Jamie Carragher has divided opinion by calling for FA Cup semi-finals to be held away from Wembley.
The London-based venue, by far the biggest stadium in the country, has played host to the last four clashes this weekend between Manchester City and Sheffield United as well as Manchester United's game with Brighton. Since the new Wembley was opened in 2007 it has hosted semi-finals as well as the final.
That was never previously the case and there have been calls for games to be played away from Wembley, especially when it makes sense for fans of teams based in the north of the country, with travel arrangements often proving problematic.
Carragher has advocated semi-finals being played elsewhere on social media as he also added: "There are enough stadiums of 60k+ to cater for fans. Two teams from the North shouldn’t have to spend on travel to get to Wembley! It’s about paying off Wembley & nothing else."
He also added on potential venues: "You only need two stadiums for semi finals. Old Trafford is more than adequate & if Utd get to the semi final they can play at Anfield which will hold 60k next season!!"
A host of fans concur with the former player turned pundit with one saying: "Much better when they were at OT and Villa park but there are plenty of other stadiums to choose from too. Takes away from playing the final at Wembley." Another added: "I miss Villa Park semi-finals"
Others feel as though the semi-finals give smaller clubs and their fans the chance to enjoy the Wembley experience as another claimed: "It's OK for some clubs who get to Wembley a lot, but what about clubs who don't." Another said: "I think about the lower league teams and how going to Wembley is massive for them. Don't take that away."
This season three of the four semi-finalists were northern-based sides. Last term Liverpool saw off Manchester City in the last four, but fans struggled to make the contest due to engineering works on Easter Saturday. He called for a more common sense approach that puts fans at the centre of the decision making.
He said at the time: “It’s disappointing for the fans – I think this time it should be a bit more about them. It’s their day and for different reasons, costs included, it would make sense to change it to a neutral venue nearer the north-west. That’s just my view. I’m sure there are complications the FA would have to overcome in moving it.
"But I’m looking at it from the fans’ viewpoint, which is probably the most important thing to me. I’ve learnt over the past couple of years of the pandemic how important the fans are to football so it’s really disappointing to see that it will be very expensive for many of them to get down there.”
The Liverpool skipper also added: “I love playing at Wembley, I think it’s a fantastic stadium, but for me personally I would like to keep it for finals. I think how it used to be, semi-finals at neutral grounds was quite exciting. Then to keep the final at Wembley made it extra special.”
