Where should FA Cup Semi Finals be played?

[UpTheClough]

Just out of interest who thinks semi finals should still be held at a neutral ground and who feels semi finals at Wembley are not just a money making exercise, but a great opportunity for more players and fans to experience Wembley?

 

[shorehamview]

Not at Wembley, but the greedy bastards at the FA need to pay for a stadium that's a bugger to get to and even worse to get away from.

 

[jt64]

would be fine if our semi was played at old trafford, that i live 20 times closer to there than wembley has nothing to do with it

 

[sitwell]

I think they should play one of them in western New York.

 

[SRBlade]

The SoL is quite big and ideal for two northern sides

 

[lawlessdan]

I think it depends who is playing, our game against Hull for example would suit everybody to play at Old Trafford

 

[boo radley]

Who gives a fuck when you're in it, as long as it is not some west yorkshire dung hole.

 

[metalblade]

I go for a neutral ground but sadly only Old Trafford is big enough outside of London and in London only the Emirates comes close. As usual the FA got it so wrong when they decided to have the national stadium at Wembley which only benefits anyone south of Watford, it should really been built in the centre of England, Coventry maybe.

 

[SRBlade]

I go for a neutral ground but sadly only Old Trafford is big enough outside of London and in London only the Emirates comes close. As usual the FA got it so wrong when they decided to have the national stadium at Wembley which only benefits anyone south of Watford, it should really been built in the centre of England, Coventry maybe.

Exactly right, somewhere in the middle of the country where they could build 'fan parks' like the Germans did in 2006 therefore fans of clubs won't have to endure the dump that surrounds Wembley and if the FA are in charge of these fan parks then they will be getting in extra revenue, rather than it being pumped into London over and over again.

 

[Rollerball]

Trafford for northern teams, emirates for southern, maybe Etihad anywhere but Wembley, as that should be used strictly for finals only, and stop "club Wembley" skimming 1/7 of the tickets from the fans of the clubs involved.
the National stadium should have been somewhere maybe little north of Birmingham IMO, central for ALL teams, good road, rail and airport access and im sure a site could be found with room for massive parking too.
just my opinion of course.

 

[Pedro Verde]

Think weve already had this conversation quite a few times
Its obviously a neutral ground like Old Trafford

 

[wizadry]

Not at Wembley, but the greedy bastards at the FA need to pay for a stadium that's a bugger to get to and even worse to get away from.

Even worse when sunday the 13th is the london marathon what a load of bellends.
I should imagine the marathon has been booked at quite an early stage yet that massive company of the f.a.cant even be arsed to look that up and sort it out, what a set of wankers they really are, apart from that there allright

P.S please make sure ours isnt the sunday

 

[SwissBlade]

Old Trafford would be ideal for Hull Tigers v The Mighty Blades

 

[Rufus Smalls]

Exactly right, somewhere in the middle of the country where they could build 'fan parks' like the Germans did in 2006 therefore fans of clubs won't have to endure the dump that surrounds Wembley and if the FA are in charge of these fan parks then they will be getting in extra revenue, rather than it being pumped into London over and over again.

I would suggest somewhere in Lincolnshire - anyone who drives up and down the A1 regularly will notice the shit loads of open land that could be developed into something more accessible than That London.

Rufus.

 

[travellingblade]

The land in Lincolnshire is used to grow food, whereas if you've ever been to St George's Park, just west of Burton upon Trent, where the FA has built it's new coaching headquarters, the FA owns a hugh amount of land, which is purely landscaped, and there is more than enough to build a purpose built stadium.

It is just off the A50, which is a continuous dual carriageway (motorway standard connecting the M6 and M1, i.e. east / west, or the A38 which runs between the M1 and M5/ M6 interchange.

Because of the rolling hills, it can be totally landscaped, plus it's got it's own airfield.

 

[Hull City Fan]

I can't see why we can't have a "Northern Wembley". The concept of Wembley is fine ..... a national stadium .... the only problem is the location ..... if the UK is going to stay together, the "National Stadium" should be equidistant between Berwick upon Tweed and Lands End and Great Yarmouth and Holyhead ..... as the Etihad gets bigger, that could be an option ..... will Wembley be sold out for the semi final? If the attendance is less than the capacity of stadiums in "The North", I think we'll be allowed a campaign to agree where semi finals should be played. In the past, Villa Park and Hillsborough were both used as "Wembley" was too "important" to be used for a mere semi final.

 

[judge]

Semi finals have to be played at Wembley now and forever to pay for the fucking thing being built in the first place
End of thread

 

[wizadry]

I can't see why we can't have a "Northern Wembley". The concept of Wembley is fine ..... a national stadium .... the only problem is the location ..... if the UK is going to stay together, the "National Stadium" should be equidistant between Berwick upon Tweed and Lands End and Great Yarmouth and Holyhead ..... as the Etihad gets bigger, that could be an option ..... will Wembley be sold out for the semi final? If the attendance is less than the capacity of stadiums in "The North", I think we'll be allowed a campaign to agree where semi finals should be played. In the past, Villa Park and Hillsborough were both used as "Wembley" was too "important" to be used for a mere semi final.

Just one thing to comment on pal,if this aint a sell out theres something wrong,well it definately will be from our side

 

[Selly]

Just one thing to comment on pal,if this aint a sell out theres something wrong,well it definately will be from our side

Thing is, we may very well sell all our tickets, and Hull may very well sell all thir tickets, and yet when you look on TV Wembley looks half empty.

Fact is between us we ae only getting 64k or so of the 90k on offer, whih makes a complete mockery of the "its a bigger ground so more fans get to watch it" argument.

 

[Hull City Fan]

It'll be interesting to see .... of course, if there was a stadium as big as Wembley in the North it would be a sell out but the logistics of getting back to Hull from London are quite different to getting back to Sheffield from London. There are FAR fewer trains to Hull from London than there are to Sheffield and it has long been a complaint from fans of Hull's rugby teams and City fans that whenever they play in London or down south, they often have to do an overnight unless they travel by car since the reality of seeing a match at Wembley and getting back to Hull to be at work the next morning isn't feasible. If the semi final IS on the same day as the London marathon, I reckon the tie should be switched to a neutral venue rather than put us all through the fiasco of getting down to London, negotiating travel, already chaotic in the capital but made worse because of the marathon and then with us lot factored into the situation? .... why not give Middlesborough the business?

 

[wizadry]

It'll be interesting to see .... of course, if there was a stadium as big as Wembley in the North it would be a sell out but the logistics of getting back to Hull from London are quite different to getting back to Sheffield from London. There are FAR fewer trains to Hull from London than there are to Sheffield and it has long been a complaint from fans of Hull's rugby teams and City fans that whenever they play in London or down south, they often have to do an overnight unless they travel by car since the reality of seeing a match at Wembley and getting back to Hull to be at work the next morning isn't feasible. If the semi final IS on the same day as the London marathon, I reckon the tie should be switched to a neutral venue rather than put us all through the fiasco of getting down to London, negotiating travel, already chaotic in the capital but made worse because of the marathon and then with us lot factored into the situation? .... why not give Middlesborough the business?

Mboro youre getting silly now
We would sell that out ourselves its way too small

 

[Gavlar]

having been to wembley already i think its a brilliant stadium and am proud to go there to support the blades, but really the location is a joke and only suits us southern softies. i've always felt the fa should save wembley for the final, but they wont.

 

[Hull City Fan]

and rather than having some z list member of the aristocracy presented to the players before the match, let's have Keith Edwards given some credit and place in the spotlight!

 

[grafikhaus]

I think as a way of compensation for the pigs going out of the Cup, it should be at Hillsborough.

But remember,

• Bring your own paint & brush

• Bring a tin of rust prevention

• Oh, and an up-to-date Safety Certificate.

 

[Eskimo]

I think this one should be played at Bellend Rroad or Old Trafford if there isn't a ground big enough in Yorks ..

 

[Crouchy]

Sorry to be smug, but Wembley suits me far better than Old Trafford would (it's still fucking stupid having the semis there, but that isn't going to change so we have to live with it).

 

[Silent Blade]

I can't see why we can't have a "Northern Wembley". The concept of Wembley is fine ..... a national stadium .... the only problem is the location ..... if the UK is going to stay together, the "National Stadium" should be equidistant between Berwick upon Tweed and Lands End and Great Yarmouth and Holyhead ..... as the Etihad gets bigger, that could be an option ..... will Wembley be sold out for the semi final? If the attendance is less than the capacity of stadiums in "The North", I think we'll be allowed a campaign to agree where semi finals should be played. In the past, Villa Park and Hillsborough were both used as "Wembley" was too "important" to be used for a mere semi final.

In 1950, Vale Park was supposed to become the "Wembley of the North" but the scheme fell into problems but Vale Park did become one of the biggest grounds below the 1st division

 

[yorkshirecoast]

Having seen us in semis at Wembley & Old Trafford, I much prefer Old Trafford. Can still enjoy the build up, still create a great atmosphere - but much easier to get home afterwards when it all goes pear-shaped! I suppose at least there won't be the pressure we've faced in the play off finals. The pressure is on them given they are two divisions higher (albeit temporarily).

 

[FlyingFjortoft]

semis at Millenium Stadium, final at Wembley?