IT REMAINS one of the most-anticipated moments in the football calendar, but let’s not beat about the bush; the draw for the FA Cup third round wasn’t exactly box office material.
Considering there are four Non-League teams guaranteed to be playing on January 7, with others facing replays, it was a shame that not even one of them was rewarded with a money-spinning draw that really does define what this competition is all about.
For players in the lower leagues, not just Non-League, the third round of the Cup represents something of a football dream.
You can dress it up and claim it’s just another round and another game, but clubs just want the biggest tie because the romance aside, it’s a financial game-changer.
Players don’t just feed off the emotions; they live off the cut they make. There will be arguments that for the likes of Lincoln (Ipswich away), and Barrow and Sutton (Rochdale and AFC Wimbledon at home respectively), the ties represent an opportunity to progress to the next round and move up the payment ladder. But don’t buy that!
So much hard work has gone into getting through the qualifying and first two rounds, and you just want to have a crack at the best there is.
No cameras
Unfortunately, the draw has played its part in the TV cameras staying away from the Non-League ties. I can see why people have been critical because the £144,000 in broadcast fees would go a long way for these clubs. But I can also see this from the other side.
If you put yourself in the shoes of a TV company, are you desperate to get down to Ipswich to watch them take on Lincoln? Does this really present a chance of an upset, or at least an upset that would pull in the viewers?
There is certainly a case for Barrow and Sutton being on the screen, for sure. I can see Barrow beating Rochdale and Sutton could well do the same against Wimbledon – but is there enough there to draw the viewers in? National League at home to League One.
Where Sutton are concerned, it would have been fantastic to see a Premiership or Championship club head down to Gander Green Lane to play them on their 3G pitch, but the draw dictated otherwise.
Next time
The ties that have been selected for TV do make sense to me with a cluster of big guns. West Ham versus Manchester City is the biggest all-Premiership clash; Manchester United will face an in-form Reading side while Liverpool versus either Plymouth or Newport is a cracker for whoever wins that replay.
Even Tottenham at home to Villa has its backing because it’s a Premiership club taking on a former giant that promises a decent crowd. Working in the media as I do, I can assure you the decision-makers didn’t look at this dismissively.
Broadcasters have to consider what would be a better product by looking at the draw objectively. They understand the romance, but there just wasn’t much on offer this time around.
Completely disagree with the comments about selected ties to show live on TV.
If Non-League versus EFL 1 or 2 has appeal when it is a 1st Round or 2nd Round tie then it will have the same appeal as a 3rd Round tie.
The only reason these have been ignored is because they don’t have as much commercial appeal as ties involving Premier League clubs, particularly their appeal outside the UK.
The BBC is particularly culpable, keen to promote the Magic of the Cup by showing NL clubs in Rounds 1 and 2, but as soon as the Premier League clubs come in, the Magic of the Cup goes out of the window. There is no magic associated with watching the reserves of West Ham and Man City, or watching Man Utd take on a Championship side at Old Trafford, no matter how much Adam Virgo justifies them.