Is it right to expect things to stay the same?

As a young boy in England, the 3rd round of the FA Cup was a magical time. Muddy pitches, parka coats, packed terraces the size of your Grandmothers living room and a plethora of non-league clubs dreaming of cup glory – it’s not quite like that anymore.

This weekend the 126th edition of the world’s oldest knockout competition welcomed the big boys of the Championship along with the Premiership. While the magic of the cup wasn’t what a spotty faced teenager remembered, thankfully, that delightful whiff of an upset still hung in the air as a few of the elite got their noses tweaked and bottoms spanked.

Blackburn, Bolton, Birmingham and most surprisingly Everton were all dumped out of the Cup by lower league opposition while Derby, Newcastle, Fulham and incredibly Liverpool will have to do it all over again.

But where I ask myself are the Hereford’s, the Colchester, the Wimbledon’s circa 1975, and Yeovil Town’s. This season, much to my disappointment, only two non-league clubs have made the money spinning round and neither team got the plum draw they deserved. While you can’t expect a bumper payday every time Sir Trevor Brooking plays with balls in a cloth bag, Havant & Waterlooville and Chasetown deserved better than the Welsh pair of Swansea and Cardiff respectively…no offence Wales!

Havant & Waterlooville will enter the draw today thanks to a battling 1-1 tie and I hope that Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge is more than enough incentive to win their replay. Still the days of the amateurs making noise in the FA Cup are gone. The gap between the divisions is now so massive that the lower league sides rely exclusively on the Premiership teams fielding weakened teams to advance, which in my eyes dilutes the achievement. In other words it can still be a shock result but it doesn’t take your breath away like Wrexham turning over the Gunners or Harry Redknapp’s Bournmouth humiliating United way back when.

In fact nothing about the cup really shocks me anymore. Consider that in the last 12 years the competition has only been one by four clubs. There is no prize for guessing their identity…Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea – no wonder they’re called the ‘big four’.

The FA Cup as grand as its traditions once were now reminds me of a classic Rolls Royce that’s been rusting in the garage. Yeah, it’s a cool car but boy does it need a tune up, paint job and detail.

When you consider it was the Football Association that all but killed the competition by allowing Manchester United not to defend the Cup in 2000 and their inability to rebuild Wembley in decent time, I charge this decrepit organization to revamp the Cup – and the way to do that is to give the minnows a better chance of taking on Goliath.

Firstly I propose that the 3rd draw should be seeded so that Premiership teams cannot meet each other. In this seasons draw that would’ve guaranteed six smaller clubs a chance for glory. 

Secondly, instead of replays (which in the old days could be endless), ties should go straight to extra-time and then to a shoot-out. Can you imagine the twitchy bums at Kenilworth Road if Rafa Benitez and his Reds realized the comfort of Anfield and the 4th round was one missed spot kick away.

Thirdly and this is where I agree with UEFA President, Michel Platini,. The winner of the FA Cup should get a qualifying berth to the Champions League. Not only would this ensure that teams field their strongest elevens but it would give the Cup back its magic.

So what is this magic we old-timers get misty eyed about. Well it’s simple, it’s all about dreaming. It doesn’t really matter if the dream is 99% out of reach, it’s the 1% chance that the miracle is possible. Unless the FA can recapture that ‘magic, that ‘romance’ I’m afraid that the oldest knockout competition in the world will remain a second rate tournament.

No we can’t go back to the old days but we can bring back the idea that made the FA Cup the world’s favorite cup competition.

Until then, get the beers in.