The FA CUP - Losing the magic

For a number of years now every time the FA Cup comes back around one question is always raised. Has the FA Cup lost its magic?

The oldest domestic cup competition in the world used to be the pinnacle of a team's season.

It used to rank alongside the league title as the trophy each team would most like to win.

Unfortunately this famous trophy has been eclipsed by the ever powerful Champions League.

Lack of interest

For teams like Manchester United and Chelsea, the most likely winners, the FA Cup has become a 'nice' thing to have and not a necessity anymore.

Their lack of interest is clear in the early rounds of the competition, with countless changes being made.

This of course can backfire as Manchester United found out against Leeds last year.

But do you really think Manchester United fans would have cared at all if they had gone on to win the Premiership or Champions League? I don't think so.

It's not just the teams at the top that make the changes anymore.

Most recently Blackpool made nine changes in a third round tie with Southampton, which the club went on to lose.

Manager Ian Holloway said he made the decision because his team had little chance of winning the competition and he wanted to focus his entire aim on staying in the Premiership.

Now some people will argue he is right but how is this devaluing the competition any less than the teams at the top?

Domination

The third round of the FA Cup will always be special, there's always that dream tie that pits a star studded team against a bunch of part time minnows.

That is what the FA Cup is all about, but as the rounds progress and the small teams inevitably get knocked out, the same teams triumph again.

In the last 15 competitions only one other team outside what was known as the so called 'big four' (Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool) has won the trophy.

That was Portsmouth and in doing so they nearly put the club out of existence.

The Semis

So with the cup seemingly losing its magic what has the FA done to re-energize the competition?

That's right they've ruined the magic of the one time trip to Wembley now by staging the semi finals there.

This has seriously devalued the magic of the final.

Now if you're going to win the trophy you have to make two trips to the home of football.

I'm not sure of any other country that does this.

Congratulations on winning at Wembley, but you haven't won a trophy, you're prize is that you get to come back again to try and win the trophy next time.

What was wrong with the old format?

The semi finals were played at neutral grounds, like Villa Park and Old Trafford, and fans could head to Wembley for one special day knowing if they win they will have a trophy.

Another point about staging the semi finals in London is how does this benefit the teams in the north?

It costs enough through tickets and food and petrol just for fans to make one trip to Wembley let alone two.

Outgrown

The power of the Champions League keeps on growing and it is a magnificent competition, where the best players can compete against each other to really see who's the greatest.

Sadly it has out grown the one treasured and famous FA Cup and it is hard to see a reversal any time soon.

The FA Cup is still a great competition but it is becoming increasingly unimportant for more and more teams each season.

The teams at the top of the Premiership want to win other things more, the teams at the bottom want to focus on staying up.

This mentality is beginning to spread downwards as well.

The teams at the top of the Championship, don't want a cup run getting in the way of their chances to hit the big time.

Some people say that Leeds' famous win over Manchester United last year and their matches against Spurs were the reason for their remarkable slump that nearly cost them promotion.

The fans

The FA Cup has got to a stage now where it is at most third best, behind Europe and the league, but it still maintains its magic within the fans.

It is true, everyone is looking for promotion or a title but when the FA Cup comes around every fan is eager for their team to do well.

To lift the famous trophy is fast becoming a rare thing for many teams given the domination at the top.

So if your club has a run in the competition you should enjoy it because it might not happen again for a while.

The world's oldest cup competition must be kept alive within the fans because if they lose interest like some clubs could be accused of doing, then I fear it will become a third rate trophy.