The FA Cup Has Lost Its Magic

The League Cup has forever been palmed off as 'The Mickey Mouse Cup', or the one that the 'big' clubs don't care about. It's the competition that gives the countries 'lesser' sides a good cup run. It has forever been the younger, less attractive brother of the FA Cup, 'The Worlds Most Magical Cup Competition'.

Next week Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton walk into their biggest games of the season so far. Four of the countries most recognisable sides will battle for two Final places at Wembley. Now you can be forgiven for reading that last sentence and assuming that we're on the subject of the FA Cup, but we're not.

Does it mean that because the FA Cup won't be waiting at Wembley that these four sides won't want to get there and have their name engraved on the League Cup? Definitely not.

Second string sides are the status quo in this competition, especially with the clubs that harbour European ambitions. Arsenal have effectively played their 'B' team in every League Cup game so far this season. They also played a similar side in the FA Cup last week when they were at Turf Moor to play Burnley.

Its not just Arsenal. Everton played a weakened side when Oldham went to Goodison Park and were punished for doing so with an unlikely defeat. Liverpool's team at Luton was missing Steven Gerrard, through an injury which seemed to heal in time for the weekend fixture at Middlesbrough. Fernando Torres was also left on Merseyside while a bits and pieces team scraped a draw against a Luton team on the verge of liquidation.

 Another team that could only manage a draw with lower league opposition was Newcastle United. This effectively cost Sam Allardyce his job. St James' park houses 52,387 supporters when full. For the 'Magical' FA Cup tie, they managed to squeeze in 22, 861, not even half of its capacity. OK so Newcastle are a bad example to use. Things aren't going well at the moment, and after all it was 'only' Stoke.

There is no excuse however for Fulham only getting 13,634 when Craven Cottage holds 26,600. Derby managed 20,612 but Pride Park can fit 33,597 inside. Blackburn didn't manage to half fill Ewood Park, and Bolton Wanderers were 13,000 fans of maxing out the Reebok. These are all numbers and only so much can be taken from them. In addition to poor attendance, these Premier League clubs have another thing in common, which is none managed a victory against lower league opposition last week.

Back to Liverpool at Luton. The Reds have had some poor results of late, but I don't think I have seen Liverpool play as poorly as they did at Kenilworth Road all season. Sami Hyypia, Steve Finnan, and Xabi Alonso are three players that ooze consistency. Very rarely will one of them have a poor game, let alone all three. That is exactly what happened at Luton. Arbeloa, Carragher, Benayoun, Crouch, Babel: Not one Liverpool player could look at themselves and say they played well. NOT ONE.

Now I can't speak for the other sides that were disappointed on FA Cup weekend, but a large majority of the players I watched didn't want to be there. It was if it was 'only the FA Cup'. The FA Cup has lost its magic.

How do you regain that magic? One option is to give the winner of the FA Cup a European place. The last time a team won the FA Cup and didn't qualify for Europe through the league however, was back in 1995 when Everton beat Manchester United. A bigger incentive than a day out at Wembley is required.

The venue for the Final itself has lost its magic also, even before it was rebuilt. My dad often tells me about the old Wembley being a "sh*t hole" and lets be honest, the long trip down south (for me anyway) is hardly worth the day out. As a Liverpool fan, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff will always hold a special place in my heart. I only went once but it was the best day out I've EVER had, and we lost to Chelsea (In the League Cup Final may i add).

Giving European places out to Cup winning sides is dangerous though. After all, the early rounds of the Champions League and UEFA Cup are effectively league stages. If you want to see teams from this country progress, as the FA will, you need to be more than a plucky cup team.

The FA Cup has lost it's magic. But you try telling that to Havant and Waterlooville.