Droylesden

I see that Droylesden have been chucked out of the FA Cup after they fielded an ineligible player against Chesterfield who shouldve been serving a suspension. Chesterfield will now face Ipswich away but the bloods may well appeal.

Bloody hell that will put them in trouble then.I mean they must be well out of pocket from the amont of games that got called off before they finnaly finished a game.

Bit unfiar IMO chesterfield must have played apart in it.bad loosers

Could somebody please check the Curzon Ashton team sheet again.....

Totally the correct decision. The FA had no alternative, for as you may recall, Bury were also thrown out of the Cup for playing an ineligible player a couple of seasons back. And it has happned since in the earlier rounds as well. You cannot have one rule for one club, and another for someone else.

tisdale 1 said:

Bloody hell that will put them in trouble then.I mean they must be well out of pocket from the amont of games that got called off before they finnaly finished a game.

Bit unfiar IMO chesterfield must have played apart in it.bad loosers

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You can't blame Chesterfield - it's entirely Droylsden's fault.

They knew that Nelson was suspended from 23 December, and whilst they were told this before the rescheduling of the replay (originally 16th Dec), and they were originally correct that he would sit out their Boxing Day game, the fact that Take Four of the Second Round game moved to 23 December means the suspension had to start, he was ineligible, and they're out.

Poundstretcher - glad to see that someone else's reading of this situation matches mine.

Comments coming out of Droylsden seem to suggest that they were under the impression that they had selected which game their man would be suspended for. If there was any doubt, why did they not just ring the FA and ask?

On top of that, their chairman has today said that it was a genuine mistake rather than an attempt to cheat. In which case, it was unfortunate, but that doesn't mean that they should escape punishment.

Maybe I'm feeling a bit bitter about that trip to Curzon Ashton, but TV's FA Cup coverage has rather grated on me this year. The BBC used to do things with a bit of style and with a sense of humour but when the big boys did a job on lower league opposition they'd tell it how it was - as they should. This year has seen commercial broadcasters buy their way into "The Magic of the FA Cup" and excessively push the minnow at every given opportunity. Every little aspect of a game is set up in case it has some bearing on the result. I watched the first half of the Histon/Leeds game on ITV and listened to the second on the radio - it was genuinely like two different games. Setanta - who have a vested interest in pushing non-league football - are even worse.

The FA Cup is a special competition and it's sanctity should be protected. It's wonderful because sometimes a small team gets a moment to shine against one of football's luminaries. We had our day at Manchester United and Curzon Ashton had a day against us.

I just think that television is becoming an influence on the competition now. With so much money at stake and the chance for some part-time player to make a name for himself on the telly, the genuine magic of this cup competition - which is the envy of footballing nations around the world - is being stripped away by exceesive coverage.

Television has f*cked up the League. Let's hope that the Cup doesn't go the same way.

But - back on topic - Droylsden! They cheated, they've been thrown out of the competition. End of story.

Didn't we play 11 ineligible players against Curzon?

The outcome for Droylsden was inevitable......Dave Pace say's he may resign over the issue...It would be a great shame if he did..

Well said Messrs MikeB, Poundstretcher & exeweb.

Whilst it may be tough on any true Droylsden fans, I've no sympathy for the club officials or the player involved. They c*cked up good and proper, should hold their hands up and stop bleating on about an appeal.

Yeah, my reading of the situation is pretty much the same as your Steve & Poundy. It's a shame insofar as it appears to be a genuine mistake, but clubs can't pick and choose when their player serves a suspension. The date which Newton's suspension was to go from was known a way in advance and if they weren't sure, they should have checked.

With tounge slightly in cheek, and a huge disclaimer given that I do a lot of work with the PR side of the FA Cup on ITV (and don't have any say on the broadcast side), I can genuinely say I've really enjoyed and been impressed how we've handled the Cup this year. There are a lot of people who work on it that genuinely love the FA Cup - and those moments when non-league teams get their time to shine for a brief period.

Ok, so we could have done with a windscreen wiper for the camera lens at Histon, but that was a cracking tie that summed up what the FA Cup was about in 90 minutes and I think our coverage reflected this. Our coverage on TV isn't any more than the BBC have done in recent years, it's just the tone is slightly different. More an ITV style, if you will.

Ok, one area where we have done a bit more is online at ITV.com, where we've been showing selected highlights from the qualifying rounds since the first extra preliminary qualifying round back in August. On one hand you could say it's too much, on the other hand it's something that gives clubs who don't normally get the opportunity to get national exposure the chance to do so. Plus it's a chance for fans to see highlights that haven't really been available before. Had we still been in the Conference, it'd have been something I'd have been really grateful for.

As it is, it's something that I'm really proud that we've taken the decision to do. Speaking to some of the chairmen of the non-league clubs who've been featured, it's clear that the Cup means a lot to them and the added exposure gives them something a little bit extra.

Perhaps less is more with the TV coverage, and I'll try and pass your comments onto the relevant people. But this year's Cup looks to be every bit as magical and as exciting as last year's and I don't think our coverage has diminished it.

(As an aside, I normally prefer having radio commentary on with TV pictures, but that's a personal preference as I come from a radio background. You get a different view no matter what game you do that with, I think).

Steve, if I ever get the chance, I'd love to introduce you to some of the people who've been involved with our FA Cup coverage, especially the online guys. We've taken a few football bloggers to assorted FA Cup stuff and given them the chance to chat to some pretty senior people and the bloggers have all noted their passion for football and the Cup.

And yes, I'm still a bit bitter about Cuzon as well!