Joy for Manchester clubs
The Straits Times|January 14, 2025
The weekend's FA Cup third round featured EPL clubs aiming to dodge early exits. Here are five talking points.
Deepanraj Ganesan

FINANCIAL GAP KILLING FA CUP ROMANCE

The FA Cup is often associated with giant-slaying acts by clubs at the bottom of the English football pyramid, sometimes with a teacher in midfield and a plumber up front.

But, aside from Brentford's surprise loss to Championship cellar-dwellers Plymouth Argyle, the "magic" felt absent this time. The truth is that the financial gap between EPL and the English Football League (EFL) has become stark.

The EPL's domestic broadcast deal is worth £6.7 billion (S$11.1 billion), which dwarfs the EFL's £935 million package. Even with rotated squads the quality of the EPL's second-string players often outclasses lower-league opposition.

When even a dire Southampton side, with just one win in 20 EPL games this season, comfortably beat mid-table Championship outfit Swansea City 3-0, you have to wonder: Is there any romance left in the FA Cup?

FUTURE IS BRIGHT AT CITY BUT PEP MUST EMBRACE IT

This story is from the January 14, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.

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This story is from the January 14, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.

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