition it once was, but the powers that be will no doubt say that times change and we must evolve. But do they really have to carry on messing with the FA Cup…well the fact is they started that years ago, and they’ll continue to do exactly that…to help the few and not the many.

@GMNonLeague @NonLeagueRover @NonLeagueRadio @NonLeagueGuys @NonLeaguePaper @Love_non_league @Nonleaguenorth2 @nwcfl @Skemutdofficial @EmiratesFACup @thefa @BBCSport @footballontnt @FA @premierleague

[Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth]

"I want to see a redistribution of wealth in our society because there are a lot of very wealthy people and there are too many very poor people."

Mick Lynch from the @RMTunion.👏👏👏

[Jake @jakeperry97]

These days, if you say you don’t like a king who’s protecting a paedophile wanted by the FBI for questioning over links to an international child sex trafficking ring, you get arrested and thrown in jail

[Dyer @LukeDyerLD]

Fuck the crown, always

[The Left Wing Society @LeftWingSociety]

Abolish the Monarchy 👑

[Led By Donkeys @ByDonkeys]

We've found Michelle Mone's yacht

[Dyer @LukeDyerLD]

This is so scary yet so predictable. Years in the making, the Tory plan is about to come to a dark and depressing conclusion

[John McDonnell @johnmcdonnellMP]

Here we go. Exactly as predicted, the Tories start to break the underlying principle of the NHS that it’s free at the point of need. Their next step will be private insurance & then full privatisation for profiteering. Never trust the Tories with the NHS. https://t.co/sBrikJHttv

[Dyer @LukeDyerLD]

Gut wrenching 😢

[Cameron Sinclair Harris @cam_sh]

These albums that I spent my adolescence listening to turn 10 years old this year. I am not ready to feel this *ancient*

[Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn]

A one-off 1% wealth tax on households with more than £1 million could fund the nurses’ demand for a fair pay rise 162 times over.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you we can’t afford to pay workers what they need and deserve.

Solidarity with members from @theRCN on strike today.

[Thomas Wynne Lewis 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @TomiCaws]

UK politics has shifted so far to the right in recent years that public sector workers who just want to be paid enough to eat and keep warm are considered to be extremists.

[Dyer @LukeDyerLD]

That smile. Absolute scum of the earth

[Urban Pictures @Urban_Pictures]

MP Jacob Rees-Mogg HECKLED and chased by protesters and bundled away by cops as he arrives at the Tory Party Conference in Birmingham. Footasge available at @Newsflare #Birmingham

[Dyer @LukeDyerLD]

@daisyylee No worries hun x

[Valerie Farrington 💙 @Valhalla51]

This is an eye opener

[Double Down News @DoubleDownNews]

Mick Lynch Dismantles the Media, Keir Starmer & Extreme Right Wing Government Coming Our Way

[Dyer @LukeDyerLD]

💚🤍

[Graven Hill FC @GravenHillFC]

This one is for the Gravediggers. The lads who come to watch home and away, Local Jersey League division 1. For Terry who can’t be here. For the boys who have moved away and can’t make it back for the game. 🦅

[Zarah Sultana MP @zarahsultana]

The super-rich use tax havens to dodge around £40,000,000,000 in tax every year, but Boris Johnson whips-up anger at asylum seekers who have to live on just £40.85 a week? It's classic Tory divide and rule.

[Graven Hill FC @GravenHillFC]

Graven Hill. Jersey Cup Finalists.