For 154 years, heroic Tamworth would have earned a Cup replay and a priceless windfall - but since the FA threw the tradition out, they were the victims of a great BETRAYAL, writes MATT BARLOW
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Well, that didn’t take long. Ten months after replays were scrapped without proper consultation and the FA Cup shows the decision up for what it was, a betrayal of the lower reaches of English football. This wonderful old competition is like that. It can strip away pretence. It’s the beauty of it and one of the key reasons for its enduring popularity.
![[Just one year ago their performance would've been enough to secure a money-spinning rematch at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/12/21/94017883-14276607-image-a-55_1736718686819.jpg)
This time last year, Tamworth’s reward for keeping out Tottenham for 90 minutes would have been a replay at the finest stadium in the country and the chance for Andy Peaks to have another shot at Ange Postecoglou’s team after his part-time players had got their breath back.
![[Instead the fifth-tier side are left to wonder what might have been after the FA made the controversial decision to scrap replays]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/12/21/94017885-14276607-image-a-56_1736718724342.jpg)
The chance to earn a share of up to £6million, which is the estimated match-day revenue from a game at Daniel Levy’s magnificent temple to corporate fandom. Accounting for costs and the probability that tickets would have been priced more cheaply than usual but adding another live TV fee, and there’s a chance Tamworth might have banked the thick end of a million from a replay.
![[The part-timers' heroic effort came undone during an additional 30 minutes of football that previously would not have been played]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/12/21/94017959-14276607-image-a-57_1736718875446.jpg)
Let’s not forget why replays had to be scrapped. They were unpopular with the biggest and richest clubs in the country. And why? They cluttered up the fixture list. Tamworth were cruelly denied a replay after holding Spurs to a goalless draw after 90 minutes.
![[The result only highlights the magic the FA Cup can bring in the face of a sport that is increasingly geared towards the richest clubs]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/12/21/94017895-14276607-image-a-58_1736718920245.jpg)
Just one year ago their performance would've been enough to secure a money-spinning rematch at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Clubs whose managers moan about the fixture schedule while signing up to bloated UEFA competitions, postseason friendlies on the other side of the world and extensive summer tours.
