Changes are fine but the grand old FA Cup still has plenty of life left, declares Hodgson

CRYSTAL PALACE manager Roy Hodgson accepts the FA Cup is no longer the bees knees in football terms – but insists it is moving in the right direction once more.

Hodgson, 71, the oldest manager in Premier League history, welcomes the major changes made to save football’s most famous cup competition.

And he is backing the decision to have no replays after the fourth round – even though he knows that could cost him when Palace visit Doncaster today in what is being touted as a possible giant-killing.

Hodgson said: “A Premier League team will probably win it – so what’s wrong?

“I am old and remember its glorious past but we must look forward.”

He added: “Yes, we might suffer. But that is progress.

“But we don’t need to save the FA Cup. It’s safe.

“The question is, do we need to do more than is being done? My answer is no.

“So much is going on in the FA Cup.

“There are clubs across the country playing the competition before we in the league know anything about it.

“The big clubs don’t take any interest until the third round.

“So all those so-called lower teams get incredibly excited at the chance to play against a top side.

“We must not dismiss that huge body of work just because a team might change a few players in the third round because they have an important midweek game or a Champions League game coming up.

“We really should not dismiss it because of that.

“Secondly, when it comes to the finals, we still don’t often see teams out of the top five getting there.

“We were lucky, we got there a few years ago, upset a few and nearly went on to win it.

“But it’s so often the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City who, at the end of the day, are contesting the final.

“So my hope would be we continue to cherish the FA Cup, continue to value it and don’t make comparisons because these other competitions are what they are and also important.

“Let us enjoy them all without suggesting the FA Cup is not right and not what it was when there were fewer competitions. Life has changed.

“We need competitions. We need the Champions League otherwise a breakaway league could happen.

“The Europa League has become a top competition, too.

“The way the FA are dealing with the competition is very wise.

“I think it is very clever that we don’t have replays in this next round.

“They are the type of things we need to look at in the future.

“It might even be that we decide to bring that back further and say, let’s not have replays from the fourth-round stage onwards.

“I don’t think a lot of teams would complain if that was the case.

“It could cost us at Doncaster but I am prepared to accept that because when you know that is going happen you come to terms with it.

“I understand why this is being done because coming at this time of year – going into March – it is an important time for the Champions League and the Europa League, so FA Cup replays would make life more difficult.

“I am happy the way things are going in the FA Cup.

“We have seen some good games, good giant-killings.”

TONY STENSON