(Soccer/Football Thread) Help me understand the English Premier League.

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sportzhead

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I have been watching a ton of soccer (yeah yeah, I mean football) on the FOX Soccer Channel. I mean a ton. Like it’s slowly becoming the only thing I watch. But man do I have a bunch of questions.

Alright, onto the questions.

English Premier League:
How many teams are in the league?
How and why do team fall out of the league (relegation)? And when they do fall out, where do they go?
Transfer fees? Does that also include the player’s salary, or just the cost of the transfer?
Is there some sort of salary cap like in the NFL and NBA?
What the heck is up with player loans? You can loan players to other teams? If yes, why would a team do that?
Why no win/loss record to determine league ranking?
How long is the season (Months)? How many games are played per season?

FA Cup:
What is it?
Why is it played during the EPL season?

Champions League:
How does this league work?
Is it like a World Cup for the various league winners?

General Questions:
What the heck is winning do to aggregate? Where are the other points/goals coming from?
In the EPL, which teams are really entertaining to watch? I know Manchester United (Ronaldo is playing some good football), Arsenal, and Chelsea are all good teams, but other than the big three, who else should I try to check out.

I thinks that’s all for now. Help me out GAF Europe.
 
sportzhead said:
English Premier League:
How many teams are in the league? - 20
How and why do team fall out of the league (relegation)? And when they do fall out, where do they go? - The Three bottom placed clubs get relegated to the league that sits below the Premier League - This is called The Championship. The Championships top placed clubs then get promoted to the Premier League, with a playoff competition between the 3rd through 7th placed teams to determine the final promotion slot.
Transfer fees? Does that also include the player’s salary, or just the cost of the transfer?
Is there some sort of salary cap like in the NFL and NBA? No - the transfer fee is simply the fee paid from the buying club to the selling club. Salary's dont come into it.
What the heck is up with player loans? You can loan players to other teams? If yes, why would a team do that? - Larger teams will more often than not have a number of players registered on their books. Many of these players have a lot of potential and need to experience real life games to fulfill their potential. So, instead of putting a promising 18 year old into a very hostile, and difficult situation, a team may loan him out to a 'lesser' team to gain experience at a lower level.
Why no win/loss record to determine league ranking? - I dont understand the question - League ranking is determined by points. 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw.
How long is the season (Months)? How many games are played per season? The season runs from August to May, with each team playing each other twice (home and away)

FA Cup:
What is it? - It is a cup competition played in a knock out type. It features all clubs in the football league from The Premiership right down the lowest levels.
Why is it played during the EPL season? When else would it be played? They do change the schedule so that designated weekends are just for FA cup matches.

Champions League:
How does this league work? This league combines the top European teams. The top placed finishers in each European league are granted places in the competition. It's played like the World cup, in that teams play in a group of 4 - with the top two teams progressing onto a knockout style competition.
Is it like a World Cup for the various league winners? - Yes, similiar, but combines not only the winners of the league, but (sometimes, dependant on leagues) 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams.

General Questions:
What the heck is winning do to aggregate? Where are the other points/goals coming from? - I dont understand...
In the EPL, which teams are really entertaining to watch? I know Manchester United (Ronaldo is playing some good football), Arsenal, and Chelsea are all good teams, but other than the big three, who else should I try to check out. - Portsmouth, Tottenham, Newcastle, Reading, Blackburn

I thinks that’s all for now. Help me out GAF Europe.
Click to expand...

See attached.
 
If youre in the US, look into the MLS. While the teams arent quite as good as british teams, some of them (not all) have a better (ie better to watch) playing style. And of coruse, you can actually go to the stadium.

MLS Regular season = premiership, but theres no relegation, there is a salary cap, and there are two winners. The regular season highest points, and then the playoff winner.
US Open Cup: FA Cup featuring American teams of all levels.
Superliga: Tournament in the summer between US and Mexican teams
CONCACAF Champions Cup (final year) Tournament for best in north america
CONCACAF Champions League:: Starts this year, based off european champions league format, also best teams in north america.


Im also here to tell you not to buy into the EPL. Its boring, doesnt feature the best teams in the world, and is full of aging "stars" who have amazing kicks, but are booooring.
 
jamesinclair said:
Im also here to tell you not to buy into the EPL. Its boring, doesnt feature the best teams in the world, and is full of aging "stars" who have amazing kicks, but are booooring.
Click to expand...

Who're these aging stars you mention?

Did you not just recommend the MLS?
 
Thanks Google, you're my hero.

What the heck is winning do to aggregate? Where are the other points/goals coming from? - I dont understand...
Click to expand...

Example: The final score was 2 to 1, but with aggregate the score changed to 2 to 3. The aggregate was applied after the game was finished. It wasn't in the EPL, I think it was a tournament from some other country.

FA Cup:
What is it? - It is a cup competition played in a knock out type. It features all clubs in the football league from The Premiership right down the lowest levels.
Click to expand...

What's the point then? Wouldn't it just be dominated by the top Premier League teams? Do teams really care about the FA Cup, or is it looked upon like a cheap second rate championship?
 
In Champions League you play home and away against your opponent in the later rounds. Aggregate score is used as a tiebreaker if each club won a game.

Spurs and the Barcodes are really only "entertaining" in the sense that they're a guaranteed train wreck every season.
 
Google said:
Who're these aging stars you mention?

Did you not just recommend the MLS?
Click to expand...

Fair enough, the big names in MLS are also aging stars (Beckham, Blanco). They can play very well, but theyve also been playing for 15 years.

What's the point then? Wouldn't it just be dominated by the top Premier League teams? Do teams really care about the FA Cup, or is it looked upon like a cheap second rate championship?
Click to expand...

History. Also, its a national thing, as in every team can participate, not just those with the most money. While EPL usually win, there can be surprises.

Example: The final score was 2 to 1, but with aggregate the score changed to 2 to 3. The aggregate was applied after the game was finished. It wasn't in the EPL, I think it was a tournament from some other country.
Click to expand...

This is home and away elimination tournament.

Example:

Game one in London:
London 4 - 1 Paris

Return game in Paris

Paris 2 - 1 London

Total:

London 5 - 3 Paris

London wins and moves forward
 
sportzhead said:
What's the point then? Wouldn't it just be dominated by the top Premier League teams? Do teams really care about the FA Cup, or is it looked upon like a cheap second rate championship?
Click to expand...

FA cup is a major honour, especially for English players. There's also 'the magic of the FA cup' when the lower teams take on the prem clubs. For example, Havant and waterlooville just played in front of 45,000 people at anfield. This was a team of part-timers, one a binman, an other a milkman etc. taking on players earning £100,000 a week. They went ahead twice (although still ended up losing) which will only ever happen in the FA cup. Also, winners of the cup get a Uefa cup spot, but soon to be changed to a Champions league spot.
 
sportzhead said:
Thanks Google, you're my hero.
Example: The final score was 2 to 1, but with aggregate the score changed to 2 to 3. The aggregate was applied after the game was finished. It wasn't in the EPL, I think it was a tournament from some other country.
Click to expand...

Ah, I see what you mean (this happens in European competition, and the league cup semi finals). So I'll give you an example.

Manchester United play Real Madrid in the Champions League Quarter Final. In this round, two game are played, one is played at Manchester's ground and the other is played at Madrid's ground. This is to make the competition as fair as possible, so as to give neither team an advantage.

Now the aggregate score comes into play if both teams are tied on goals after the 2nd game.

So, the first game at Manchester finished:

Manchester 2 - Madrid 1

Then the second game at Madrid finished:

Madrid 1 - Manchester 0

So, the final score is:

Manchester 2 - Madrid 2. But because Madrid scored an away goal, this gives them an advantage, and means that they progress to the Semi final.

Hopefully that made sense.

What's the point then? Wouldn't it just be dominated by the top Premier League teams? Do teams really care about the FA Cup, or is it looked upon like a cheap second rate championship?
Click to expand...

It usually is dominated by the top teams, but it's a very historical competition. It's over a hundred years old, and is a real British institution. What often happens is that small/tiny clubs often progress to a stage in the competition where they are playing clubs who are three or four divisions above them! Just last weekend we had Havant and Waterlooville (a tiny, tiny town in the south of England, near Portsmouth, made up of part-time players, who all have jobs such as teachers, binmen, chefs etc) playing Liverpool at Anfield.

The most fantastic thing was that Havant took the lead within a few minutes. Liverpool came back to draw the game, and then Havant scored again! For 45 minutes or so, this tiny, little, non-league club were beating Liverpool, at Anfield, in front of 50,000 people, and the whole country was just going crazy!

It's a very romantic thing, and a very traditional competition.
 
jamesinclair said:
Fair enough, the big names in MLS are also aging stars (Beckham, Blanco). They can play very well, but theyve also been playing for 15 years.
Click to expand...

So who are these aging stars in the Premiership you talk of?
 
PirateSean said:
Also, winners of the cup get a Uefa cup spot, but soon to be changed to a Champions league spot.
Click to expand...

No, it won't be changed into a Champion's League spot, that was UEFA's original plan but it was changed to keep it in the league format.

jamesinclair said:
Im also here to tell you not to buy into the EPL. Its boring, doesnt feature the best teams in the world, and is full of aging "stars" who have amazing kicks, but are booooring.
Click to expand...

:lol Joke post confirmed?

Also, don't be afraid to come into the official thread, we don't hound people out.
 
Thanks guys.

Why doesn't London have a team in the Premier League?

Can someone list in order the way these various tournaments/championships play out. There seems to be way to many. Are some of these tournaments/championships played out over multiple years? Does one end and the next day another one starts? Is there an off season like in American sports?
 
European Association Football Structure:

Domestic League
-Division 1
-Division 2
-Division 3
...ad infinitum down to amateur level


Domestic Association Cup
-Like FA Cup, all leagues

Professional Cup (League Cup
-This is not common among all leagues
-Involves only professional league teams (top 3 divisions usually)

Confederation Cup
-UEFA Cup, based on finishing position within your domestic league. Normally the 2-3rd ranked teams in the top league of a country vs. other 2-3rd ranked teams of all others in a pure aggregate knock-out or league + knock-out tournament.
-Top leagues get more teams in, Spanish, Italian and English are allowed more slots (5th - 6th)

Champions League
-Used to be top domestic league champions face their confederation counterparts. Now it's top 2 or top 4 ranked teams (best leagues only) enter in a league + aggregate knock-out tournament for the cup.
-THIS IS THE BIGGEST MOST PRESTIGOUS PRIZE IN PROFESSIONAL CLUB FOOTBALL. NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE TELLS YOU. IT'S THE BEST OF THE BEST.
-Quality of the football is generally MUCH higher than in the World Cup as well.


The same system exists all over the world except Oceania and Concacaf.
 
sportzhead said:
Thanks guys.

Why doesn't London have a team in the Premier League?

Can someone list in order the way these various tournaments/championships play out. There seems to be way to many. Are some of these tournaments/championships played out over multiple years? Does one end and the next day another one starts? Is there an off season like in American sports?
Click to expand...

London doesn't have a team but there are various teams in London from various towns, off the top of my head: Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham, West Ham
 
Lakitu said:
London doesn't have a team but there are various teams in London from various towns, off the top of my head: Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham, West Ham
Click to expand...

QPR, Watford, Luton, Leyton Orient, Wimbledon, Millwall, and many more...
 
English Premier League:
How many teams are in the league? 20
How and why do team fall out of the league (relegation)? And when they do fall out, where do they go? the teams that finish in the bottom 3 of the league table get relegated to the championship division. 3 teams that come highest in the championship get promoted to the premiership
Transfer fees? Does that also include the player’s salary, or just the cost of the transfer? no it doesnt include the players salary its the cost of one club taking an asset to their club, wages are still paid.
Is there some sort of salary cap like in the NFL and NBA? nope
What the heck is up with player loans? You can loan players to other teams? If yes, why would a team do that? players are loaned out to help a player gain match experience to a usually smaller club (therefore will play games rather than struggle to get in a big side)
Why no win/loss record to determine league ranking? the league is all about points. 3 points for a win. 1 each for a draw and 0 for a loss.
How long is the season (Months)? 10 months
How many games are played per season? a team plays every team in the league twice, once at their home ground and once at the oppositions ground.

FA Cup:
What is it? the fa cup is the oldest football competition in the world involving all the teams from the top 4 leagues in England
Why is it played during the EPL season? not sure, its just played within the football season times because the conditions are ideal for football? (ie weather)

Champions League:
How does this league work? the top 4 teams from the premier league and other european leagues (la liga etc.) get to compete in the champions league, teams are split into groups which are like mini leagues where the winners advance to knockout stages like the world cup
Is it like a World Cup for the various league winners? yep

General Questions:
What the heck is winning do to aggregate? further stages in some tournaments (carling cup) are played over 2 legs where a team will play at home and another game away. if chelsea are playing liverpool at home they have a home advantage so if the game finished 1-1 liverpool would win on away goals. Where are the other points/goals coming from?
In the EPL, which teams are really entertaining to watch? I know Manchester United (Ronaldo is playing some good football), Arsenal, and Chelsea are all good teams, but other than the big three, who else should I try to check out.

its a matter of opinion but try: liverpool, tottenham, newcastle, west ham, aston villa and portsmouth.
 
Google said:
QPR, Watford, Luton, Leyton Orient, Wimbledon, Millwall, and many more...
Click to expand...

AFC Wimbledon yes, but he asked for Premiership teams.

London has literally ten hundred million teams across the divisions of English Football.

Also, there's a "Signing on fee" as well as the transfer fee. The signing on fee is money that directly goes to the player, the transfer fee goes to the club and he'll get a contract too, but the wages aren't often released to the public.
 
jamesinclair said:
If youre in the US, look into the MLS. While the teams arent quite as good as british teams, some of them (not all) have a better (ie better to watch) playing style. And of coruse, you can actually go to the stadium.

MLS Regular season = premiership, but theres no relegation, there is a salary cap, and there are two winners. The regular season highest points, and then the playoff winner.
US Open Cup: FA Cup featuring American teams of all levels.
Superliga: Tournament in the summer between US and Mexican teams
CONCACAF Champions Cup (final year) Tournament for best in north america
CONCACAF Champions League:: Starts this year, based off european champions league format, also best teams in north america.


Im also here to tell you not to buy into the EPL. Its boring, doesnt feature the best teams in the world, and is full of aging "stars" who have amazing kicks, but are booooring.
Click to expand...

You have know idea, any major european league is better than the MLS, even the Championship is better than that stuff.

ageing stars?

The best player in your league is David Beckham who is 32 and won't even get into the England team. Your league is synonymous with past-it players looking for their last big-pay day.
 
sportzhead said:
Thanks guys.

Why doesn't London have a team in the Premier League?

Can someone list in order the way these various tournaments/championships play out. There seems to be way to many. Are some of these tournaments/championships played out over multiple years? Does one end and the next day another one starts? Is there an off season like in American sports?
Click to expand...

There's only one team in London: Arsenal.

In Europe:

July
FIFA World Club Championship
Preliminary qlf for Champions League, Confed(UEFA) Cup

August
Prelim qlf stage II for these same competitions

Late August-September
Leagues begin.
Transfer window closed.

September
Confed Cup and Champions League last 32 begins (begins proper)

October
League Cup begins
Association Cup is already in prelim rounds

December - January
Nearly everywhere except the Uk has a Winter Break. UK leagues continue
Champions League and UEFA cup stop in early December after Last 16 decided.

January
Association cup begins proper with introduction of top domestic teams into the pool
Leagues re-start or continue
Transfer window open

February
Transfer window closed
Champions League and UEFA Cup Last 16 begins

May
League Cup and Association Cup Finals
League Season finishes
Confed Cup and Champions League Finals
Platy-off finals


Major International Tournaments:

EURO Championship: June - July, next is this year 2008, every 4 yrs.
World Cup: June - July, next is 2010
African Nations Cup: Jan - Feb every 2 yrs, currently happening
Asian Cup: Dunno.
Copa America (South): June - July, every 2 yrs(?), last happened in 2007.

FIFA Confederations Cup: Year before World Cup, next is 2009 in country hosting World Cup.

FIFA Friendlies:
All year round.

FIFA World Club Championship
In July: Winners of the Champions League of every confederation fight it out in Tokyo for the prize. AC Milan took it in 2007. Normally it's UEFA Champions League Winner vs. South American Champions League Winner
 
sportzhead said:
Big up avaya. Great post. Thanks man.
Click to expand...

No worries. Just some advice though, don't limit yourself to English football. Spain is fantastic too. Real Madrid vs. Barcelona is the biggest single club match in the world.
 
Cedeo said:
You have know idea, any major european league is better than the MLS, even the Championship is better than that stuff.

ageing stars?

The best player in your league is David Beckham who is 32 and won't even get into the England team. Your league is synonymous with past-it players looking for their last big-pay day.
Click to expand...

At no point did I say the MLS is better. Its not even my league. I simply said he should look into it because its more exciting to have a team at home you can go see.

Also, the best player in the league is not Beckham.

Luciano Emilio scoreed the most goals, followed by Juan Pablo Angel.
Blanco was credited with having the biggest effect on a team.

Becks was brought in for publicity and fans, this is not a secret.


Also, to clarify how the league in America works:

MLS: Salary cap, players owned by league. Teams buy into the league like other american sports. AKA expansion and relocation. Currently 14 teams play, expanding to 18 within the next few years.

The first part of the season is based on points. Like the erst of world, 3 for win, 1 for tie.

In 2007

1: MLS Supporters' Shield (most points) , qualified for 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2008 Champions Cup, 2008 SuperLiga
2,3,4: qualify for 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2008 SuperLiga
5,6,7,8 qualified for 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs

The losers just sit around.

The winner of the champions cup (all of north america) gets to go to the Club World Cup, which features the best team from every confederation.

In 2007, the Club World Cup was won by AC Milan, who beat Boca Juniors of Argentina. Pachuca of mexico was the north american rep.


MLS season starts in April.
 
avaya said:
No worries. Just some advice though, don't limit yourself to English football. Spain is fantastic too. Real Madrid vs. Barcelona is the biggest single club match in the world.
Click to expand...

I've seen a lot of AC Milan games. They keep hyping up Rikki Kaka on Fox Soccer Channel, so they show a lot of AC Milan games. Haven't really seen Real or Barcelona play live yet, only highlights. I want to see Barcelona because of Henry. He was fun to watch in the World Cup a few years ago. Oh and of course also because of Ronaldiho.

broony said:
IF you want to get into a team that has constant merry go round, fucked up, massive highs, destroying lows, amazing players, joke players, amazing fans, ebaressign fans, up, down left right, then look into newcaste united.
Click to expand...

Yeah they got killed by ManU then it started to turn into a circus. Right before the ManU game is when I started really watching a lot of soccer. Newcastle fans are crazy.
 
At no point did I say the MLS is better. Its not even my league. I simply said he should look into it because its more exciting to have a team at home you can go see.
Click to expand...

This is true, just don't watch the games on TV.We get the ESPN feed and the commentators are awful.

I've seen a lot of AC Milan games. They keep hyping up Rikki Kaka on Fox Soccer Channel, so they show a lot of AC Milan games. Haven't really seen Real or Barcelona play live yet, only highlights. I want to see Barcelona because of Henry. He was fun to watch in the World Cup a few years ago. Oh and of course also because of Ronaldiho.
Click to expand...

What do you like about football, as the style of play varies between countries.
 
avaya said:
No worries. Just some advice though, don't limit yourself to English football. Spain is fantastic too. Real Madrid vs. Barcelona is the biggest single club match in the world.
Click to expand...

Boca vs River Plate laughs in your face.
 
Boca vs. River :lol

No one watches Argentinian Football.

Real vs. Barca is both politically, historically and commercially the biggest league match in the world.
 
avaya said:
Boca vs. River :lol

No one watches Argentinian Football.

Real vs. Barca is both politically, historically and commercially the biggest league match in the world.
Click to expand...

What a particularly dumb, and may I say, crass statement.
 
Google said:
What a particularly dumb, and may I say, crass statement.
Click to expand...

No offense intended.

Let's disect it,

Politically & Historically: Franco's Madrid vs. The Catalunyan people's team. Barcelona was seen as the only resistance against the facist regime, not just in Catalunya. It was a mini-war. It's the reasoning behind the Barcelona club motto: It's more than a club.

No other club rivalry comes close. They are all petty in comparison.

Commercially: You and I well know what's the deal here.

The commericial problem is the rationale behind the euphimism "No one watches Argentinian Football". The phrase is not intended to mean no one actually watches. Not many people do relative to the Gran Classico. Most football fans can name Real and Barca's players. They know the teams, they watch the league. Both clubs are amongst the top 5 richest in the world. It's a 200mn TV audience.

Now one thing Boca vs. River has over everyone else is the level of sheer violence and passion. That I don't contest. However the biggest single club match in the world doesn't just revolve around how much both sets of supporters want to beat the shit out of each other.
 
avaya said:
No offense intended.

Let's disect it,

Politically & Historically: Franco's Madrid vs. The Catalunyan people's team. Barcelona was seen as the only resistance against the facist regime, not just in Catalunya. It was a mini-war. It's the reasoning behind the Barcelona club motto: It's more than a club.

No other club rivalry comes close. They are all petty in comparison.

Commercially: You and I well know what's the deal here.

The commericial problem is the rationale behind the euphimism "No one watches Argentinian Football". The phrase is not intended to mean no one actually watches. Not many people do relative to the Gran Classico. Most football fans can name Real and Barca's players. They know the teams, they watch the league. Both clubs are amongst the top 5 richest in the world. It's a 200mn TV audience.

Now one thing Boca vs. River has over everyone else is the level of sheer violence and passion. That I don't contest. However the biggest single club match in the world doesn't just revolve around how much both sets of supporters want to beat the shit out of each other.
Click to expand...

Boca is the second most successful team in the world in terms of winning things. Milan is first.

Thus, the real best match is Boca-Milan.

And yes, the CWC in December was a great game
 
avaya said:

Now one thing Boca vs. River has over everyone else is the level of sheer violence and passion.
Click to expand...

I'd say this was the defining factor, Avaya.

FYI:

I'm a Vancouver Whitecaps season ticket holder, Leeds United loving, Englishman living in Vancouver...

So I have no particular love for the Argentinian game.
 
jamesinclair said:
Boca is the second most successful team in the world in terms of winning things. Milan is first.
Click to expand...
Even if you don't count utterly meaningless things? Like the world cup championship (or whatever it's called at the moment), you know.
 
jamesinclair said:
Boca is the second most successful team in the world in terms of winning things. Milan is first.

Thus, the real best match is Boca-Milan.

And yes, the CWC in December was a great game
Click to expand...

That is if you take things at face value.

I wasn't talking about "best-match", I was talking of biggest single league match.

Winning the UEFA Champions League is harder than winning any other club competition in the world. The quality of the leagues in South American is poor compared to the top European leagues. That's an opinion but it's a view shared by almost all international coaches.

The biggest professional club match in the world is the UEFA Champions League final. Ask the players. In rank order what they want to win it is second only to the World Cup.

In Europe the Club World Championship is not treated seriously. It's incredibly elitist attitude that I object too but that's how it is here.
 
Google said:
I'd say this was the defining factor, Avaya.

FYI:

I'm a Vancouver Whitecaps season ticket holder, Leeds United loving, Englishman living in Vancouver...

So I have no particular love for the Argentinian game.
Click to expand...

I'd say it's two different things. It's now the biggest rivalry, after the end of the Franco regime. However the "biggest" title as a whole involves a variety of factors IMO. Real and Barca are just much much bigger clubs.
 
avaya said:
That is if you take things at face value.

I wasn't talking about "best-match", I was talking of biggest single league match.

Winning the UEFA Champions League is harder than winning any other club competition in the world. The quality of the leagues in South American is poor compared to the top European leagues. That's an opinion but it's a view shared by almost all international coaches.

The biggest professional club match in the world is the UEFA Champions League final. Ask the players. In rank order what they want to win it is second only to the World Cup.

In Europe the Club World Championship is not treated seriously. It's incredibly elitist attitude that I object too but that's how it is here.
Click to expand...

You have varied opinions on what 'big' is.

Personally, the biggest game in the world is Boca vs River - the fans are so intense, the game is usually always good - both sides are fantastic, and it offers a spectacle like no other.
 
sportzhead said:
What's the point then? Wouldn't it just be dominated by the top Premier League teams? Do teams really care about the FA Cup, or is it looked upon like a cheap second rate championship?
Click to expand...
Yes, it's almost invariably a big team that wins it, but part of the fun is seeing "giant killing", that is lower league clubs pulling off an upset and beating higher level opposition. We're currently heading towards the fifth round and out of the 16 teams in it only six are Premiership, which tells you something. We're guaranteed to lose at least one Premiership team in the fifth as well (either Arsenal or Man United since they play each other, plus whoever gets slain by the minnows), so there's a reasonable chance of having some smaller clubs going all the way. Although everyone obviously supports their team, everyone also wants to see the big teams get bitten by hubris when they invariably play a weakened team against "lesser" opposition.

It's also worth a tremendous amount of money to the small clubs to get drawn against the big ones. Famously in the last round Havant & Waterlooville, a team of part-timers, got to play at Liverpool's ground and made something in the region of £350,000 from their share of the TV money and gate receipts. It's pocket change compared to what the big four get for Champions League appearances but it can make a massive difference to those clubs that often aren't in great financial shape.
 
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