Bolton Wanderers CEO slams FA Cup replay axe as a "disgrace"
Wanderers chief executive Neil Hart has strongly condemned a “backroom discussion” between the Football Association and Premier League which led to the controversial decision to shelve FA Cup replays from next season.Shock changes to the competition’s format will mean no replays from the first round onwards in 2024/25, and the final being played during the regular season.
Hart has joined prominent figures around football in criticising the plan, branding the process in which it was reached as a “disgrace”.
Four-time winners of the competition and one of the founder members of the Football League, Wanderers were not part of the consultation but having been contacted by numerous supporters expressing their displeasure, Hart has spoken out against a decision which he feels is not in the best interests of the game.
“I found out of the decision on yesterday on Sky Sports news,” he told The Bolton News. “And as the chief executive of an EFL club that is not a good start.
“I think the whole of the EFL, National League and non-league found out the same way. There has been no consultation with Bolton Wanderers and I am 99 per cent certain there has been no consultation with the EFL, National League or non-league clubs who are also impacted by this.
“We, as the football pyramid, make up the majority of the clubs in that competition, so the fact they have discussed it with the few rather than the many is not good.
“If you take a measured view and park the decision for now, the process is a disgrace. It was clearly a backroom discussion between the FA and the Premier League.
“They have come to this decision for their own gain and there has been a total disrespect and disregard to the EFL and the wider pyramid. That, for me, does not sit well. It is extremely disappointing.”
Wanderers had an FA Cup third round replay against Luton Town this season which Hart confirmed generated a “six-figure” sum in revenue for the club.
The argument – at least at Bolton’s level – is not strictly a financial one, he added, but more that a competition which has been such a strong part of the club’s heritage appears to have been undermined.
“There are two things with the FA Cup, there is history and heritage, the magic it has brought so many people over so many years, some of the replays Bolton have been involved in over recent years just wouldn’t exist.
“We were involved in an FA Cup replay only this season with Luton Town and it was a great occasion for us. We went down to Kenilworth Road, managed to get a draw and brought them back here. We narrowly lost but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
“Whatever level you play in, if you have the opportunity to play a Premier League club and get the opportunity to play away, it is all about the magic of the cup.
“Prize money in the competition is very healthy and it is something that clubs at our level, League Two, National League and non-leagues look to seriously. Our philosophy over the last few years has very much been that we want to progress in those competitions because the fans enjoy them but also the financial side is beneficial, even to a club like Bolton Wanderers.
“I also can’t get my head around the fact Premier League clubs enter the competition in the third round and yet they have dispensed with replays in the first and second round. I find that bizarre.
“Replays and FA Cup runs have funded some non-league clubs for years, funded training grounds. For us, it isn’t the be-all and end-all, but it is helpful. The replay against Luton was helpful revenue. I just can’t get my head around the process without talking to 90 per cent of the clubs who play in the competition!”
Wanderers played four FA Cup games, two league cup games and six games in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy this season. If their campaign were to extend to the play-off final in May they will have completed 61 games this season, having played 59 last term.
Ian Evatt has been vocal on some of the issues his squad has experienced as a result of the backlog – some of which has been unavoidable because of postponements, abandonments and international call-ups – but the club has continued to pick strong sides in an effort to progress.
“The fixture scheduling – we have as many challenges as clubs at the highest level,” Hart said. “We have been playing in what was the Papa Johns and now the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, and sometimes that is an extra seven, eight, nine games on the calendar, no different to a Champions League campaign.
“We cope with it, get on with it, don’t bleat about it. The players and manager do our best to work through that schedule. Yes, we are part of that consultation, the ecosystem within the EFL, who talk to the FA and Premier League about scheduling. This is about money, pure and simple.”
Hart is equally dismayed that the was no attempt to ‘reach out’ to the EFL and beyond by the FA and Premier League to discuss the possible ramifications.
“The Premier League and FA must have had numerous meetings in the recent months and weeks and I cannot believe that nobody has thought to consult with the pyramid,” he said.
“Nobody has said ‘let’s be open, straight and decent about this’ and I am shocked that it hasn’t happened. As someone who has worked in this game for 20 years, all this stuff just makes me fall out of love with it. It is not good at all.”
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