Derek Adams: Scrapping FA Cup replays is 'a step backwards' for lower league teams

The Shrimps travel to Stamford Bridge for the second time in five seasons, with the bookies rating them as huge outsiders to win the clubs’ third-round tie.

If Morecambe were to cause an upset, it will have to be done on the day after the decision announced in April 2024 to abolish FA Cup replays from round one onwards for a minimum of six years.

Adams criticised the move before Morecambe’s first-round victory at Worthing in November, a view he repeated during Thursday’s pre-match press conference at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium.

He said: “Unfortunately, that’s been taken away from lower division teams and I don’t think that’s right.

“It’s the same as Premier League teams not wanting to have a European Super League.

“It’s the same ethos and we want to try and generate as much money for our club, but the rules are the rules.

“I think it’s a step backwards for the lower division clubs. We’ve been compensated in a certain way, in that the winners get X amount of money and the losers get X amount of money – but it doesn’t equate to what it would have been if there was a replay.”

Eight years ago, Adams’ Plymouth Argyle team – featuring current Shrimps Yann Songo’o and Jordan Slew – took Liverpool back to Home Park after a goalless draw at Anfield.

While it was Liverpool who eventually won on the pitch, Argyle reaped the rewards off it.

“We generated a lot of money for the football club,” Adams said.

“It was £750,000 to £1m, which enabled us to pay off debts but enabled us to use the money to improve the training ground.

“We improved things throughout the football club. That’s what the money from the first and second game generates.

“The beauty of the FA Cup is sometimes getting the replay, to take clubs back to your home stadium.”

Morecambe are set to take 3,000 supporters to Chelsea for a tie which Adams estimates will be worth around £350,000 to each club.

Some of that will go into his budget for the winter transfer window but he warned Morecambe fans they shouldn’t expect to see any new faces this weekend.

He said: “We will get some of the proceeds of that (the £350,000) to use for the January window. The rest of it will go to helping the football club.

“There will be no additions for the weekend, we’re still working on it.

“The window can be slow at the start, the only ones you see are transfer fees or going for longer-term contracts – but it will speed up very soon.”

Whoever does feature for the Shrimps though, Adams wants his squad to stick together as they look to make new memories.

“It’s really important that players who have the experience help the ones round about them,” he said.

“Sometimes, on the day, it’s the ones who haven’t played there before who flourish as well.

“You never know, until you go there, who is going to come out the best.”