The real truth about what EFL clubs think of FA Cup replays and how they hide the fact they're happy to lose - managers candidly reveal to IAN LADYMAN why, sometimes, being knocked out is the best option
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All football managers want to win but sometimes in recent years it has felt better to lose than to draw. Not in the moment, no. In the moment a defeat is a defeat and it hurts. But in the FA Cup a draw has traditionally meant a replay and the truth is that for many involved in the cut and thrust of the modern game, replay had become a dirty word.
![[However, the fifth-tier side conceded three during extra-time and were knocked out by Spurs]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/16/15/94169469-14292077-image-a-8_1737039739656.jpg)
Welcome to the other side of a debate that continues to swirl around the margins of the English game at this time of year. It is about tradition and history and fairness and equal opportunity and money and all of that is valid. FA Cup replays have been stolen from the calendar on behalf of the big clubs who cannot see further than the end of their priorities and wants.
![[The FA Cup third round sparked an interesting debate around the structure of the competition]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/16/14/94168931-14292077-image-a-5_1737038951493.jpg)
But the truth is that there is a flip side of an argument that bounced back into our football conversations after Tottenham's extra-time win at Tamworth at the weekend. And it is one discussed routinely by the men who live our game every single day, the men who can lose jobs and self-respect and standing, not on the back of famous cup games, but on the back of league performances that ultimately dictate everything.
![[Managers from the EFL have expressed why a replay is not always beneficial to their sides]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/16/14/94168789-14292077-image-a-4_1737038803705.jpg)
For the managers, the line between respecting a grand old competition they grew up watching and trying to look after a squad straining at the edges in the middle of a sapping winter schedule is difficult to walk. Tamworth were denied a replay with Spurs after Sunday's clash ended 0-0 at 90 minutes.
![[Some have claimed that the congested fixture schedule draws concerns over player fitness]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/16/14/94168885-14292077-image-a-3_1737038802797.jpg)
