The FA Cup - Time For Change

The FA Cup is England’s prized cup competition. Having debuted in the 1871-72 season, it is the world’s oldest cup tournament and is teeming with history.

But today as FA Cup reaches the quarterfinal stage it is becoming clear the competition may need to redefine itself.

This evening two of the world’s greatest clubs Manchester United and Arsenal face off at that storied venue that is Old Trafford. It’s a match that should be top billing. But instead some will be in libraries studying, while others are more interested in the Nedbank Cup clash at the same time between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.

That isn’t how it was a decade ago when Wednesday night semi-final replays were more important than studying for Thursday’s end of term science exam.

In fact is tempting to say the Carling Cup has now become the most exciting cup trophy in England – yes, it sounds crazy. But ever since the arrival of Roman Ambramovich’s millions and Jose Mourinho at Chelsea the Carling Cup has slowly become a showpiece worth following.

The Carling Cup, once derided as the “Worthless Cup”, is now increasingly being viewed as a trophy worth winning by England’s top sides as a result of increased competition. Since the arrival of Chelsea in 2004, and the subsequent spreading of quality through the league, there is simply not enough silverware to go around.

Now with the emergence of Manchester City and Tottenham as genuine contenders, there is even more confrontation in the jungle.

This has raised the Carling Cup’s profile, increasing its worldwide viewership.

Although the opening rounds of the competition are still viewed as an opportunity for the likes of Arsenal and Man United to blood new talent, the latter stages are deadly serious. To prove this, for the past seven years the Carling Cup final has been contested by one of the so-called top four sides, Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. In the ten seasons before this period only three finals had featured a top four team.

The overall result has been some serious excitement, and Carling Cup finals, from Chelsea’s 3-2 win over Liverpool in 2005 to Birmingham’s upset win over Arsenal last month, have been hugely entertaining affairs.

This is one of the key areas where the FA Cup seems to be failing – entertainment.

But there are other simpler reasons too, for one; the new Wembley simply lacks the charm of the old one. It’s normal. It’s also most annoying how after halftime Wembley always seems empty.

The journey to Wembley also used to be an almost sacred one.

The semi-finals of the FA Cup were usually played at neutral venues, mainly Aston Vila’s Villa Park and Old Trafford, and they produced some classics. Who can forget Ryan Giggs’ wonder goal in that match against Arsenal at Villa Park? West Ham’s semi-final win over Middlesbrough at Villa Park in 2006 was also one of the most exciting FA Cup matches in recent times, while the other semi that year at Old Trafford was a rare exciting epic between Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea.

However since 2007 all FA Cup semi-finals have been played at Wembley to help pay back the more than £400 million in loans the English FA took out to finance the £798 million building of the stadium.

Speaking last January Malcolm Clarke, who is chairman of the Football Supporters’ Federation, summed it up by saying: “Most fans would like to have kept Wembley for the magic of the final itself.”

The massive rise of the Premier League also now means survival is a necessity while finishing in one of the four highly-lucrative Uefa Champions League place means more financially than an FA Cup run.

The timing of the FA Cup’s latter rounds also means managers sometimes face a dilemma when it comes to end of season priorities – be it the Premiership, Champions League glory or avoiding relegation – and often it is the FA Cup that loses out.

Arsene Wenger was blunt in his assessment of the tournament after  a much-changed Gunners side beat West Ham 2-1 last year, saying: “The Premier League is always more important than the FA Cup. It is similar for West Ham, but at the other end of the table.”

But the FA Cup is also doing itself no favours. The whole product is in danger of losing its appeal. Its marketing, its appearance is too stale. The panache and aggressiveness of the Premier League and Champions League are not there.  It’s also hard to remember a particularly exciting FA Cup final... since Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Arsenal in 2001.

Maybe the FA Cup should try a later kickoff once in a while, just for a change. Play at night, under the stars, not in the summer heat that contributed to 2008’s scandalously boring final between Chelsea and Man United. It’s the end of the season, players are tired.

The Champions League has moved to maximise its appeal. Michel Platini has moved finals from Wednesdays to Saturday evenings to allow some of its target market to study on the night before an IB exam.

At the moment the FA Cup is purely living off its tradition and history, and in the 21st century, in this now generation, that is not always enough.