IT'S GREAT. IT'S THE BLOODY FA CUP. SHUT UP! Sir Paul McCartney is being interviewed about The Beatles' white album. It is put to him that it is flawed: double LP, 30 tracks, contributions from all band members, myriad styles. McCartney is indignant. 'The fact it has got so much on it is one of the things that is cool about it,' he protests. He starts naming tracks: Rocky Raccoon, Piggies, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, all little works of unique genius. Frustration growing, he concludes: 'I think it's a fine album. What do you mean? It's great. It's the bloody Beatles' white album. Shut up.' It's the same with the FA Cup. Every third round brings a rehash of faults and suggested revamps. Fixing the draw, moving the schedule, offering up incentives like a Champions League or play-off place. Jeff Stelling wondered how teams could be stopped from making so many changes and turned to his Saturday afternoon panel: Sue Smith, Matt Murray, Gary O'Neil and Clinton Morrison. Ahem. And, yes, crowds have been better and the FA Cup does not have the kudos of 1953, the year of the Matthews final. But it’s not being moved to Saudi Arabia like the Spanish Super Cup. It remains a design classic — the domestic cup competition against which all others are judged. And it still throws up marvellous surprises from 40-year-old heroes in Rochdale, to teenage derby winners at Anfield. Equally, Jurgen Klopp did not disrespect it with that team. Everton looked exhausted, and Liverpool would have, too, given their Christmas schedule. He unleashed far more energy by fielding youth players — and what season ticket holder does not want to see the next generation, particularly when they look this good? Dean Smith got knocked out with Aston Villa and announced the cup had lost its sparkle, but strangely does not feel that way about the Carabao Cup, a lesser tournament, having reached the semi-final. Had Villa not had that other cup commitment, or been involved in a relegation battle, he might have been able to field a stronger team at Fulham. So it is outside pressure, not the FA Cup itself, that causes flaws. Too many matches over the holiday period, an unnecessary second leg semi-final in the Carabao Cup. The original cup is squeezed, and mismanaged by the FA, who insist on playing at Wembley before the final, and have replays in some rounds but not others. So, yes, it could be tidied up a little, returned to its roots. Most of the FA's ideas, from awkward staggered kick-off times to Wembley semis are money-oriented. Replays increasingly seem outdated given the demands of the modern schedule, but the rest of the FA Cup should certainly be about tradition, from kick-offs, to venues and its place in the calendar. Most importantly, we should celebrate what it is, not bemoan what is isn't. It's fine, it's great, it's the bloody FA Cup. Shut up.
Any one who says The White Album is flawed is a knaa nowt ****. FACT. It's a work of unparalleled genius. It's harmony, it's dissonance. It's togetherness, it's separation. It's pure pop, it's experimental avant garde. It's looking forward, it's looking backwards. It's over engineered, it's naively raw. Basically, it's Paul, it's John. (and George and the lucky drummer boy too, obvs.) FA Cup's a bit ****e these days, mind.
No, its not just you. I preferred US bands like Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Doors etc.
Liked the Beatles when they first came out. You had to be around at the time to appreciate how fresh and new they sounded. Then I looked up the artists they covered, same with the Stones, both of them always credited their influences, and found I liked the originals better. Also everyone loved the Beatles and that isn’t what you wanted. You wanted parents to either have not heard of what you liked or if they had heard of them not like it. Strangely, I now appreciate them far more and how good they were. What they did, tours, singles, albums, films and the amount of records sold in 7 years was phenomenal. Compare the output of bands that have or were in existence for two and three times longer and they were nowhere near in quantity or quality.
This has been discussed before. Personally, and music is subjective, I thought the Doors were just about the most over rated band of the time. Jefferson Airplane weren’t far behind. Both did one classic and that was it. For me anyway. There again I was listening to Janis Joplin, who some people, including my wife, for some reason don’t rate.
The White Album is way foehn the list of Beatles albums for me. Paul McCartney is on radio this week discussing how he and Lennon arrived at the studio knowing words and chords but having no idea of tune and praising the input of George Martin, George Harrison and Ringo in helping come up with the final product.
Isn't this the place to discuss our 4th round FA Cup tie with Chelsea? Ben will soon be here to admonish you all.
But the 4,000 Chelsea supporters expected to make the trip will have to do so under their own steam with please log in to view this image Chelsea will look at the possibility of putting on transport options, just as they have the week before for the trip to Newcastle at a subsidised cost of £20. "They have often put on trains for the supporters, which they fund, and I know the Premier League have encouraged initiatives that help supporters get to and from away matches. "But in this case, even if Chelsea wanted to, they couldn't put on a train. And that begs the question why on earth BT Sport and the FA have allowed that to happen. "They know the travel issues but they are so in thrall to the broadcasters that they don't care about the impact on the fans. "The broadcasters wield the power and what they say goes. I often wonder if they give a damn. Maybe they'd be happier if we just sat there and watched it on TV in our living room." A spokesperson for BT said: "Fixture scheduling is a complex process undertaken between multiple parties - broadcasters, leagues, clubs and local authorities.” Clubs and the FA submit a grid to the broadcasters of times that are unworkable for certain clubs, and broadcasters try to work to that timetable. Chelsea are still expected to sell out their allocation despite the difficulties with the 15 per cent required allocation for the away side in the FA Cup a rare opportunity for Chelsea fans to travel in such numbers.