FA Cup has lost some of its magic (From Worcester News)

FA Cup has lost some of its magic

9:30am Wednesday 9th January 2013 in Sport By Steve Carley, @stevecarleyWN

THERE was a time when FA Cup third round day was one of the highlights of the football calendar.

The prospect of a non-league minnow upsetting the odds and writing themselves into history was often enough to get the pulse racing.

But, sadly, what was once a time to savour has now been relegated down the pecking order to little more than an afterthought.

Despite being a fan of lower league football, I struggled to muster the energy to take any notice last weekend.

The Cup, at this stage, has been hugely devalued by the bigger teams treating it as little more than a reserve competition which gets in the way of either winning, staying in or reaching the Premier League. Everton excepted, this year was no different.

Also, no matter how much we pine for them, giant-killings don’t happen anymore. The fact the media keep harping back to shocks from more than 20 years ago shows how big the gulf has become.

This is not to detract from the achievements of Macclesfield or Luton, who defeated Championship opposition in Cardiff and Wolves.

But both Macclesfield and Luton are full-time, the latter with more supporters than several League One clubs. Gone are the days of part-time teams beating the big boys.

I wish I could be more positive about the world’s oldest cup competition, but I can’t.