Those clubs ditched the Football League, not the FA. They're still members of the FA. They wouldn't be allowed to enter the FA Cup otherwise.
Except that it's by invite which is stupid. This last couple years has shown how competitive the league is now. Villa are course to qualify for the CL and Newcastle had their first run in the competition in a long time. They need to keep the league qualification for teams to earn their way into the competition.
The FA do hold one share in the PL and can vote on certain matters.
Every league has top teams who avoid to get relegated. That's just the level they work at. It's very difficult for a top club to lose their grip of being in the top flight. We've been in it since day 1 too and always managed to avoid it when the going got tough. When you're a big club you have the resources to get out of trouble. We got Klinsmann when we needed help for example. It's not a closed league at all.
True enough, viewing it from the top down - which as you say is how it was designed. Viewed from the bottom up, and if you scrunch your eyes and stick your fingers in your ears, the dream that Scragthorpe Rovers could work their way up the pyramid and win it is still there. The Leicester freak show helped in that regard. I think it is important that whatever happens in Europe, the notional possibility remains.
It is different because the PL wasn't set up to be a semi-closed league where the founding members can't be relegated. If Everton finish in the bottom 3 the fact that they're a founding member of the PL won't save them.
