Bolton in the next Round

Isn’t that the 5th Rd?

Just hope more Latics fans bother to go than went on wednesday.

Is Ali able to play?

I hope so,how good would that be Ali in nets against his club, this cuptie is getting better by the minute. :roll: :roll: :roll: lets remember we are Wigan and our luck the bount to change the rules. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

:roll: :roll: I know He’s still in Barbados in He. :?: :lol: :lol:

bearing in mind that its highly likely that both managers will put out weakened sides for this game & that the FA makes clubs charge a minimum entrance fee per round which is relatively high (compared to the cheapy deals clubs can do for the Carling Cup) then I can’t really see Latics selling out the same allocation we were given last week & certainly not if we were given the whole of both tiers.

I’d anticipate the Bolton end being similarly sparse too

Not one for normally cutting and pasting – but saw this and thought it was quite interesting, goes on a bit but gets the point across re f a cup admission prices – (btw it was last years comp)

THE greed of football clubs is so often castigated, but Blackburn Rovers and Burnley yesterday attempted to give something back to their fans by reducing FA Cup ticket prices. How ridiculous it is that regulations prevented them from doing any more.

Both clubs yesterday announced adult ticket prices of £15 for their respective fourth round replays against Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion.

But even though both opponents hail from the Premier League – the greatest league in the world, as Sky tell us every three seconds – many fans still felt the prices were too high.

As a result, crowds may be sparser than they should be when the teams run out at Ewood Park and Turf Moor next week.

Just 3,760 attended the third round replay between Burnley and QPR – the Clarets’ lowest crowd in nine years.

Yet the hands of both Blackburn and Burnley are tied.

In his column in today’s Lancashire Telegraph, Burnley chief executive Paul Fletcher reveals that the Clarets had wanted to sell tickets for less than £15 for their game against West Brom.

But, farcically, they were prevented from doing so by FA Cup regulations.

“It’s a long-standing FA rule that the minimum price for third-round cup ties is £15,” said an FA spokesman last year, referring to a rule that also applies for ties in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds.

“That was brought in, essentially, to help clubs agree on ticket prices because, in the past, we have had differences of opinion between clubs regarding prices.”

According to the FA website, prices can be reduced beyond £15 if both clubs agree.

But, considering the gate receipts are split for FA Cup ties, few away sides are ever likely to comply.

Fewer of their fans will benefit from the reduced prices, while the increase in atmosphere hinders rather than helps their chances of progression.

But is £15 a fair price for an FA Cup match in these days of the credit crunch?

Given that both Blackburn and Burnley went straight to the minimum price – as Aston Villa did for their replay against Doncaster Rovers – the answer would seem to be no.

Given that both Blackburn and Burnley are so confident they will not sell out that they have decided to shut sections of their grounds for the ties, that no would seem to be resounding.

In response to high prices and a struggling economy, gates at some grounds are already on the decline.

So the FA must reduce their minimum price to £10 next season if they are to avoid further alienating the public at large.

If not, their contribution to killing the FA Cup could be far greater than the odd weakened team.