FA Cup isn't magic anymore, it's an investment.

I don't like the FA Cup, I don't get it anymore. There have been some cracking fixtures in the past and some incredible finals, but really, I don't understand where everyone keeps talking about the "Magic of the FA Cup". What really is the magic of the cup? I was listening to TalkSport the other day and they had Darragh MacAnthony on the show to discuss the Peterborough match against Chelsea. MacAnthony is the owner of Peterborough and gave his opinion on the fixture, explaining that even though he loves the idea of beating a heavy favourite like Chelsea, as unlikely as it may seem, he prefers the financial royalties over the bragging rights. Shocking right? That an owner of a Football club doesn't care as much about the result and more about the add-ons. Wrong. Who cares anymore. It is the same every year that we hear about an upset, one of the big boys' fields a team of reserve players and kids and then they lose because they were complacent or on maybe potentially one of the relegation candidates in the Premier league lose to one of the sides in the Championship, realistically what is magic about that. We mistake luck, complacency and form for magic and then every season as the third round takes place we hear the same worn out sentence "Oh, what an upset, it truly is the magic of the FA Cup". I am bored of it really. 

I sat down and watched the Liverpool vs Plymouth game on Sunday, in all honesty hoping for some goals. Liverpool fielded a team with an average age of 21. Their youngest starting lineup in the club's history and it shows that the club has a bright future if it can keep all these players, however, with youth comes inexperience and watching that game showed how little experience these kids had in running a game. Some might argue that part of the "Magic" is that the future stars get a chance, and in some aspects that's true. Watching Ben Woodburn get a run out for Liverpool, where he looked very promising, may be a sign that some sides are looking to give youth a chance. Realistically, this is once in a blue moon. Klopp would not have given most of the youth players a chance if they had drawn a club in the Championship, maybe even league one. Some may look at it like as giving the kids a chance, I see it more as rotating out the important first team players to keep them fit for the league cup game against Southampton.

Maybe the magic is a lower league belief, a feeling of David vs Goliath, a way to put themselves on the footballing map. We all remember how incredible it was when Luton, who were at the time in the Blue square premier, beat Norwich 1-0 at Carrow road. With all fairness, it's an upset. It isn't special simply because it is in the FA Cup, we see upsets most weeks. I don't agree with the magic angle because it falls into the tactical failure category. Luton carried more of the ball and took their chances. Not taking anything away from Luton at all, but what makes this magic in comparison to a normal upset? Let's compare it to Wigan's FA Cup victory over Manchester City in 2013. Now that is the magic of the cup! How could tiny Wigan upset such a powerful side like Manchester City, and in the season they were relegated from the Premier league. In that same season, they managed to win 1-0 at White Hart Lane. Wigan had been infamous for creating an upset, it was crucial to them staying up for as long as they did, they had no magic, but the desire to win far more than their opponents, We could even argue that the FA Cup condemned them to where they are today? A cup run that ended Wigan's premier league stay. Magical.

I feel like this is all coming across as slightly cynical, but in all honesty, I just don't understand the love for it. I have been on the right side and the wrong side of this magic. Cardiff beating Leeds in 2002 was enormous, and whilst I don't remember it first hand, it has become folklore in Cardiff's history. At a time when we were languishing in the lower leagues, we managed to knock Leeds off their perch and even though it was a dark time for the club with Sam Hammam trying to recreate the crazy gang in Cardiff. It definitely made a lot of people feel good and made everyone see how gritty it can be. That is where the FA Cup had magic, back when football wasn't so distant from each other. With the ever growing distance between the Premier league and the lower leagues, these upsets only happen when big clubs play kids. How is that Magic? it's simply throwing complacency back into the faces of the big clubs. The whole "Magic" theme has become a simple way of making sure everyone stays interested and keep the ratings up on the cup and the majority of lower league teams get that, they'll play their full side and the windfall they will receive from an away game at Chelsea may be the crucial tie to help fund some big moves in January.