Unfair Advantage ~ Semi Finals

Boro Devonport

Boro Devonport

Well-known member
I felt last night, with the gap being huge for premiership clubs that a two legged semi final will now always ensure a top flight final.

The magic of the cup would be Boro fortunately drawn at home against Chelsea and winning that one tie 1-0. For me personally, it has killed the magic.

It won’t be long until the billionaires eventually have the FA cup as a two legged semi final.
 
Boro Devonport said:
I felt last night, with the gap being huge for premiership clubs that a two legged semi final will now always ensure a top flight final.

The magic of the cup would be Boro fortunately drawn at home against Chelsea and winning that one tie 1-0. For me personally, it has killed the magic.

It won’t be long until the billionaires eventually have the FA cup as a two legged semi final.
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If they scrapped the 2 legs you wouldn't have a home or away Semi Final, they'd all be at a neutral ground, presumably Wembley as per FA Cup.
 
I'm sorry but the OP just sounds like sour grapes to me.

I don't remember any Boro fans complaining in 1998 after we lost at Anfield but won the return leg 2-0 to get to the final.

Also, when we won it in 2004, admittedly we won the first leg away against Arsenal, but would they have fielded the kids if it was a one-off game rather than over 2 legs?

As for the FA Cup, I'm 100% certain that there is no appetite to make the SFs a 2 legged affair. That's a nonsense suggestion when considering the powers that be already scrapped SF replays.
 
we have taken part in 6 league cup semi finals

3 when we were at home first we lost

3 when we were away first we won

read into that what you will
 
I think 2 legged matches are to increase the chances of the best team going through. It's not a conspiracy though. It makes sense that the best team should be the winner of the competition. As much as we all like an upset, especially when we are the underdog, the whole premise of any tournament is to determine who is the best amongst the entrants.
 
Capybara said:
The League Cup has always had two-legged semi-finals since the competition started in 1960. It's not some device to help get 'big' clubs into the final. The finals used to be over two legs as well.
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Wasnt there a time when all the games were two legs? Vaguely remember at least the first couple of rounds being over two legs in the early 90s.
 
Nano said:
the whole premise of any tournament is to determine who is the best amongst the entrants.
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No it isn't. At least not cups.

The reason that the "Champions League" has those mini leagues is to make the exit of a "big club" less likely. In the old European Cup knockout format big clubs would regularly fall in the early rounds. One shock defeat does not mean exit if there are another five games to play.

So cups have always had an element of luck to them. I forget who dumped City out this year but I don't think you could argue that it demonstrates that they are "best" or "better" than city. That is the joy and the drama of a cup competition the simple lottery that means that on a good day the likes of Boro can dump out a top PL side when on a bad day they would get thrashed.
 
I think it’s sh*t tbh. Might have had some merit once upon a time but in the modern game with the widening gap between the mega rich clubs and everyone else it’s basically a get out of jail free card. For a team like us to get a result against a club that has literally spent over a billion and have it basically mean nothing because they get another go at it is rubbish, frankly.

Can call it sour grapes all you want, but I think it’s inarguable that it works in the interests of the big clubs and the big clubs alone.
 
Not saying it made a world of difference but them having a Winter Break even though they’ve played less games than us this season is a p*ss take and should be scrapped.
 
Part of the reason two legged matches favour the bigger clubs is the sheer gulf between the top sides and the rest now. In the 90s, I watched York defeat Man Utd and then Everton over 2 legs, and they were a League 1 side. That would almost certainly be impossible now.
 
GingerTravel said:
Part of the reason two legged matches favour the bigger clubs is the sheer gulf between the top sides and the rest now. In the 90s, I watched York defeat Man Utd and then Everton over 2 legs, and they were a League 1 side. That would almost certainly be impossible now.
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Reckon they’d give Man U a game still
 
What they should really do is make each team play 40 odd games, then plot the results using a points based system into some kind of table. That way we’d see who’s the best team.


Seriously though, all cup competitions should be randomly drawn, straight into knockouts, and one leg per tie
That includes the champions league.
Tired of this watered down nonsense
 
ska66 said:
we have taken part in 6 league cup semi finals

3 when we were at home first we lost

3 when we were away first we won

read into that what you will
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I've entered the data into my database and it produced a suggestion that we are more successful when we play away in the first leg.

I double checked it by running it through a clone of Laughing's algorithm, which suggested balloons and rice cakes. With a high chance of drama in Stonehaven.

I'm not sure what to think now.
 
GingerTravel said:
Part of the reason two legged matches favour the bigger clubs is the sheer gulf between the top sides and the rest now. In the 90s, I watched York defeat Man Utd and then Everton over 2 legs, and they were a League 1 side. That would almost certainly be impossible now.
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Didn't scarborough giant kill too one season then get walloped by Oldham?

Oddly enough look who it was ...

 
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