The Mail is reporting that the FA remains committed to finishing this season’s FA Cup should the Premier League safely be able to restart.
The FA Cup WILL be finished this season if football can return safely with semi-finals and final to be played behind closed doors at Wembley https://t.co/C1dRxvQVod
— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) May 21, 2020
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham reportedly told FA Council members of his desire to complete this year’s FA Cup during a meeting on Thursday.
When the competition could return was not mentioned however, the semi-finals and finals will still be held at Wembley.
Newcastle, of course, have reached the quarter-final stage and were scheduled to host Manchester City on March 21st before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus.
Newcastle have progressed the farthest in the FA Cup since 2006 when we were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Chelsea.
Whether the competition can get completed this season all hinges on the Premier League’s ability to safely restart. Teams returned to training this past Tuesday as part of phase 1 of Project Restart.
Next week, a discussion will be held on whether clubs can move to phase 2, which involves group training.
Meanwhile, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has called for the FA to get creative in finishing the FA Cup this season. This is Carragher’s proposal from The Telegraph:
“The FA should get on board with a radical experiment to complete their fixtures.
“I would love to see this season’s FA Cup rescheduled to resemble the final stages of a World Cup, all the remaining games played after the conclusion of the Premier League.
“Imagine it. Quarter-finals could be played on the Friday and Saturday after the last Premier League weekend. Midweek semi-finals could then be immediately followed by the final, the competition concluded in eight days.
“It could be a thrilling finale to a season which, in the Premier League at least, is all about the top four and relegation places once play resumes.”
A lot will depend on when the league resumes as to how the FA Cup will get completed. Carragher is calling for the final three rounds to be played in rapid succession after the league concludes.
If the EPL managers get their wish, the league may no restart until the back end of June. That will mean this season may not finish until close to August.
The FA will have to be flexible in how they complete the remainder of the FA Cup. But the good news for Newcastle fans is that it hasn’t been abandoned.
197 comments so far
Mund
May 22, 2020 at 5:14 PM
Comment #41I get it Ashley the most hated and soon to be the most forgotten man in Newcastle and it was his appointment of Bruce after Rafa left.
Was there anyone out there we could of accepted who is good enough and daft enough to come work under these restrictions?? Nope
I was angry with the appointment but like a lot of things in my life if I can’t control it I accept it and move on with it.
I support the black and white, the 11 players on the pitch the hallowed turf around the most beautiful stadium in the world.
That’s what matters to me most
Munster Mag
May 22, 2020 at 5:15 PM
Comment #42No moonraker, that was the Frog, who isn’t really a fan.
Kevin Vegan
May 22, 2020 at 5:15 PM
Comment #43Mund, would that be the same Bruce who masterminded our extra time replay win after 180 minutes couldn’t separate us and the mighty Oxford United? And then the scrape through against West Brom? If you think we haven’t been lucky to get this far with Bruce at the helm in all honesty I think you must have been watching a different Toon than me.
Jib
May 22, 2020 at 5:15 PM
Comment #44Moonraker15
According to toon22
actually
You are a bit on the stupid side aren’t you ?
geordietom
May 22, 2020 at 5:17 PM
Comment #45if we go on to win the FA cup , who got us there …?
who played his strongest team in the Fa cup ? …
Jib
May 22, 2020 at 5:17 PM
Comment #46moonraker15
I posted this
“toon22
Aug 3, 2019 at 10:02 PM
Comment #99
Munster thinks we all “mags”
A term ive never heard a person from the toon say
Its a mackem phrase”
and you being a dick thought it was me
Boy from the Bay
May 22, 2020 at 5:19 PM
Comment #47If we win it’s because it was Rafa’s team (or Bruce was just lucky)
If we lose it’s because Bruce has no tactical acumen.
Moonraker15
May 22, 2020 at 5:20 PM
Comment #48Onmeeedsun
From previous;
Joelinton’s nowhere near what you need for top6 or top4 which is where the Saudis will want us to be, as we do.
Compare with Aguero, Jesus, Mane, Salah, Kane! This is what the standard is to get the goals to get us up the prem.
only 4 or 5 of the current squad will be good enough for the second half of next season. Our owners are the richest people in the world and want to be better than City! We need to think of how KK was ruthless with players and he didn’t have a bottomless pit of money!
Good times though!
geordietom
May 22, 2020 at 5:21 PM
Comment #49Jib
May 22, 2020 at 5:09 PM
Comment #35
ToonTime
I’ll tell you what
Folk can rewrite history as much as they want
but
There wasn’t a Mag that was unhappy with the new owner 13 years ago…
Mund
May 22, 2020 at 5:22 PM
Comment #50Vegan
Come on pal don’t start throwing match statistics around at me.
Do you remember Stevenage??
The FA cup is always known for those big wins for the minors against the so called elite. That’s the beauty of it.
Everybody tries there hardest in the fa cup well apart from us. Simple fact is whatever manager has been in charge that season whatever happens at the end is credit to that man
Kevin Vegan
May 22, 2020 at 5:23 PM
Comment #51Jail, I’m inclined to agree over Joelinton. He’s certainly not a complete write-off just yet, but he really needs to show a lot more soon if he’s going to be anything other than a burden on the wage budget. If he gets his head down and really works on his game, he could become a decent squad player. Currently though he looks like a £40m catastrophe, as he largely did from the start for me. 15 goals and a handful of assists in 60 appearances in the Austrian Bundelsiga is not good enough in that league even for a midfielder or winger to be worth £40m in my book.
Mund
May 22, 2020 at 5:24 PM
Comment #52You act like Rafa wouldn’t of needed replays and extra time he would of won it outright!!
How about we wouldn’t of had a replay because we would of got beat with a weaker team in the first game??
toon22
May 22, 2020 at 5:24 PM
Comment #53JIB
We’re so lucky Jabba “ saved “ us
Moonraker15
May 22, 2020 at 5:25 PM
Comment #54Jib
You just posted something about no “mag” was unhappy about Ashley buying the club.
You’re aptly named Jibberish!
Never mind presumably you’re redundant now anyway!
Jib
May 22, 2020 at 5:26 PM
Comment #55toon22
When Ashley goes which team will you pretend to support next ?
Jib
May 22, 2020 at 5:28 PM
Comment #56wow
Moonraker is thicker than I thought
toon22
May 22, 2020 at 5:28 PM
Comment #57JIB
You think you’ll get yer old job back with the Mackems ?
Munster Mag
May 22, 2020 at 5:29 PM
Comment #58Toon time, good post. People may not like Bruce, and that’s fair enough, but as of now, he has done better or similar to rafa in the league despite losing two key players, trying to bed in a new left flank and having a misfit striker. He didn’t play the patsy as people like Jail promised, he played strong cup teams and never made stupid self serving statements like ‘it will take a miracle to stay up”. I don’t want him here long term, and wanted Arteta to start with, but history will judge Bruce as a journeyman manager who steadied us when the club was in turmoil.
geordietom
May 22, 2020 at 5:29 PM
Comment #59i’m off cant be arsed …
toon22
May 22, 2020 at 5:29 PM
Comment #60I’m guessing they won’t want to keep a guy who’s been trolling the fans for years
😉
Jail for Ashley
May 22, 2020 at 5:32 PM
Comment #61Mund,
A Stevenage type result comes around to a top flight club every ten years maybe a lot more for some. He had two in one season and is just bloody lucky WBA never had that Croation kid on from the start.
Munster Mag
May 22, 2020 at 5:32 PM
Comment #62When Bobby Robson left the club, did some fanatical bobbyites witter on for two seasons that Bobby wud have done xyz?
Kevin Vegan
May 22, 2020 at 5:34 PM
Comment #63Mund, I’m really not just throwing match statistics at you. I’m inviting you to actually think about how the team has perfomed under Bruce to arrive at where we are. I don’t personally sew any reason to give him an abundance of credit.
It isn’t Steve Bruce FC, the manager is just one part of the team. Bruce was one of the latest additions to our set-up, and much of the “success” (or to put it more accurately, much of the avoiding abcolute catastrophic failure) can be attributed to the work of individuals and Bruce inheriting a well drilled team. In our team in particular, the role of manager isn’t particularly expansive. Bruce didn’t assemble the team, nor has he had any great hand in developing the players. His role has largely been picking the squad and formation, which he has templated from Rafa for the most part. Saying Bruce should get the credit for the win just because he’s the manager is like saying a newly appointed restauraunt manager should take all the credit when the chef cooks a quality dish that’s already been on the menu for 5 years. Let’s be honest, ASM is the reason we aren’t out of the cup already. Bruce’s decision to rest Dubs against Oxford nearly ruined us (why would you rest your keeper? It’s not like it’s a tiring role) and we have scraped by despite having had it easy with the draw so far.
We won’t win it anyway (or I highly doubt it) but if we do, it will be in spite of Bruce, not because of him.
Munster Mag
May 22, 2020 at 5:35 PM
Comment #64Moonraker, what’s wrong with the word ‘Mag’??
“we’re the mags, we’re the mags, we are we are we’re the Mags”
Moonraker15
May 22, 2020 at 5:35 PM
Comment #65Jib
No I’m not thick but your grammatical phrasing is ambiguous.
So who made the comment about “Mags” not condemning Ashley buying the club?
Just for clarification!
Jail for Ashley
May 22, 2020 at 5:36 PM
Comment #66Munter,
He took over a team that had finished 8th in the form league and highest scorers outside of the top six since January. He then went on to claim it was the best squad he ever had while finishing 19th or 20th in every possible stat bar points with said best squad he’s ever had. Gawd forbid he’d taken over a Pardew or McLaren team.
Jib
May 22, 2020 at 5:37 PM
Comment #67Be patient jib
Phew
“toon22
Aug 3, 2019 at 10:02 PM
Comment #99
Munster thinks we all “mags”
A term ive never heard a person from the toon say
Its a mackem phrase”
IrishRob
May 22, 2020 at 5:37 PM
Comment #68Germany back in lockdown, so that probably means the end of Bundesliga again.
Just a fan
May 22, 2020 at 5:38 PM
Comment #69Every day you know the sun is going to come up.
Your weeds are going to grow thicker than your seedlings.
There is a star dying three billion light years away..
And Munster will mention Rafa..
Munster Mag
May 22, 2020 at 5:38 PM
Comment #70Vegan, the goalie needed a rest. He was tip top every week, and needed a rest. It was 100% correct to play a new keeper. I agree it isn’t Bruce Fc, nor is it Rafa Fc. In reality it’s been Fat Boy Ashley FC
Jail for Ashley
May 22, 2020 at 5:38 PM
Comment #71I’m liking this Kevin Vegan chap already 😀
We might win the cup though if we punt Brucie.
Moonraker15
May 22, 2020 at 5:38 PM
Comment #72Munster
@64
Nowt wrong with calling us “Mags” ! That’s what we are, but Jib stated a long time ago that only Mackems call us Mags!
Gothmog's Pyjamas
May 22, 2020 at 5:41 PM
Comment #73Jail re joelinton
agree with giving him a chance. It felt like the club set up to make sure he had the least chance possible to succeed.
Young lad coming to the PL is hard enough but he became a lone CF which he wasnt in Germany. then we set up as 541 and isolate him from the team, giving him only few chances each match so he knew when a half-chance came along he was under pressure to take it as he wouldnt get many more. This isnt the way you should set up with a new young CF.
CFs work off confidence too and we drained that out of him 3 games after the Spurs match.
If we could get a Dembele and rondon for example this summer, take the pressure off him and give him the last 15-20 mins of games or league cup games to try to get some confidence – we should at least be more attacking next season so his chances will improve. Think Rondon could also teach him how to play the lone target man role too.
Kevin Vegan
May 22, 2020 at 5:41 PM
Comment #74Jail, bang on again. We were one kick of the ball away from being knocked out by Oxford not once but twice, and it wasn’t just the results that were too close for comfort. We never looked in control, and they threatened far too many times. Sure, upsets happen in the cups, and football can be a funny game, but these are games that we should be dominating, and if we aren’t doing that we should absolutely question the tactical decisions, because there is no way it was an issue of them having more talented players on the pitch.
Munster Mag
May 22, 2020 at 5:43 PM
Comment #75Moonraker, it was Toon22 who said that to me, when I called us Mags. Jib didn’t say that at all. You are 100% incorrect on that.
Moonraker15
May 22, 2020 at 5:43 PM
Comment #76Jib
Explain yourself FFS!
Who said Mackems call us Mags?
Your punctuation is fckin confusing man.
You obviously didn’t get an A level in English Language!
Munster Mag
May 22, 2020 at 5:44 PM
Comment #77Just a fan I didn’t bring up Rafa.
Well done.
Munster Mag
May 22, 2020 at 5:45 PM
Comment #78Vegan didn’t we lose to Forest under Rafa? He probably didn’t have to ship any criticism though!
Moonraker15
May 22, 2020 at 5:46 PM
Comment #79Munster
Thanks for that clarification! geordietom was also confused by Jib!
Jib struggles to explain himself in type!
Mund
May 22, 2020 at 5:46 PM
Comment #80‘It will be in spite of Bruce not because of him’
Wow ok I’m out talking to a dead horse here