Alan Pardew: There's not enough foresight in FA Cup scheduling

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Alan Pardew: There's not enough foresight in FA Cup scheduling



ALAN PARDEW has slammed the FA and Premier League for a lack of foresight in relation to the scheduling a potentially troublesome FA Cup fifth round replay.
 
 Palace visit Tottenham on Sunday and it is fair to say that neither club will want the inconvenience of a replay at Selhurst Park next month.
 
 Should the match end in a draw, a replay is currently being pencilled in for Tuesday March 8. This would fall two days after Palace’s home Premier League tie with Liverpool.
 
 For Spurs, it would come two days before their Europa League Last 16 (assuming that the club progress into the next round), which could either be at White Hart Lane or somewhere on the continent.
 
 Tuesday March 1 and Wednesday March 2 cannot work as a possible date because there is a full allocation of Premier League matches across those two nights.
 
 Discussions between the clubs, the FA and the Premier League are underway and a decision is expected today.
 
 Pardew, speaking ahead of any announcement, moaned: “We are currently talking about the replay date for this game – and wow, it looks complicated to me. Definitely complicated for Spurs.
 
 “Both managers would prefer to get the job done (at the first attempt). The rules are the rules and we will have to deal with that when it turns up.
 
 “But perhaps a little bit of foresight should have been there at the start of this season with some of these replays.
 
 “The scenario looks like a two-day break for us and Spurs. We are putting our players at risk. That is not enough recovery time given the amount of effort and capacity we have to play at in the current game.”
 
 Yannick Bolasie, Joe Ledley and Dwight Gayle could all return from injury to be available for Palace.