Sean McGuire: Romance of FA Cup all but over

Jan 10 2008 by Sean McGuire, Liverpool Daily Post

Romance of FA Cup all but over

IT’S not just David Moyes who is glad to see the back of the FA Cup third round Saturday.

It has become a badge of honour, a symbol of a person’s support for football as it used to be, to describe the third round matches as the best day in the football calendar.

The incessant romanticising of fixtures that are inevitably billed as ‘David v Goliath’ clashes is boring, and unrecognisable.

This time around, Coventry, Huddersfield, Peterborough and Oldham all enjoyed great results, although they will largely be forgotten about well before the end of the season.

It no longer is the professionals against the plumbers, and rarely the internationals against the journeymen footballers, as professionalism and imports continue to trickle down football’s pyramid.

The omnipotent TV camera means that the rare shock filmed for Match of the Day has been replaced by cameras at every ground and every round. No longer do fans have to be at the ground to see their team enjoy an upset.

There’s no joy in claiming “I was there” when everyone has seen the winning goal dozens of times before you get to tell your mates about it.

This helps to explain the lacklustre attendances, but really they are because the romance of the cup is dead.

These days the third round is the equivalent of a teenage kiss on the dance floor.

Come that sunny Saturday afternoon in May there will be no bells in the air.

The closest all but four clubs can hope to for is being jilted at the altar.

That’s because the last winners of the trophy from outside the ‘big four’ were Everton 13 years ago, when Take That and the Spice Girls were in the charts and Clinton was campaigning for the White House.

Well, some things don’t change. But the winner of the FA Cup must change before the trophy is tarnished beyond repair.

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