POV: Has FA Cup ‘Magic’ Faded? (Joe Citrone)

In our new DAILY column POV, JOE CITRONE shares his point of view on the future of the FA Cup ahead of this weekend’s final between Manchester City and Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium…

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The FA Cup was once revered as one of the crown jewels of English football, with families all over the country gathering around the television set on the day of the final to enjoy what used to be one of the top sporting occasions of the year.

However, slowly but surely, it has begun to lose that allure and ‘magic’. Manchester City and Crystal Palace are battling it out at Wembley on Saturday in this year’s installment, but there just doesn’t seem to be much excitement building up to it among neutral football supporters.

So, the age-old question: can that excitement and enticement be brought back, and can the FA Cup still be important in the modern game?

Well, a topic that has produced so much debate over recent years is unlikely to be completely solved in a short piece like this, but I do have some thoughts on the matter nevertheless.

I like to think of myself as a ‘football purist’ – yes, sorry, that does sound pretentious – so naturally, I was fuming to learn in April of last year that FA Cup replays – a crucial part of the early rounds of the competition and one of the reasons why this competition is unique – would be scrapped; robbing lower division clubs of the opportunity to receive an extra financial windfall.

One of the main factors behind this decision was supposedly fixture congestion, although, of course, many of the top clubs will be happily jetting off across the world on pre-season tours this summer without too much care for that.

For me, it further highlights the wider issue, which is that too many of the top clubs in this country readily treat the FA Cup with complete contempt.

No wonder it’s not the spectacle it once was if, as sad as it is, this old, historic competition is treated as a bit of an afterthought by many clubs and managers.

Surprise, surprise – money feels like a big factor in this, with FA Cup glory unlikely to yield as much monetary benefit to a club as a mid-table Premier League finish these days.

Money is also likely at the heart of the decision to hold the semi-finals at Wembley, which, although it’s been the case for close to 20 years now, still doesn’t feel quite right and, in my view, was a catalyst in the competition’s decline.

In an ideal world, I wouldn’t have us give in and pander to the top clubs again by further incentivising winning the FA Cup by handing out Champions League places or bumper prize packages.

We shouldn’t have to bribe clubs to take it seriously; they already should be doing that, and that feeling of glory at the end of it should be enough.

But let’s face it…in the modern game, it’s not for a lot of these top clubs, is it? It’s all about money.

Maybe it’s time to flip the conversation.

Give the competition back to clubs from the lower leagues, bring back the replays, celebrate the upsets and ‘David v Goliath’ giant killings, and really cherish what the FA Cup is all about and where its ‘magic’ truly comes from.

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