Romance of the Cup

FA Cup third round day in England is always played on the first weekend in January and has been one of the most eagerly awaited events on the football calendar.

It is when the Premiership clubs fear an embarrassing exit and the lower leagues dream of upsetting the odds and causing a sensational shock.

Last weekend was no different but two things struck a different note this year. Firstly, the number of people attending was very low and, secondly, there were very few shocks to speak of. We should not be surprised, thoug,h as this has been a growing trend.

Only a crowd of 5,335 saw Wigan beat Hull where a usual 18,000 would have been at the Premiership equivalent. It was the same story at Aston Villa where 12,000 less fans saw the game against Blackburn. These statistics were mirrored across the country and at virtually every game. Only when a top side travelled to a lower league team was the trend reversed, such as Reading at home to Liverpool.

The reasons behind this problem facing football are complex especially considering many of these games had reduced ticket prices. The weather was very poor in the UK last weekend with serious fears about travelling conditions and the round was held immediately after the New Year break, rather than a week later as it would usually be, but this was still an astonishingly low turnout.

Premiership clubs, for some time, have been fielding weakened teams as their priorities have shifted either to fight relegation, win European qualification or the Premiership title. This has, somewhat, created an impression that the tournament is secondary and eventually this has come to be a reality.

When Premiership sides draw each other and both put out second string sides who can blame the fans for thinking it is not important and when clubs then reduce ticket prices it only compounds the image.

Why would an already cash-strapped fan drive from Manchester to Middlesbrough on a cold day in January when he was very unlikely to see the top stars playing?

More worrying for the FA is that whilst any competition can survive a blip in popularity, particularly during a recession such as this, it is much more difficult to find a solution to what is becoming a growing trend.

One of the best ways to appeal to the fans is through the romance of the cup and what better way than for the minnows to oust the 'big boys' and embarrass the fans. Saturday, unfortunately, did not provide many shocks and we had to wait until Sunday afternoon before a truly big upset occurred.

Carlisle had teased us at Everton before going down 3-1, Lincoln were soundly beaten at manager-less Bolton as were Peterborough at Spurs and Barrow were 3-0 losers at Sunderland. Only Reading and Nottingham Forest, who managed to draw at home to Liverpool and Birmingham respectively, provided anything out of the ordinary.

It was left to fallen giants Leeds United on Sunday to provide one of the biggest shocks of all when they ousted Manchester United from the Cup 1-0 at Old Trafford.

Ten years ago this would merely have been a surprise as going into the year 2000 the Yorkshire side were top of the Premiership but since then they have slowly plummeted to the lower leagues and struggled on the pitch as well as financially off it. They are often the club cited when anyone talks of the dangers of mismanagement in today's football climate.

However, Sunday was their day and against a pretty good United side they took a first half lead that they were able to keep hold of and, to be honest, could have extended late in the game when Beckford went close and Snodgrass hit the post. Good chances did fall to Rooney and Owen late on but they were unable to convert - perhaps another small indication that these games do not bring out the adrenalin rush to ensure top players are at their peak.

West Ham lost out to Arsenal, Chelsea thrashed Watford and QPR grabbed a draw at Sheffield United in the later games but it was Leeds who ensured the headline-makers could keep the romance of the cup alive for one more season.

Whether goal-scoring hero Beckford will still be around is another matter as the scramble to sign him hots up. Leeds United manager Simon Grayson insisted Jermaine Beckford wouldn't be let go 'on the cheap' after the striker's goal sealed the stunning 1-0 FA Cup win in Manchester. Beckford scored his 20th goal of the season early in the first-half, the speedy striker finishing in cool fashion after outpacing Wes Brown following Jonathan Howson's excellent through ball.

But the January transfer window is now open and Leeds, the leaders of third-tier League One, 43 places behind English champions and record 11-times FA Cup winners Manchester United, are having to deal with offers for Beckford who is out of contract at the end of the season.

Second-tier Championship leaders Newcastle United have already failed with one bid of £1.25 million for the 26-year-old and Grayson said: "We have stressed there will be three scenarios with Jermaine.

"He signs a new contract, he leaves at the end of the season or we sell him and get some money which we think is too good an opportunity to turn down. He has shown what he is all about."

For their troubles Leeds drew Tottenham away in the next round and this is the most attractive tie of what was a pretty dull draw ... but whilst the popularity of this old competition is still waning a little bit, all of us will still be hoping that some of the Premiership boys get their comeuppances.