Diddyman 1983":vhq5k2vt said:
Sadly a reflection of how little the FA Cup means to most teams and their fans now. Second string XI's and half empty stadiums have become the norm, and the fact that pundits and commentators regularly spew out that "magic of the cup" cliché and are constantly in denial about the competition having lost its appeal just proves what it has become in more recent years. It's sad to see this once great competition being flogged like a dead horse each year but it's just the way that football and its priorities have evolved.
Add to that the FA's abandonment of key traditions such as a 3.00pm kick off and it has devalued this once great competition.
In the past I remember FA Cup final day being a whole day experience. Coverage and build up began in the morning and almost everything was televised. Nowadays it's a 5.00pm kick off, stuck on Sky. I used to be able to name all the winners from the past 15-20 years, now I couldn't tell you who won the past 5.