The Magic of the County Cup

County Football Associations are a bit of a throwback to a bygone era of small boys up chimneys, rickets and regular wars with Germany.  What exactly, in 2014, does a County FA do?  When was the last time the Northants FA did anything?  And I don't just mean for us!  For anyone?  We play in the Southern League and various National FA competitions.  How does our local FA impact upon this?  The answer, obviously, is that doesn't.  It does nothing.  Oh, except giving Shoey a job!

The only time the Northants FA rears it's ugly head is when we are compelled to play in it's shoddy cup competition, which absolutely no-one wants to compete in.  A pointless fixture, or if you're unlucky enough to win, fixtures, grafted onto an already busy programme.

And to layer on even more insanity, these nothing-games take priority over your league fixtures.  Usually this is a bit of a joke.  This season, with clubs weighed down with a backlog of fixtures, pointless County Cups are even more of an extreme pain in the arse.

Next Tuesday our rearranged fixture with Ashford has been trumped by their continued appearance in their County Cup competition.  So, a game which means something, and would have been (hopefully) attended by several hundred paying spectators will be replaced by a game that means zip, played in front of less spectators than players.  Both clubs are trying desperately to play postponed fixtures, and both are forced to give in to the needs of the Middlesex FA.

 

And Middlesex isn't even a real county!!!

We are told that this is just the way it is and we must lump it.  This would be fair enough if the priority given to County FA Cup competitions was extended to everyone.  But I don't remember hearing Fergie ranting too many times in the past about having a European Cup Semi Final cancelled in favour of a local cup fixture with Droylesden.  Or Wenger slapping his wrinkled forehead when forced to let Real Madrid know they would have to postpone their tussle in favour of a County FA Cup tussle with Enfield.