CSL Cup Rd 1

[chelsea]

Round 2 of the cup should be pretty strong this year as most of the top teams should advance to Round 2.

Top 3 games in no particular order that involve the top sides

CBC 2A v Mercedes 1B

Uni White 1A v Thebarton 2A

Windsor v Westminster 2A

There are a few other good match matchups with the lower teams.

Good luck to St Pauls in their 1st game. Playing v Blackwood.

Should give the league a good indication on where they are.

[chelsea]

Well done to Thebarton 2A in cup round 1. They got through in extra time against a very strong 1A side.
Their Bs are also through so it was a good day for them. Could be a strong year for them.

This year there was a suggestion put to clubs to split the cup in 2 groups. Strongest 32 in one cup. Next 32 in second cup. The clubs didnt take the offer and voted to stay with the 1 cup.

For many years now and I hope this happens, my view is that all clubs should have 1 team enter the cup.

Line the CSL cup up with the FFA cup in terms of fixtures. Unley is through to Rd 2 of FFA cup and they have league games fixtured in on the same day for the CSL.

32 games on the weekend. 9 games were won by 5 or more goals. 6 games were won by 10 or more goals.

I dont see how how this benefits the winners and losers.

Unfortunately the system will stay as there are some clubs that believe that all their teams should be involved.

I would like to see some big games from the start and give clubs a chance to make a big day out of it.

[yak]

I dunno.. those of us that play in the lower div's get a kick out of playing higher ranked opponents. Sure we've been dusted up from time to time (think Pembroke walloped us 9-0 last year), but the enjoyment of knocking off a team from a higher div is still there.
And looking at some of the results - teams from Div 3 & 4 fared pretty well..
It's what makes the cup exciting.

BUT - if you want to make it a more even cup - seed the top teams (Maybe 1A and 2A) & give them a bye for the first round or 2 (like they do with the FA Cup) - then only the better lower teams make it through to meet them.. Which still means all teams are playing, but might reduce the high scoring encounters & make for more even contests.

[INTERISTA]

I agree with the need for a format change.
No one benefits from a 13 to 15 goal thumping!

[BB7]

I am not sure why there cannot be 2 Cups. Name it after a life member or something. 1A,1B, 2A, 2B compete for 1 cup. And Div 3,4,5,6 compete for another. There is nothing gained by winning a game by more than 10 goals. Not for the winner or loser. We had to play a Div 5 team. Of course the scores were inflated now it is hard to tell the players what they can learn from that game! The next game for us will be very competitive. How do convince a footballer that they aren't as good as they think they are?

[INTERISTA]

I am not sure why there cannot be 2 Cups. Name it after a life member or something. 1A,1B, 2A, 2B compete for 1 cup. And Div 3,4,5,6 compete for another. There is nothing gained by winning a game by more than 10 goals. Not for the winner or loser. We had to play a Div 5 team. Of course the scores were inflated now it is hard to tell the players what they can learn from that game! The next game for us will be very competitive. How do convince a footballer that they aren't as good as they think they are?

Exactly, fixtures like that are a waste of time for both teams. I think the CSL has out grown this format, worked well with only 3 Divisions but now the the gap in quality is much wider.
I like Chelsea's idea one entrant per club, big block buster games to kick off the season proper.

[polly_czek]

A two stage format (akin to the FFA Cup) might work - all non 1a or 1b teams (maybe 2a+b also?) compete in a preliminary round in an attempt to advance to the major round against division 1(+2?) teams, in say, round 3/4 of the cup? (or whatever it works out to be?)

The top ranked teams would have a couple of byes while the lower ranked teams battle it out to advance, and the lower ranked teams can claim bragging rights if they manage to advance to the main draw, with only a limited amount of spots available.

[Ross30]

Can the people who do not like the current format of the cup please make their feelings known to their club delegates who attend the CSL meetings.

As Chelsea stated, proposals to re-format the cup have been made during the last 2 or 3 years but each time have been voted against. It could be that there is just a vocal minority on the forum on this issue, but I sense that many teams in the lower divisions see no point in entering the cup in its current format.

[crusader_]

Two cups would be good. Mt Barker could then win both.

[chelsea]

Two cups would be good. Mt Barker could then win both.

You are a good laugh crusader_

Exactly the kind of answer that I expect from you.