The FA Cup can still conjure magic – so why won’t broadcasters show it?

The FA Cup’s magic number this weekend was nine: of the 20 Premier League clubs who entered the competition, eight were eliminated and one more will fall when Liverpool travel to Wolves for a replay next week, following their 2-2 draw.

Nine third-round defeats equal the record set in 2008, a record which may be broken outright when League One club Oxford United take on Premier League leaders Arsenal on Monday night.

It was a weekend of surprises and outright shocks up and down the country. “I’m completely and totally speechless,” said Wrexham co-owner and Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds after the non-league club’s thrilling 4-3 win over Coventry City. League Two’s Stevenage Town knocked out Aston Villa, while non-league Chesterfield were seconds away from beating West Brom before a heartbreaking equaliser in a 3-3 draw.

All of which served to highlight two things. “The magic of the Cup” is a well-worn cliche but call it what you want – interest, appeal, relevance – the oldest tournament in the world still has it. Despite the onslaught of the different men’s football formats, with an expanding World Cup, Club World Cup and Champions League around the corner, the FA Cup remains as watchable as ever.

Except that in another way, it isn’t. This is the second point: of the 32 third-round ties, five were shown on the BBC or ITV and only one of the 10 teams involved were from outside the Premier League or Championship.

The match-up between Manchester City and Chelsea, shown on BBC One on Sunday, had occurred in the Premier League only days earlier. Wrexham could be found on Welsh channel S4C but for the most part, to enjoy the drama unfolding you either had to be there or Google it.

Of course popular Premier League clubs always draw the most eyeballs, and broadcasters face a difficult task trying to guess where an upset might fall. But half the fun is not in the outcome but the possibility: the FA Cup’s unique selling point is the anticipation, the hope, and this is really what ‘the magic of the cup’ means – an ability to punch up from the most unexpected places.

Perhaps the upside of so many Premier League scalps is that in the next round, broadcasters will have no choice but show a little more magic.

Yours,

Lawrence Ostlere

Assistant sports editor