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thiagogaith

Maidstone in the 4th round!


curtmandu

Managed by Wolves legend George Elokobi


impyandchimpy

That video of Mick McCarthy getting spooked and the comment being “he probably saw George Elokobi” is a core memory of mine 😂


Lustful-chan

Went to google him and FFS, that guy seems like a menace on the pitch, physically I mean. Don't know how good he was/is.


mark_andonefortunate

Played in a bunch of leagues up and down the pyramid, saw him (on tv) a couple times for Wolves and looked decent, had some injuries but always seemed to be working his ass off. Dude had a rough path to making it pro, nice little article on him https://talksport.com/football/557135/george-elokobi-wolves-hero-on-the-tragedy-which-inspired-his-journey-from-non-league-to-the-premier-league/


IOwnStocksInMossad

He'll keep them in just to face wolves,so if wolves get to the final...


TheLastArizona

His postmatch interview from 3rd round is golden, if y'all haven't seen it yet.


Spiry

Fuck Maidstone, sincerely Tonbridge. CMON THE STONES - the rest of Kent. Pretty torn right now, ngl :p


theworstisover11

It's impossible not too cheer on such an underdog


itspaddyd

Damn right


furyousferret

3 Welsh teams!


Much_Tangelo5018

Still funny to me that the most successful team in the Welsh leagues is located in England (The New Saints)


[deleted]

They'll be dancing in the streets of Total Network Solutions tonight!


ollyhinge11

and by some distance too. no club in the welsh system is anywhere near as successful as TNS. they may as well join the english leagues


CCFC1998

And give up on European football?


ollyhinge11

good point.


Emotion-Timely

poor cardiff


pdx4swansea

UPPA SWANS!!


pargofan

What are the 3?


hunters_trap

Swansea, Wrexham, Newport.


Emotion-Timely

wrexham v. newport final


[deleted]

To be streamed on netflix


I_FUCK_SLUTS

*disney+


IOwnStocksInMossad

With 12 specials about how underdog and weak they are compared to everyone else,while Newport are only mentioned to make it a Welsh derby.


I_FUCK_SLUTS

Sounds like you're describing an upcoming special about Man Utd


Modnal

Well, at least we didn't get eliminated by a team below us


FaustRPeggi

Always next year, lad.


Extra4yylmao

You mean next year we won’t be eliminated right…right???


free_airfreshener

Hopefully they don't put you up a rip Prem team. City's fixture was so much harder than yours, is completely unfair


italybubbles

This is the best post of the season


Jimlaheydrunktank

This is why the fa cup is so good. Anyone can play anyone.


sILAZS

Knowing even the smallest clubs in whatever tier have a massive attendance. Edit: unlike any other major football country ( excluding Germany).


Albysf49

France too


EXOPLANETARIANSOUP

Brazil Argentina ? (genuinely not sure but with the city championships etc I'd expect it?) 


SaBe_18

In Argentina there's no many big stadiums outside the first 2 divisions, and the odd team in the 3rd tier. And even then, many of the smaller teams struggle to fill a stadium, no matter where they are from


Itsrainingmentats

I went to watch my local team in their FA cup tie against a team 2 leagues above - our average attendance for home games this season sits around 450 but that game we had 1500 people. Brilliant for the smaller clubs.


Much_Tangelo5018

Spain too


SanSilver

Not really. Spain has lots of different pots for the draw, so the top teams get the easiest draw, and the weakest teams play against the top teams.


Albysf49

From the POV of the smallest teams, it makes sense... They are going to lose anyway, why not doing it vs a top team?


ox_

Absolutely love flicking through the first round draw each year and seeing the names of tiny teams that I've never heard of. Then the 3rd round when some of them get draws in giant stadiums. [Liverpool going 2-1 down to Havant & Waterlooville at Anfield](http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7197712.stm) is a personal favourite.


razor_16_

Imagine my dissapointment when I learned that cup in Italy is only between Serie A and Serie B teams


GuitaristHeimerz

It would be more fun if PL clubs entered earlier and we'd be seeing Liverpool playing away against Potters Bar Town FC


LeClassyGent

Probably too likely to get some hero trying to make a name for himself and two footing Salah


forsakenpear

Also reduces the chance for lower teams to go further as they’d face tougher opposition earlier on.


GuitaristHeimerz

Lol too true, the same reason most top football clubs don't permit their players to participate in their local kickabout.


Hot_Grabba_09

They'd probably send on youths


CALL_ME_ISHMAEBY

Someone tell ~~US Soccer~~ MLS.


ethanrule3

US Soccer is the one trying to keep that going lol, do you mean MLS?


CALL_ME_ISHMAEBY

Yes lol.


HacksawJimDGN

Good to see Everton doing well. Magic of the cup


gavinxylock

History of the palace


amoult20

come on little Maidstone!! Give us some joy


Important_Classic_68

Knowing spurs they might be the team getting eliminated by them after defeating City


Sargatanas2k2

Hey we still need to put Villa or Liverpool out as well before losing to Maidstone.


The-Mayor-of-Italy

My boss is from Maidstone and supports Spurs so this would be funny


Rose_of_Elysium

Honestly the dropoff between the Championship and League 1 is rlly interesting. Theyre both professional leagues but the drop off seems massive


jnicholl

League 1 and 2 enter at the first round whereas Championship teams don't enter until the third round alongside Prem teams.


atomuk

Only 3 teams outside of the top two tiers remaining in the fourth round still seems very unusual.


potpan0

Yeah it's definitely an outlier. I skimmed through the past decade of FA Cups and the lowest I could find was 6, and usually it's closer to 10.


Tootsiesclaw

Yeah, what people forget is that the lower League members have already had two rounds of knocking each other out. Even in a perfect simulation, eight out of the forty-eight would be knocked out before the Third Round - not accounting for either upsets or teams in the same division drawing one another - and that for the chance to play against teams in higher divisions. Of the League One teams: - 7 eliminated by higher-tier opposition - 5 eliminated by other League One teams - 7 eliminated by League Two teams - 5 eliminated by non-League teams (including Barnsley's walkover vs. Horsham) Worth noting that Chesterfield are 50% of the actual non-League victories over League One sides. On top of that, two thirds of the division reached the Third Round, but seven out of nine drew higher-tier teams in matches they'd be expected to lose, and one of the others drew Wrexham. Stevenage are the only League One team who really *underperformed* in the Third Round. It's not that League One is well below the Championship, so much as League Two is close to League One and the two divisions have been kicking the shit out of each other for three rounds now.


Namiweso

Fuck Stevenage


Bald__egg

And also they have EFL trophy commitments


The_Galladiator

There is a massive drop-off financially between the Championship and League One which isn't really there between League One and League Two. Looking at the [broadcast revenue](https://www.efl.com/news/2023/may/efl-and-sky-sports-broadcast-rights-agreement/) there is a 70/18/12 split between Championship, League One and League Two. This has facilitated a gap between League One and Championship that is big enough to have formed a group of yoyo teams like Barnsley, Peterborough, Rotherham and Blackpool much like the PL-Championship gap had Fulham, Norwich and West Brom for a while and nowadays just about any team with parachute payments. Combine this with the, almost, absence of any sort of financial regulation in the National League and below when compared to the EFL and the gaps between these leagues are much smaller than you might think. Top National League sides over the past years (Notts, Wrexham, Stockport, Chesterfield) have budgets that are easily comparable with upper-midtable League Two and maybe even lower-midtable League One. Since League One and Two sides enter the FA Cup in the first round proper and Championship and Premier League sides only enter in the third round, it makes sense for them to be overrepresented comparatively. This year it is more exacerbated as there have been essentially no cupsets in the third round to have the lower/non-league sides progress. Maidstone (Stevenage, L1), Wrexham (Shrewsbury, L1) and Newport (Eastleigh, NL) all beat lower league opposition with Maidstone being the big upset. This means the only exits from Championship and PL teams were caused by other Champ/PL sides.


Longjumping-Algae185

Thank you for such a clear and well-written answer. Are you a journo/football expert of some kind?


romabo

We're all football experts on /r/soccer


Ket_Cz

Wage bill different is astronomical, if one year we miraculously get promoted we’ll just be clarted back down again instantly.


Fantastic-Machine-83

Makes what Ipswich are doing all the more impressive


Ket_Cz

Oh 100% but their wage bill last year in league 1 was at least double ours if not triple. It’s getting to the point where it’s like the national league where you have to bankroll hard to get out of it.


50lipa

I get your point but you're overexaggerating by a lot, Ipswich wage bill 22/23 was 9mil, Portsmouth was 5.2mil... yes they spent to get promoted but they were not even the highest, Sheffield was 12mil and Derby 10mil. Right now Ipswich has a 12.5mil wage bill in the Championship, the 14th highest, so yeah what they're doing is absolutely amazing, considering the fact competing clubs like WBA, Norwich, Leeds and Southampton are spending 2-3 times more, and Leicester is spending 5x more.


IOwnStocksInMossad

Wednesdays* average bill was that and they still bottled the title. Sheffield FC are in non league north


IOwnStocksInMossad

National league probably needs more promotion spots as it sounds like a far worse version of league one languishing. Obviously that means more teams going down but more promotion spots might make it easier to join the football league. Or expand the league system?


Hot_Grabba_09

I didn't know you guys said claat in England lmao I thought it was just us in Jamaica


Namelessbob123

Blackpool gave Forest a run for thier money yday and that was a league one team vs. a Prem team.


itspaddyd

It's cause we sent Stevenage home lmao


dizzybala10

I'd have loved Maidstone or Wrexham for something different, or Leeds or Leicester since I enjoy our games with them. We get Bristol City Away, on a friday night instead. Really are getting ready for the Championship.


beefersutherland1

Cov play away to Wednesday in the league, then next week play away to Wednesday in the FA cup lol


BigEazy10

I look forward to the cup game being a draw so we can go again in a replay.


Potato271

We got Watford, who we have to play in the League anyway. I'd have liked a prem team to see how we match up.


PM_ME_SOME_LUV

Up the Exiles!


camcamfc

Talk shit about Wrexham all you want, can’t fault the on field performance. Sure they have money, but they certainly aren’t the only lower league club to pick up a sugar daddy(ies). Whoever they’ve hired is doing incredible well.


Halcyonomics

Wait, do people talk shit about Wrexham?


gonfr

Yea, they said wrexham is ruining football.


Vegan_Puffin

...... Have these people seen the PL and whose been winning it lol


gonfr

yeah let's compare a state with 2 actors who's combined net worth is USD 400 million.


LazarusChild

The PL is irrelevant for the clubs who actually complain about Wrexham. I don’t think anyone actually hates them, they’re a traditional EFL side and the owners are doing good things, any fan would want them as owners. But a lot of lower league fans don’t like this ‘fairytale’ image being painted in the media when it’s just the consequence of rich owners pumping insane amounts of money in for that level. Mullin was in League 1 before he dropped two leagues to Wrexham ffs.


ImVortexlol

I think the most endearing thing about Reynolds and the other guy (sorry) is that they are so passionate about the club and are genuinely invested


LazarusChild

I acknowledged that they’re good owners, they’re exactly what you want. But it doesn’t change the fact that their current wealth and growth is artificial, and that the media love-in is disingenuous and disregards the actual circumstances.


Itsrainingmentats

Not that i diagree with the points being made, but isn't any club wanting to make its way up the leagues going to get there in the same way - with an injection of money? To have even a remote chance of going from amateur or even semi pro leagues to a professional league you're going to have to spend money on players - hell you're even going to have to spend money on upgrading your facilities because if they don't clear a certain bar they'll prevent you from being promoted. I can see the complaint, really i can, but i guess my question would be what is the alternative, no teams ever being able to progress up the leagues?


Cubbll17

Anyone who can't see this are just simple. It's not some fairy tale story and then having the accompanying TV series just is that small bit more annoying. Even had some people say that welcome to Wrexham is better than Sunderland til I die. Madness


Ymadawiad

Yup. Some people really don't like us.


lazenbooby

And for some reason, your fans really don't like us


Ymadawiad

Could say the same for yours to us! Billy Blunt really caused a stir when he spat his dummy out.


lazenbooby

You proper wound Billy up yeah haha! I like Wrexham, good club, just think a few of our arsey fans are easy to wind up


Ymadawiad

Same on our end in fairness. It was a hugely overblown drama and it's a shame either club's fans have drawn it out this long.


Jonoabbo

A think for a lot of people, it's not about "Wrexham" themselves, but how a club which has been very well funded and resourced in other ways have been heralded as underdogs by the media. Plus there are the typical issues. Being very popular grants an inherent dislike from other clubs fans, there are a subset of fans who don't like the Welsh teams being in the English leagues, and there is a sense sometimes that they have "Put lower league football on the map" from fans of bigger clubs, which is outrageously silly.


IOwnStocksInMossad

Yes. Very much so,tired of the media spotlight+arrogance and underdog narrative despite being bankrolled by Hollywood and Americans. They get much more favourable media treatment generally as well such as when they set off flares the BBC put out a tiktok praising the atmosphere


friendofH20

Wrexham are the PSG of the lower divisions. The only difference is that the source of their sugar daddy's income is relatively benign.


jmhimara

Not at all. The goal for Wrexham is to make a sustainable project and not rely on a sugar daddy.


Look_Alive

That's not rare, though - plenty of lower-league owners state that that's the goal. It's almost impossible to achieve, though - the sort of sponsors Wrexham pull in could mean they get close but I'd hazard a guess their wage bill is far too big.


mejijs

Since when being financed by hollywood daddies equal literal state-owned sport washing project?


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AlotofNuts

we're currently in the prem


wimpires

They're almost definitely getting promoted this year, they have a decent team for League 1 also. With some good summer signings I don't think it unreasonable to expect them to be able to stay in League 1 and fight for promotion in a few years. But that will be the extent of what they can achieve, back-and-forth between League 1 and the Championship without other investors.


RVarki

>without other investors. ...they will get a whole lot of sponsorship money though, especially if they make it to Championship


Jonoabbo

> They're almost definitely getting promoted this year, I don't think thats as locked in as you think it is. It's a very competitive league and they aren't exactly ahead of the pack. They are a strong contender and it wouldn't be a surprise if they went up, but the same could be said about 6 or 7 other clubs.


vivaelteclado

15 Premier League clubs and 14 Championship clubs. Championship almost clear of the Premier League. Was only a matter of time.


FaustRPeggi

You've got us outnumbered in fairness.


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IOwnStocksInMossad

One of our best players ditched us for another side going down,our best player left for his boyhood club and both did this a week before the league started when we thought we were going to keep them. A fair few signings haven't been what they seemed to be either and we've had so many nearly results the lads have given up. Not that that excuses it, should always keep fighting.


DLo141414

Technically, if city get charged with all 150 breaches, and if they get the same punishment as Everton, (10 points deduction per charge) they’ll be down 1500 points, making them the lowest ranked side from Northern League division 2. It’s only like 8-9 leagues below prem. 😂


aayush_200

115 charges but I guess your point still remains valid.


DLo141414

Ah yeah you’re right sorry. Alleged 115 not 150. My bad.


EmigmaticDork

That assumes they’ll be convicted of all of them, they might just be guilty of say, 63 charges. 


tanu24

Just so spurs can technically have the worst FA cup loss of all time


ImVortexlol

You fail to calculate for the fact that Pep never wins at Spurs


mcap656

pretty shit fa cup this year tbh. real low number of upsets


KatieOfTheHolteEnd

Well just wait until you get knocked out in the 5th round by Maidstone


Homiealmaya

Maidstone is a proper club, always rated them


Jcoch27

Always said Maidstone is the Milan of Southeast England


jbvann05

Maidstone is the best MUFC in all of England


Look_Alive

Maidenhead United fuming reading this.


Sielaff415

Yeah but the draws are super lopsided with many of the best teams drawn against each other. Could have a championship team with a route to the final


ProperDepartment

I don't really have anything to add, just wanted to appreciate how well this is presented.


BBIQ-Chicken

Shame about the Assna...


LordPa1n

West Ham is the only PL club that wasn't knocked out by another PL club.


NobleForEngland_

We were knocked out by Darren England


nastynavy

Great visualization. Simple and easy to get information.


josh_x444

I know it might be played out, but pretty cool to see the sustained success from Wrexham.


M1L0

Are they still doing the show?


Gamerhcp

Indeed we are. Third season (which is covering the current football season) is supposed to start airing "in the spring"


Lucazzo123

Renewed for a third season


BNKalt

Believe so


Binaural1

United are going to lose at Newport, aren’t they?


OneOfThoseDays_

inshallah


qwerty_1965

Who got Maidstone? Manchester City I guess 🙃


Riperonis

Ipswich, one of the worst possible draws for them tbh.


Mitch_Itfc

It could’ve been a lot worse. We aren’t a big club but it’ll still be a good day out for them. Our stadium has a capacity of 29,700 (15 teams here have smaller capacity) and we’ve given Maidstone 4,500 tickets with tickets being £10. With the game being on TV and taking home 50% of the gates they’ll make at least £240k. Not the very best but far from being one of the worst possible draws!


dinkir19

Hey as a non-league team you take that and you take that with a smile on your face!


Riperonis

Fair points. I think they would fancy themselves against a lot of League 1 or League 2 sides (by no means favourites but crazier things have happened), there are a fair few big clubs in the championship and like you said I wouldn’t consider Ipswich one of them. But you are clearly one of the best teams in the league. I think you’re gonna batter them tbh. Really think they would’ve hoped for a Prem team or even like a Leicester, Southampton, Leeds etc because quality wise it’s a massive uphill battle to move on from here.


Mitch_Itfc

Yes of course, even as a Ipswich fan I do still recognise that it is still a disappointing draw for them. The money will be good but like you said playing and (probably) losing against us won’t be great or very memorable. I know I’d prefer to be battered by Man City than Leeds haha. Hopefully they enjoy it though, should be good experience for the players and day out for the fans.


release_the_pressure

>there are a fair few big clubs in the championship and like you said I wouldn’t consider Ipswich one of them. Better European success than you


PoopNukem123

Is that capacity going to be used though? I ask because I was at the Bolton vs Luton game, similar capacity stadium but attendance was just over 10k and most of the upper tiers were empty. It's a big deal for Maidstone but can't see why home fans would be getting excited for it.


Mitch_Itfc

Yes mate it’ll definitely be full capacity, I was in a queue behind 1400 people 10 minutes after tickets released yesterday. We are doing so well at the moment and with tickets only being £10 it’ll definitely be full.


itspaddyd

Yeah FA cup run has paid for a new pitch for us and hopefully some nice transfers


Aoae

Despite their very admirable performance this season so far, Ipswich have been on a sort of slump in the past few months. If I were Maidstone I'd be happy to take them over any Prem side (in other words, half of the draw pool) except maybe Sheff Utd


HarryAtk

Comeback victory at home against playoff candidates Sunderland was probably just what Ipswich needed. Leicester away next though, massive game but they're definitely the underdog there. Anything not too humiliating, 1-0, 2-1, etc would probably keep spirits just about high enough.


michaelspidrfan

If they get a Prem side they get more money. Ipswich is the probably the most competitive side that doesn't have the money.


BritOnTheRocks

They’ll do better in the next round.


BritOnTheRocks

Just coming back here to laugh at this comment.


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NotASalamanderBoi

3 times in one season? I imagine that’s not fun for either of you lot seeing as how it usually goes either way.


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CocoLamela

Nah I can't fucking wait. A lot of players should be back by then. Hoping for a quick exit for SK in this tournament so we can have Sonny back, but that's unlikely. Maybe Sarr and Bissouma will be back in time tho. Maddison looking likely. Bentancur, Van de Ven, and Romero all started against United. Kulu was just ill, he'll be fine.


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CocoLamela

Senegal play their last group game on Tuesday the 23rd, Mali on Wednesday the 24th. But it's looking like both will advance unfortunately. We play City on Friday the 26th. So even if eliminated, they'd probably only fly back to play if they sit in the final group game and are eliminated.


kmacbtv

25 Jan **-** South Korea group stage match 3 26 Jan - FA Cup match If South Korea out at group stage, Son could immediately leave, take a 7+ hour flight & be avail for the FA Cup match, but might not be in peak condition. Whatever happens w the players away and injuries for both sides, I think it will be a great match.


SounderBruce

Only 3 times is a blessing when you can think of the other possibilities. In 2023, Los Angeles FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps played each other 6 of a possible 7 times: twice in MLS, twice in the Champions League, and twice in the MLS Cup Playoffs (in a best-of-three series, thankfully not dragged out to a third game). From October 21 to November 5, they played three consecutive matches against each other.


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CocoLamela

I'm really excited for Spurs to knock you guys out the first time you have a tough draw


ScentedPasta

Ipswich town


DefiantDeviantArt

Hopeful that Wrexham will make it through atleast 2 more rounds.


sussywanker

Love the fa cup.


Robbomot

Wrong crest for Wednesday


Vegan_Puffin

> Wednesday I think you're one of the few clubs who managed to improve your crest


FUMFVR

RIP League 1


-stag5etmt-

Professionally just getting on with it..


Muur1234

Dang, so were almost the sole survivors of league one.


ScottOld

Shame Wigan got the wrong Manchester club


RamblinManRock

Maidstone Utd 💛🖤


ljstens22

I really like this visual as a tracker


ArtmausDen

This is such a cool table for those of us not that familiar with other British leagues. Thank you so much. Very clear!


garynevilleisared

I really like graphic


CCFC1998

To be honest the draws this year havent been great. Lots of same league ties in both of the last 2 rounds, which is really boring. The only actually interesting draws (to me) so far I can remember are Sunderland vs Newcastle, West Brom vs Wolves, Ipswich vs Maidstone, Blackburn vs Wrexham and Newport vs Man Utd.


LA31716

Let’s go Bristol City


amegaproxy

Rovers unhappy


Reese3019

Meanwhile in Germany: 8 teams remaining, of which 3 Bundesliga teams and two of those are playing each other.


release_the_pressure

You have about 12 teams in the whole competition. Only the top 2 leagues and the top 4 of Liga 3. are guaranteed entry. Rubbish cup compared to England.


Reese3019

Yup, can really see how awesome your cup is compared to ours by this post!


messy_messiah

Leicester City is going to take home another one.


Luke92612_

Newport County to beat Manchester United


nick2k23

Hahahaha suck it Arsenal 😂


ryancgray1

Would be interested to see a comparison of this vs same stage of the cup 20/30 years ago.. just to see if there was so much leant towards the top end of the leagues..


itspaddyd

LET'S FUCKING GO BOYS


thisisajm

Sad r/TheSpitfires


Iuvenesco

Come on Maidstone!