Former Charlton executive speaks out on betting row

Steve Sutherland (aka 'Sunderland' at Charlton) states in relation to the betting controversy enveloping the FA: 'My own antipathy towards the rise of betting brands sponsorship in football is well known and I pride myself on the fact that all of the major sponsorships I was personally involved in negotiating during my 23 years in professional football – whether that was for Charlton Athletic in my two spells at the Club or for The Football League (now known as The EFL) or for Swindon Town – were with companies whose products, services and brand values were ones that I was personally happy to promote to supporters of my Club, or in the case of The EFL, to supporters of all 72 Clubs.'

Of the current controversy he says: 'Three years ago, the Football Association indicated that it wanted to distance itself from the gambling industry by ending its £4million-a-year sponsorship from Ladbrokes, who are owned by GVC Holdings. It’s little wonder then that The FA are receiving heavy criticism over the sale of FA Cup rights to BET365 via its deal with sports rights agency IMG, a deal which is due to run until 2024.'

Read his remarks in full here: FA Cup betting deal controversy

Are we up for the cup?

There's an interesting debate going on about whether we should field a weakened side against Barnet at the weekend. The fear understandably expressed is supposing a key player is badly injured by some clogger or falls over running down the slope or gets a red card?

Of the three cup competitions, the one I take least seriously is the league cup. Even if we had beaten Shrewsbury, we would have lost to Stoke. You're not going to get far in it and it is not a money spinner.

There is the possibility of getting somewhere in the paint drying cup. The downside is at what cost to the league campaign? However, the financial rewards do start to build up as one progresses. And I don't really want us to be dumped out of it by the Shrimpers.

The FA Cup is the one I take most seriously. It still have some prestige and if one gets as far as the 3rd round there is a chance of a lucrative tie which would be a real help to us in current circumstances.

My view is that we should rest any player who might be tiring (Dailly?) or anyone carrying a slight injury that could be aggravated. Otherwise, we should put out a full strength side. We want to continue our present momentum with another decisive win.