Cod Almighty | Diary

The next Marc North in waiting?

12 December 2018

Thunderdiary writes: Can't beat a bit of old FA Cup magic, can you? Underdogs, boggy pitches, window cleaners in goal, civil servants scoring the winner – the romance and unpredictability of the FA Cup is a genuine part of the fabric of the game.

The whole build-up was something special in the old days – the anticipation grew, cup final Grandstand on the telly all day, and two teams who wanted to win it. Between 1972 and 1995 there were 12 different winners. In the 23 subsequent years there have been 6. I bet you could name the winners of every final from the eighties. You'd be hard pushed to do the same in the last ten years.

I'm not naïve. I know that part of the issue is that there is now wall-to-wall football, and that the riches from Europe are far greater, and that finishing fourth bottom of the top division is a 'greater' achievement than winning the cup. But most fans would want that day, that final, that silverware. A cup run, last-minute winners, and the chance to celebrate an achievement. Despite the song's best intentions, I don't think Town are going to "win the cup one day", but the cup runs of the past – 1930s semi-finals, Ayresome Park and Harry Haddock – mean we have a connection with it.

And we are currently on a run. I thoroughly enjoyed the draw, with the excitement of who we could get in the third round (although I'm not a fan of the teams and numbers being on the screen), and I wasn't unhappy with Palace away.

But the idea of a bitter January Saturday afternoon, 3pm, the shrill of the whistle joining 25,000 breaths in the air and the potential of a dramatic upset is unfortunately as romantic as Pisces' lyrics. The cup has changed.

The 5:30 kick-off is to accommodate the overseas audience. In total, 15 games have been moved for this purpose, meaning just 10 remain in that traditional 3pm kick-off slot. A brand new TV deal is to blame, apparently, and we get more prize and appearance money because of it (£150,000 and counting) but are we really having to get to and from the capital on trains that aren't running for the viewing pleasure of armchair fans in Mongolia?

If that's not bad enough, fans are also unhappy with the ticketing arrangements for said game against Palace. To be fair to the club, I'm with them on this. They've been rightly criticised for the discerning lack of any marketing nous, so trying to get some additional bums on seats for the two upcoming home games should be applauded, and I'm sure there will be enough tickets for everyone who wants to go.

So let’s hope for a downpour, a boggier pitch than usual and Harry Cardwell coming off the bench to plunder two goals in five minutes to send us to a Thursday night game against Lincoln.