New FA Cup Initiative to Benefit Tottenham and Premiership

Last night, the Football Association made a major change to the FA Cup’s sixth round that should benefit Tottenham Hotspur and all 19 Premier League clubs starting next season in what could potentially be a prelude to a winter break in England.

Currently there is no winter break during the Premier League season, which has affected every single club, domestically and in Europe, plus the England national team. As is, once it reaches the months of December and January, the schedule becomes heavily congested.

For example, Tottenham had six fixtures in December and seven in January, in all competitions. That in of itself looks “normal” as other months this past season have seen more or less the same amount of matches being played.

Except for one critical detail… Spurs never had to play in future League Cup matches because they got knocked out in the third round back on September 23rd.

Should Tottenham have made it past the third round, who knows how their season would have turned out, but one thing is for certain, they benefited greatly by not playing in an extra competition.

It helped Mauricio Pochettino and his squad contend for the league title, reach the round of 16 against Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League and progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 23: Mauricio Pochettino (R) Manager of Tottenham Hotspur is seen on arrival at the stadium prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on January 23, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /

Which brings us back full circle. The FA Cup’s sixth round previously had quarter-final replays last season which only adds more strain to Premier League clubs who have too many fixtures in a short span and not enough rest in-between other competitions that they’re still in.

Because the FA has effectively scrapped quarter-final replays this could finally bring a much needed winter break that the Premier League actually deserves.

England manager, Roy Hodgson, made it clear that he fully supports the FA’s decision to scrap quarter-final replays.

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“It is done to maybe provide that elusive winter break,” Hodgson said (via Telegraph).

“There is no doubt that it is a very positive move because those replays have often been one of the stumbling blocks.”

“The break is nothing other than wanting to freshen our minds up.”

To not have football for a few weeks will be torture for fans to get used to after all of these years, but the players and coaches need a break to recover as it is the midway point of the season by the time it reaches winter.

This will only help clubs perform better domestically and especially in Europe and the players once they get called up to the national team.

One main reason why Premier League teams don’t do well in the Champions and Europa League is quite frankly, down to a congested schedule and no winter break, where the other top European leagues actually have one.

A winter break can finally close the gap between English teams and their counterparts when it comes to European football, where they have continuously failed far too often over the years since England last lifted a European trophy.

That said, with quarter-final replays being eliminated, why not just remove all cup replays? Which the Football League actually proposed recently. It’s unknown if the Football League only meant the FA Cup or both the FA and League Cups.

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But, in any event, that proposal was shut down, or will soon be, according to chief executive Martin Glenn, who was adamant on preserving the tradition and history of the FA Cup but also moving the rules along with the times.

“In a demanding calendar and with increased pressures on fans, it is important we move with the times and consider new innovations.”

“While fully respecting tradition and history, this new development will help the cup retain its status as a much-loved and world-renowned competition.”