Why the FA Cup is going the way of the British manufacturing

Time was when the third round of the FA Cup produced excitement, surprise, fun and often a touch of magic to keep the winter blues away. Now all it does is produce moans about how the Cup has been devalued and the competition is not what it was back in the old days. The only surprise is this year the moans began even before the third round matches had been played, ignited by comments of Paul Lambert of Aston Villa that the FA Cup did not mean much to Premier League teams.

The events since then have merely emphasised this with attendances falling in this year's third round by an average of 34%, more than double the fall in last year's third round when it was around 15. And Wigan, defending the Cup with what seemed an easy home fixture against MK Dons, recorded the biggest fall, a whooping 55%. Doncaster's gate compared to 2013 also declined by 55% but they were not the holders. I cannot recall an occasion when a first time Cup winner plays its first home match since its victory and is greeted with empty seats as Wigan was last weekend.