Swansea City Fan View: FA Cup replays could cost the season

While many others have secured their place in the FA Cup quarter finals, Swansea City have once again secured a replay after drawing with Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

A draw is better than nothing though… isn’t it?

Well, yes and no.

Ultimately, progression in the FA Cup is a good thing. Imagine Swansea getting to the final or even winning the trophy (in addition to Premier League survival). After the season we’ve had, that would be incredible and a huge achievement given the circumstances.

But the manner we are currently doing it is a bit concerning.

In January we saw a 0-0 draw with Wolves, before a 2-1 win in the home replay. Then we saw a 1-1 draw with Notts County before that incredible 8-1 replay win at home. Now we’ve watched another 0-0 draw, with Sheffield Wednesday on the road, which results in yet another home replay.

That’s three extra games the team has been forced to play over the last month or so.

Pros and cons of replays

Of course, the extra games can lead to some positives. Look at that crushing 8-1 victory over Notts County. What a boost for the club and the individual scorers, and it was a club-record broken thanks to the replay.

Bringing these teams back to the Liberty Stadium also results in additional funds from a share of the ticket sales. Good for club and hopefully the team if/when it’s reinvested (a touchy subject at the moment, but any extra cash is good, I guess).

However, the cons outweigh these pros for me. Because, despite the feeling of optimism around the club, Swansea have not guaranteed safety in the Premier League yet.

READ MORE: Carvalhal has four games to save Swans’ season

If we are going to build on the good work of Carlos Carvalhal and stay in the league, we need a squad running at full strength.

We’re all aware how the squad is already lacking depth. Yes, Carvalhal is getting more out of the current players, but there’s not a lot of talent to go around, and a few more injuries could really cripple us.

We’re already struggling with injuries to a few key players, including Wilfried Bony and Leroy Fer.

Extra games will always lead to extra injuries. As we saw in the tie at Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend, Alfie Mawson pulled out of the game ahead of kick-off after suffering a locked knee in the warm-up.

Sure, this is an injury that could have happened in a league game or a training session, but the more games that are played, the more chance of something like this – or worse – happening.

While I see the benefits of progressing in the cup and the additional benefits of replays, the priority should be the league this year – the FA Cup is a bonus.

So please, after/if we progress into the next round, let’s try to see off Southampton in one game. Because, you never know – a fourth consecutive replay could cost us the season.