The prize money, TV income and extras that await Blackpool if Neil Critchley takes FA Cup seriously

Blackpool fans have had little FA Cup cheer in recent years.

That’s an understatement if ever there was one, with the Seasiders getting past the fifth-round stage just once since their 1952-53 success in the famous competition.

That came in 1959, when they got to the quarter-finals. Since then, passages to the fifth round in 1990 and 2012 have been the best Bloomfield Road fans have experienced.

This season, Neil Critchley’s League One team will once again contest the first round after being handed a tough-looking assignment away to National League side Bromley for the weekend of November 3-6.

Forty-six places separate the Seasiders from the Hayes Lane outfit, who booked their place in round one with a 3-2 qualifying win against Wealdstone on Saturday.

The game has all the ingredients to be selected for TV coverage, with a decision likely to be made this week. Indeed, given Blackpool’s defeats to Hartlepool, Boreham Wood and Barnet in recent seasons, it would be no surprise if TV executives eye another potential giant-killing.

But isn’t it about time the Bloomfield faithful got their chance to enjoy the magic of the Cup? Last season’s 4-1 third-round thrashing of Premier League Nottingham Forest was warmly received. Yet days like those - and runs in the competition - have been few and far between in recent times.

Money talks

The riches associated with the Premier League often sees top-flight and Championship sides ring the changes when FA Cup match days arrive, despite its historical importance.

For those lower down the food chain, team tinkering also happens, but it’s nowhere near the scale. And that’s because the prize money, the potential for TV revenue and the chance of landing a lucrative third-round and beyond tie against one of the country’s top teams cannot be sniffed that.

Take the prize money for instance, if Blackpool defeat the Ravens next month, it’s a guaranteed £41,000 in the club coffers. A second-round win brings with it a £67,000 cash bonanza, while victory in round three has a pot of £105,000 awaiting the winner.

Any league club - and there might even be some currently in the Championship - prepared to miss out on a potential £213,000 windfall are clearly a lot better off than their league status suggests.

In 2019-20, the FA also set up a £250,000 progress fund that rewarded the Football League club from each division which travels furthest in the competition.

TV revenue

As well as the above-mentioned FA prize money, the cash that comes clubs’ way if their Cup fixtures are selected for live broadcast can also prove lucrative.

Last season, a first-round tie picked for TV earned each respective club an extra £50,000. A first-round replay that was broadcast came with a £32,500 purse, while a live second-round showing had £60,000 worth of TV money attached.

Anything from the third round onwards attracts revenue of £100,000 and above.

Blackpool bonanza

These are the financial rewards that await clubs like Backpool in the weeks ahead.

Gate receipts, of course, must also be considered as part of the bigger picture when a manager decides what Cup policy to adopt. As, too, must be the pitfalls of exiting the competition early - team morale, the prospect of more blank weekends at a time when international breaks are already depriving fans of club football.

In his first period in charge, Critchley and Blackpool navigated their way through the 2020-21 competition’s early stages to reach the fourth round, where they were eventually beaten by Premier League Brighton - a game that was played in front of zero supporters because of Covid.

The following year, when Blackpool were back in the Championship and spectators were allowed back in, a regretful third-round 2-1 defeat at the hands of League Two Hartlepool ended the club’s interest in that season’s Cup.

Last term, under Michael Appleton, the Seasiders contested the fourth round for only the third time in 16 seasons following victory over Forest.

Fans this season have every reason to hope that the Bloomfield Road outfit, back under Critchley’s charge, can make a better first of it this time and produce a run that supporters have all too often been deprived of.